Contacts | Program of Study | Advising | Electronic Communication | Program Requirements | Core Courses | Methods | Electives | Petitions | BA Honors Guidelines | BA Honors Seminar | Honors Paper Preparation Course | BA Honors Paper for Dual Majors | BA Honors Paper for BA/MA Students | Honors Paper Due Date | Summary of Requirements | Grading | Earl R. Franklin Fellowship | Courses
Department Website: http://humdev.uchicago.edu
Program of Study
The program in Comparative Human Development (CHDV) focuses on the study of persons over the course of life; on the social, cultural, biological, and psychological processes that jointly influence development; and on growth over time in different social and cultural settings. The study of human development also offers a unique lens through which we consider broad questions of the social sciences, like the processes and impacts of social change, and the interactions of biology and culture. Faculty members in Comparative Human Development with diverse backgrounds in anthropology, biology, psychology, and sociology conduct research on topics that include (but are not limited to): the social and phenomenological experience of mental illness; comparative education; the impact of socioeconomic context on growth and development; the influence of social interaction on biological functioning; the tensions inherent in living in multicultural societies; the experience and development of psychotherapists in Western and non-Western countries; the ways in which youth in developing countries are forging new conceptions of adulthood; and the study of communication with developmental, cultural, and cognitive lenses. Given this interdisciplinary scope, the program in Comparative Human Development provides an excellent preparation for students interested in advanced postgraduate study at the frontiers of several social science disciplines, or in careers and professions that require a broad and integrated understanding of human experience and behavior—e.g., mental health, education, social work, health care, or human resource and organizational work in community or corporate settings.
Advising
The first point of contact for undergraduates is the preceptor. Preceptors can be emailed at humdev-preceptors@lists.uchicago.edu. Additional contact information for the year-specific preceptor can be found in the Contacts section at the bottom of this page, along with the undergraduate chair and administrator contact information. Students should declare their majors by the end of their second year.
Electronic Communication
Upon declaring a Comparative Human Development major, undergraduates should promptly join the department undergraduate email listserv to receive important announcements. Students request to join the listserv by logging in with their CNet ID at https://lists.uchicago.edu and subscribing to humdev-undergrad@listhost.uchicago.edu.
Program Requirements
The requirements below are in effect as of Autumn 2017.
Students who are pursuing a joint BA/MA degree are permitted to double count a maximum of four courses for the two degrees.
The undergraduate program in Comparative Human Development has the following components:
Core Courses
CHDV 20000 Introduction to Human Development and CHDV 20100 Human Development Research Design, a two-quarter introductory sequence in Comparative Human Development, should be completed prior to the Spring Quarter of a student’s third year. CHDV 20000 Introduction to Human Development focuses on theories of development, with particular reference to the development of the self in a social and cultural context. CHDV 20100 Human Development Research Design focuses on modes of research and inquiry in human development, including basic concepts of research design and different methods used in studying human development (e.g., ethnography, experiments, surveys, discourse analysis, narrative inquiry, and animal models). Consideration is given to the advantages and limitations of each approach in answering particular questions concerning person and culture.
Methods
Students must complete one Methods course. It may focus on qualitative or quantitative methods or may be a research methods course from a related department, such as Statistics.
The following are courses since 2012 that have fulfilled the Methods requirement without a petition. (Please note courses in this list may not be offered every academic year.)
Courses that are not on the following list may be petitioned to count for Methods (see Petitions).
ANTH 21420 | Ethnographic Methods | 100 |
BIOS 20151 | Introduction to Quantitative Modeling in Biology (Basic) | 100 |
BIOS 20152 | Introduction to Quantitative Modeling in Biology (Advanced) | 100 |
BIOS 20172 | Mathematical Modeling for Pre-Med Students | 100 |
BIOS 25419 | Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology | 100 |
CHDV 20101 | Applied Statistics in Human Development Research | 100 |
CHDV 20299 | Ethnographic Research Methods | 100 |
CHDV 30102 | Introduction to Causal Inference | 100 |
CHDV 32411 | Mediation, Moderation, and Spillover Effects | 100 |
CHDV 37802 | Seminar: Challenging Legends and Other Received Truths: A Socratic Practicum | 100 |
CHDV 39301 | Qualitative Research Methods | 100 |
PBPL 24800 | Urban Policy Analysis | 100 |
PBPL 26301 | Field Research Project in Public Policy | 100 |
PLSC 22913 | The Practice of Social Science Research | 100 |
PSYC 20100 | Psychological Statistics | 100 |
PSYC 20200 | Psychological Research Methods | 100 |
PSYC 20250 | Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Methods | 100 |
SOCI 20001 | Sociological Methods | 100 |
SOCI 20004 | Statistical Methods of Research | 100 |
SOCI 20140 | Qualitative Field Methods | 100 |
STAT 20000 | Elementary Statistics | 100 |
STAT 22000 | Statistical Methods and Applications | 100 |
STAT 22400 | Applied Regression Analysis | 100 |
STAT 23400 | Statistical Models and Methods | 100 |
* | Courses used to fulfill a general education requirement may not be used to fulfill the major (e.g., BIOS 20151, BIOS 20152, or STAT 20000). |
Electives
All CHDV majors are required to take nine CHDV elective courses with course numbers above 20000. We encourage students to take their elective courses across the four areas of Comparative Human Development, given the department's commitment to transdisciplinary scholarship. Many CHDV elective courses are designated as aligning with one or more distribution areas (labeled A through D); see individual course listings in the catalog. The four areas are the following:
A. Comparative Behavioral Biology: includes courses on the biopsychology of attachment; evolutionary social psychology; evolution of parenting; biological psychology; primate behavior and ecology; behavioral endocrinology.
B. Life Course Development: includes courses on social and psychological development through the life course, including courses on childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging; education and development; introduction to language development; the role of early experience in development; sexual and gender identity; the study of lives and families in social and cultural context.
C. Culture and Community: includes courses on cultural psychology; psychological anthropology; social psychology; cross-cultural child development; language, culture, and thought; language socialization; education in ethnic and cultural context; psychiatric and psychodynamic anthropology; memory and culture.
D. Mental Health and Personality: includes courses on personality theory and research; social and cultural foundations of mental and physical health; modern psychotherapies and their supporting institutions; psychology of well-being; conflict understanding and resolution; core concepts and current directions in psychopathology; emotion, mind, and rationality; body image in health and disorder; advanced concepts in psychoanalysis.
Petitions
Student petitions will be approved only in very limited circumstances for courses not taught or cross-listed in CHDV to count toward CHDV major requirements. These limited circumstances may include a relevant course offered during a University of Chicago study abroad program if a CHDV course is not available. Students may petition for one relevant course per quarter of study abroad to count toward the CHDV major, but only one, barring unusual circumstances. Students may also petition to take a comparable course from another department following a sudden, unanticipated change in CHDV departmental course offerings. Only university-level courses offered by the University of Chicago may be approved for CHDV requirements; no other form of credit (including Advanced Placement) is allowed. Petitions should be completed using the CHDV petition form found at humdev.uchicago.edu/content/requirements-and-forms. Petitions should include a copy of the course syllabus, since the course title alone is often not sufficient for evaluating a petition.
BA Honors Guidelines
Students with qualifying GPAs may seek to graduate with honors by successfully completing a BA honors paper that reflects scholarly proficiency in an area of study within Comparative Human Development and successfully completing two required accompanying courses:
1. CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar (offered in the Spring Quarter of third year) and
2. CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation (offered in the Autumn Quarter of fourth year)
CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar can count as one of the nine elective courses required for the major. CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation may not count toward major requirements; it may be used for general elective credit only. Qualified students who wish to seek CHDV honors and who plan to study abroad should plan their travel in order to ensure they are in residence at the University of Chicago during the Spring Quarter of their third year and the Autumn Quarter of their fourth year in order to take the two courses required for BA honors. Students will also be required to present their Honors Paper in the Trial Research Conference in the Spring Quarter of their fourth year.
The honors paper should reflect original research of an empirical, scholarly, or theoretical nature and must be rated as worthy of honors by the student’s BA Honors Committee. This committee shall consist of two University faculty members: a supervisor (who must be a CHDV faculty member or associate faculty member) and a second reader (who must be a University of Chicago faculty member or associate faculty member). The paper should be about 30 to 40 pages in length. The grade given for it will become the grade of record for the Honors Paper Preparation course (CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation). To receive departmental honors upon graduation, students (1) must have attained a cumulative overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and a major GPA higher than 3.5 by the end of the quarter prior to the quarter of graduation, and (2) must have completed a meritorious BA honors paper under the supervision of a CHDV faculty member and received a grade of A or A- on their BA honors paper.
Permission to undertake a BA honors paper will be granted by the CHDV undergraduate chair to students who (1) have successfully completed CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar and (2) have filed a properly completed BA Honors Paper Proposal Form with the departmental Student Affairs Administrator no later than ninth week of Spring Quarter of the third year.
BA Honors Seminar
The CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar aims to help qualified students formulate a suitable proposal and find a CHDV faculty supervisor. Qualified students who wish to seek departmental honors must register for the CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar during Spring Quarter of their third year. Permission to register for CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar will be granted to students with a GPA that, at the end of Autumn Quarter of the third year, shows promise of meeting the standards set for honors (see above). This course must be taken for a quality grade and may be counted as one of the required major electives. This course is a pre-field course where students develop a ten-page research proposal and find both a CHDV supervisor and a second reader (who may be outside of the department). As part of the proposal, they learn to develop an academic “problem” while reviewing the necessary academic literature. They also decide on the discipline and methods (interviewing, ethnography, experimental design) they will use to tackle their research question.
Honors Paper Preparation Course
The CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation course helps students successfully complete work on their BA honors paper. In order to complete honors, students who successfully took CHDV 29800 in Spring Quarter of their third year must also register for CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation during Autumn Quarter of their fourth year. This courses is required but does not count as one of the 12 courses in the major; it may be used for general elective credit only. Students are encouraged to collect their data over the summer; then this course scaffolds the process of analyzing data (such as transcription and coding) and writing up BA papers (such as tips on describing methods and peer review). The grade assigned by the thesis supervisor on the final BA paper is retroactively assigned as the grade for this course.
BA Honors Paper for Dual Majors
In very special circumstances, students may be able to write a longer BA honors paper that meets the requirements for a dual major (with prior approval from the undergraduate program chairs in both departments). Students should consult with both chairs before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year. A consent form, available from the student’s College adviser, must be signed by both chairs and returned to the College adviser, with copies filed in both departmental offices, by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student’s graduation year.
BA Honors Paper for BA/MA Students
Students pursuing a joint BA/MA may be able to write a paper that meets the requirements for honors in CHDV and for the MA, subject to the approval of both programs. Students should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Department of Comparative Human Development and with the Faculty Director of the MA program before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year. Students must also complete the fourth-year major course plan by the beginning of Winter Quarter in third year. Students are permitted to double count up to four courses for the major and the MA program.
Students must follow all the deadlines and requirements of the honors track of the major, including taking CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar and CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation. To receive a BA with honors, students must (1) complete the requirements of the major and (2) submit a meritorious honors BA paper in the Spring Quarter of their fourth year in accordance with the departmental deadlines and requirements.
Honors Paper Due Date
Honors papers are due by the end of sixth week of the quarter in which a student plans to graduate (typically in Spring Quarter).
Summary of Requirements
CHDV 20000 | Introduction to Human Development | 100 |
CHDV 20100 | Human Development Research Design | 100 |
One Methods Course | 100 | |
Nine Elective Courses * | 900 | |
Total Units | 1200 |
* | Elective courses must have course numbers above 20000. Students applying for CHDV honors must register for CHDV 29800 BA Honors Seminar and CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation. CHDV 29800 may be counted as one of the nine required program electives; however, CHDV 29900 does not count toward the major and is used for general elective credit only. |
Grading
All courses required for the major in Comparative Human Development must be taken for quality grades.
Earl R. Franklin Fellowship
The Earl R. Franklin Research Fellowship is awarded to select third-year students who are writing a BA thesis in Comparative Human Development. It provides financial support during the summer before the fourth year to carry out research that will be continued as a senior honors project. Applications, which are submitted at the beginning of Spring Quarter, include a research proposal, personal statement, budget, CV, and a letter of recommendation. Details can be found at our website at humdev.uchicago.edu.
The courses below are a guide. For up-to-date course plans, please visit Class Search or the Anticipated Courses List at humdev.uchicago.edu/content/courses.
Comparative Human Development Courses
CHDV 12103. Treating Trans-: Practices of Medicine, Practices of Theory. 100 Units.
Medical disciplines from psychiatry to surgery have all attempted to identify and to treat gendered misalignment, while queer theory and feminisms have simultaneously tried to understand if and how trans- theories should be integrated into their respective intellectual projects. This course looks at the logics of the medical treatment of transgender (and trans- more broadly) in order to consider the mutual entanglement of clinical processes with theoretical ones. Over the quarter we will read ethnographic accounts and theoretical essays, listen to oral histories, discuss the intersections of race and ability with gender, and interrogate concepts like "material bodies" and "objective science". Primary course questions include: 1.
Instructor(s): Paula Martin Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): This course counts as a Foundations Course for GNSE majors
Equivalent Course(s): HMRT 12103, HLTH 12103, ANTH 25212, HIPS 12103, GNSE 12103
CHDV 20000. Introduction to Human Development. 100 Units.
This course introduces the study of lives in context. The nature of human development from infancy through old age is explored through theory and empirical findings from various disciplines. Readings and discussions emphasize the interrelations of biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces at different points of the life cycle.
Instructor(s): R. Shweder Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): CHDV majors or intended majors.
Note(s): Required Course for Comparative Human Development Majors
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 20850, HLTH 20000
CHDV 20001. Theories of Sexuality and Gender. 100 Units.
This is a one-quarter, seminar-style course for undergraduates. Its aim is triple: to engage scenes and concepts central to the interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality; to provide familiarity with key theoretical anchors for that study; and to provide skills for deriving the theoretical bases of any kind of method. Students will produce descriptive, argumentative, and experimental engagements with theory and its scenes as the quarter progresses.
Instructor(s): Paula Martin Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Prior course experience in gender/sexuality studies (by way of the general education civilization studies courses or other course work) is strongly advised.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 20001, SOCI 20290
CHDV 20101. Applied Statistics in Human Development Research. 100 Units.
This course provides an introduction to quantitative methods of inquiry and a foundation for more advanced courses in applied statistics for students in social sciences who are interested in studying human development in social contexts. The course covers univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics, an introduction to statistical inference, t test, two-way contingency table, analysis of variance, simple linear regression, and multiple regression. All statistical concepts and methods will be illustrated with applications to a series of scientific inquiries organized around describing and understanding adolescent transitions into adulthood across demographic subpopulations in contemporary American society. We will use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) throughout the course to reveal disparities between subpopulations in opportunities and life course outcomes. At the end of the course, students should be able to define and use descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze data and to interpret analytical results. No prior knowledge in statistics is assumed. High school algebra and probability are the only mathematical pre-requisites. Every student is required to participate in a lab section. Students will review the course content and learn to use the Stata software in the lab under the TA's guidance.
Instructor(s): G. Hong
Prerequisite(s): At least one college-level mathematics course, can be a high school AP course, First priority for CHDV grads and 2nd priority CHDV undergrad majors.
Note(s): CHDV Distribution, M*, M*
This course will not be offered in the academic year 2022-23
Equivalent Course(s): HLTH 20101, CHDV 30101, EDSO 30101
CHDV 20102. Introduction to Causal Inference. 100 Units.
This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from the social sciences, education, public health science, public policy, social service administration, and statistics who are involved in quantitative research and are interested in studying causality. The goal of this course is to equip students with basic knowledge of and analytic skills in causal inference. Topics for the course will include the potential outcomes framework for causal inference; experimental and observational studies; identification assumptions for causal parameters; potential pitfalls of using ANCOVA to estimate a causal effect; propensity score based methods including matching, stratification, inverse-probability-of-treatment-weighting (IPTW), marginal mean weighting through stratification (MMWS), and doubly robust estimation; the instrumental variable (IV) method; regression discontinuity design (RDD) including sharp RDD and fuzzy RDD; difference in difference (DID) and generalized DID methods for cross-section and panel data, and fixed effects model. Intermediate Statistics or equivalent such as STAT 224/PBHS 324, PP 31301, BUS 41100, or SOC 30005 is a prerequisite. This course is a prerequisite for "Advanced Topics in Causal Inference" and "Mediation, moderation, and spillover effects."
Instructor(s): G. Hong Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Intermediate Statistics or equivalent such as STAT 224/PBHS 324, PP 31301, BUS 41100, or SOC 30005
Note(s): CHDV Distribution: M; M
Equivalent Course(s): MACS 51000, PBHS 43201, SOCI 30315, PLSC 30102, CHDV 30102, STAT 31900
CHDV 20140. Qualitative Field Methods. 100 Units.
This course introduces techniques of, and approaches to, ethnographic field research. We emphasize quality of attention and awareness of perspective as foundational aspects of the craft. Students conduct research at a site, compose and share field notes, and produce a final paper distilling sociological insight from the fieldwork.
Instructor(s): O. McRoberts Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20140, RDIN 20140
CHDV 20150. Language and Communication. 100 Units.
This course can also be taken by students who are not majoring in Linguistics but are interested in learning something about the uniqueness of human language, spoken or signed. It covers a selection from the following topics: What is the position of spoken language in the usually multimodal forms of communication among humans? In what ways does spoken language differ from signed language? What features make spoken and signed language linguistic? What features distinguish linguistic means of communication from animal communication? How do humans communicate with animals? From an evolutionary point of view, how can we account for the fact that spoken language is the dominant mode of communication in all human communities around the world? Why cannot animals really communicate linguistically? What do the terms language "acquisition" and "transmission" really mean? What factors account for differences between "language acquisition" by children and by adults? Are children really perfect language learners? What factors bring about language evolution, including language speciation and the emergence of new language varieties? How did language evolve in mankind? This is a general education course without any prerequisites. It provides a necessary foundation to those working on language at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Instructor(s): Salikoko Mufwene Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LING 20150, EDSO 20150, CHDV 30150, LING 30150
CHDV 20175. The Sociology of Deviant Behavior. 100 Units.
This course examines how distinctions between "normal" and "deviant" are created, and how these labels shift historically, culturally, and politically. We analyze the construction of social problems and moral panics (e.g., smoking, "satanic" daycares, obesity) to explore how various moral entrepreneurs shape what some sociologists call a "culture of fear." Additionally, we investigate the impact on individuals of being labeled "deviant" either voluntarily or involuntarily, as a way of illustrating how both social control and social change operate in society.
Instructor(s): K. Schilt Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20175
CHDV 20300. Biological Psychology. 100 Units.
What are the relations between mind and brain? How do brains regulate mental, behavioral, and hormonal processes; and how do these influence brain organization and activity? This course introduces the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain; their changes in response to the experiential and sociocultural environment; and their relation to perception, attention, behavioral action, motivation, and emotion.
Instructor(s): S. London Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Some background in biology and psychology.
Equivalent Course(s): NSCI 21015, PSYC 20300
CHDV 20550. From Data to Manuscript in R. 100 Units.
This course tackles the basic skills needed to build an integrated research report with the R programming language. We will cover every step from data to manuscript including: Using R's libraries to clean up and re-format messy datasets, preparing data sets for analysis, running statistical tools, generating clear and attractive figures and tables, and knitting those bits of code together with your manuscript writing. The result will be a reproducible, open-science friendly report that you can easily update after finishing data collection or receiving comments from readers. Never copy-paste your way through a table again! The R universe is large, so this course will focus specifically on: The core R libraries, the tidyverse library, and R Markdown. Students will also learn about the use of GitHub for version control.
Instructor(s): N. Dowling Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): This is a project-based course. Students must already be in possession of a (partial or whole) dataset for which they would like to create a preliminary research report (e.g., for thesis submission, publication, or similar). No prior programing experience necessary.
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 20550, MAPS 30550, MACS 30550, CHDV 30550, PSYC 30550
CHDV 20774. Multilingualism in Mind & Social Interaction: Language, Self, & Thought in the Multilingual Context. 100 Units.
This course provides an overview of theory and research on bilingualism. Through a critical examination of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches to bilingualism, we will aim to arrive at a comprehensive account of bilingual experience and its practical implications for education and mental health in a globalizing world. In the course, we will address the following topics: 1.
Instructor(s): Numanbayraktaroglu, S. Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): N/A
Note(s): CHDV Distribution: B, C; 3*, 5*
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 30774, EDSO 30774, EDSO 20774
CHDV 21000. Cultural Psychology. 100 Units.
There is a substantial portion of the psychological nature of human beings that is neither homogeneous nor fixed across time and space. At the heart of the discipline of cultural psychology is the tenet of psychological pluralism, which states that the study of "normal" psychology is the study of multiple psychologies and not just the study of a single or uniform fundamental psychology for all peoples of the world. Research findings in cultural psychology thus raise provocative questions about the integrity and value of alternative forms of subjectivity across cultural groups. In this course we analyze the concept of "culture" and examine ethnic and cross-cultural variations in mental functioning with special attention to the cultural psychology of emotions, self, moral judgment, categorization, and reasoning.
Instructor(s): R. Shweder Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must be in third or fourth year.
Note(s): CHDV Distribution: B, C
Equivalent Course(s): AMER 33000, ANTH 35110, ANTH 24320, PSYC 23000, PSYC 33000, GNSE 31000, CHDV 31000, CRES 21100, KNOW 31000, GNSE 21001
CHDV 21800. Primate Behavior and Ecology. 100 Units.
This course explores the behavior and ecology of nonhuman primates with emphasis on their natural history and evolution. Specific topics include methods for the study of primate behavior, history of primate behavior research, socioecology, foraging, predation, affiliation, aggression, mating, parenting, development, communication, cognition, and evolution of human behavior.
Instructor(s): D. Maestripieri Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the first three quarters of a Biological Sciences fundamentals sequence.
Note(s): E.
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 34300, BIOS 23248, EVOL 37300
CHDV 21920. The Evolution of Language. 100 Units.
This course is designed to review critically some of the literature on the phylogenetic emergence of Language, in order to determine which questions have been central to the subject matter, which ones have recurred the most, and to what extent the answers to these are now better informed. The class will also review new questions such as the following: What is the probable time of the emergence of modern language(s)? Should we speak of the emergence of Language or of languages, in the plural?
Instructor(s): Salikoko Mufwene Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 41920, ANTH 47305, LING 41920, CHSS 41920, EVOL 41920, CHDV 41920, LING 21920
CHDV 22350. Social Neuroscience. 100 Units.
Human beings are intensely social creatures. Our health and well-being depend on others. Social neuroscience provides an overarching paradigm to investigate social cognition and behavior, and to determine where we as a species fit within a broader biological context. The course examines how the brain mediates social cognition and behavior. It spans diverse species and disciplines (evolution, neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, political science). A wide range of topics is examined, including behavioral synchrony, friendship, cooperation, social decision-making, social status and hierarchies, empathy, group affiliation and identity, social influence, etc. Interdisciplinary analyses, by integrating approaches from social sciences and biological sciences, significantly expand our knowledge, and have the potential to improve our social and living conditions.
Instructor(s): J. Decety Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 22350, ECON 21830, NSCI 21000, HLTH 22350, BIOS 24137
CHDV 22580. Child Development in the Classroom. 100 Units.
This discussion-based, advanced seminar is designed to investigate how preschool and elementary students think, act, and learn, as well as examine developmentally appropriate practices and culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. This course emphasizes the application of theory and research from the field of psychology to the realm of teaching and learning in contemporary classrooms. Course concepts will be grounded in empirical research and activities geared towards understanding the nuances and complexities of topics such as cognitive development (memory, attention, language), early assessment systems, standardized testing, "mindset", "grit", exercise/nutrition, emotion regulation, and more.
Instructor(s): Kate O'Doherty Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 22580, EDSO 22580
CHDV 22700. It Goes Without Saying: Conversation in Context. 100 Units.
In everyday conversation, the language we use is part of a larger interactive context. The words we use are neither spoken nor heard in a vacuum. As speakers our bodies, faces, voices, and histories send messages above and beyond the words we choose. In this course we broaden the scope of how we talk about talk, where language is just one of many ways we communicate. We explore how identity, society, and the physical world allow us to make meaning from language using perspectives from linguistics, psychology, and sociology. Over the quarter students will build a multi-modal analysis of a single interaction by examining and reexamining data through lenses such as social distance, barriers to communication, stance-taking, and gesture.
Instructor(s): N. Dowling Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Distribution - undergrad: B, C
CHDV 23003. Schooling and Identity. 100 Units.
This course examines the dynamic relations between schooling and identity. We will explore how schools both enable and constrain the identities available to students and the consequences of this for academic achievement. We will examine these relations from multiple disciplinary perspectives, applying psychological, anthropological, sociological, and critical theories to understanding how students not only construct identities for themselves within schools, but also negotiate the identities imposed on them by others. Topics will include the role of peer culture, adult expectations, school practices and enduring social structures in shaping processes of identity formation in students and how these processes influence school engagement and achievement. We will consider how these processes unfold at all levels of schooling, from preschool through college, and for students who navigate a range of social identities, from marginalized to privileged.
Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen Terms Offered: Winter. Offered 2022-23
Prerequisite(s): Priority registration will be given to MAPSS students seeking the Education and Society certificate.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 23002, SOCI 20530, SOCI 30530, EDSO 23002, EDSO 33002
CHDV 23005. Education and Social Inequality. 100 Units.
How and why do educational outcomes and experiences vary across student populations? What role do schools play in a society's system of stratification? How do schools both contribute to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order? This course examines these questions through the lens of social and cultural theory, engaging current academic debates on the causes and consequences of social inequality in educational outcomes. We will engage these debates by studying foundational and emerging theories and examining empirical research on how social inequalities are reproduced or ameliorated through schools. Through close readings of historical, anthropological and sociological case studies of schooling in the U.S, students will develop an understanding of the structural forces and cultural processes that produce inequality in neighborhoods and schools, how they contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status, and how students themselves navigate and interpret this unequal terrain. We will cover such topics as neighborhood and school segregation; peer culture; social networks; elite schooling; the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; and dynamics of assimilation for students from immigrant communities.
Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen Terms Offered: Autumn. Offered 2023-24
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23005, CHST 23005, SOCI 20297, CRES 23005
CHDV 23010. Blooming, Buzzing Confusion. 100 Units.
This course examines the social and cognitive mechanisms that drive language learning in the first few years of life. Nearly all children learn the language(s) of their community, despite the fact that human languages and caregiving practices offer immense diversity around the globe. What enables the learning system to adapt so robustly to the environment it finds itself in? We discuss the evidence for and against multiple factors that have been proposed to support language development across the world's communities. We also critically examine how these ideas intersect with current deficit models of language learning. It is expected that, by the end of the course, students will grasp the basic mechanisms proposed to underlie early language learning.
Instructor(s): M. Casillas Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Distribution: B, M
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23510, PSYC 23510
CHDV 23011. Beyond the Culture Wars: Social Movements and the Politics of Education in the U.S. 100 Units.
Passionate conflicts over school curriculum and educational policy are a recurring phenomenon in the history of US schooling. Why are schools such frequent sites of struggle and what is at stake in these conflicts? In this discussion-based seminar, we will consider schools as battlegrounds in the US "culture wars": contests over competing visions of national identity, morality, social order, the fundamental purposes of public education, and the role of the state vis-à-vis the family. Drawing on case studies from history, anthropology, sociology and critical race and gender studies, we will examine both past and contemporary debates over school curriculum and school policy. Topics may include clashes over: the teaching of evolution, sex and sexuality education, busing/desegregation, prayer in schools, multiculturalism, the content of the literary canon, the teaching of reading, mathematics and history, and the closure of underperforming urban schools. Our inquiry will examine how social and political movements have used schools to advance or resist particular agendas and social projects.
Instructor(s): Lisa Rosen Terms Offered: Spring 2022-23
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 33011, HIST 27718, CHDV 33011, SOCI 20588, PBPL 23011, HIST 37718, SOCI 30588, EDSO 23011
CHDV 23012. Linguistic Anthropology of Education. 100 Units.
Students in this course will learn to think critically about the entangled roles of language and education in processes of sociocultural (re)production, that is, in how forms of social organization and collective meaning-making are produced and/or reproduced. Students will learn to analyze language use as a social activity: not merely as a code for referencing events in the world, but as a way of managing social relations. In reading about language in educational contexts, students will come to see how collectively held beliefs about language and language users inform moral, political, and often (de)racializing evaluations of better and worse ways of speaking, writing, teaching and learning, leading to differential educational opportunities, access, and outcomes. Education will be treated broadly, though there will be a focus on formal educational contexts. Nonetheless, the class will always challenge students to think about "the classroom," including our own, as continuous and contiguous with "the real world."
Instructor(s): Lily (Shenghe) Ye Terms Offered: Spring. Offered Spring 2023
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 27216, EDSO 23012
CHDV 23100. Human Language and Interaction. 100 Units.
Language may be learned by individuals, but we most often use it for communication between groups. How is it that we manage to transmit our internal thoughts to others' minds? How is it that we can understand what others mean to express to us? Whether we are greeting a passerby, ordering a meal, or debating politics, there are a number of invisible processes that bring language to life in the space between individuals. This course investigates the social and cognitive processes that enable us to successfully communicate with others. The theories we cover are built on observations of adult language use and child development in multiple cultural settings, taking inspiration also from non-human animal communication. It is expected that, by the end of the course, students will be able to explain the limitations of language for communication and will be able to elaborate on a number of social and other cognitive processes that critically support communicative language use.
Instructor(s): M. Casillas Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Distribution: Undergrads: B,M; Grad: 2,M
Equivalent Course(s): LING 21150, EDSO 23101, PSYC 23120
CHDV 23150. Methods in Child Development Research. 100 Units.
This course engages with one current topic (the topic differs each year) from research on child social and/or language development. We will read and discuss a collection of research studies related to this topic to gain familiarity with its primary questions, theories, and methods. We will also, together as a class, conduct a replication of an experiment- or recording-based research study related to the topic. Students should be prepared to read and discuss scientific research articles and to do hands-on research activities. Students will complete the class with expertise on the topic of focus, including experience with its associated methods.
Instructor(s): M. Casillas Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Distributions: Grad 2, M; Undergrads: B, M
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 33150, CHDV 33150, EDSO 23150, PSYC 33150, CHST 23150, PSYC 23155, LING 33150
CHDV 23249. Animal Behavior. 100 Units.
This course introduces the mechanism, ecology, and evolution of behavior, primarily in nonhuman species, at the individual and group level. Topics include the genetic basis of behavior, developmental pathways, communication, physiology and behavior, foraging behavior, kin selection, mating systems and sexual selection, and the ecological and social context of behavior. A major emphasis is placed on understanding and evaluating scientific studies and their field and lab techniques.
Instructor(s): J. Mateo (odd years) Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Three quarters of a Biological Sciences Fundamentals Sequence.
Note(s): CHDV Distribution: A
E.
Equivalent Course(s): BIOS 23249, PSYC 23249
CHDV 23305. Critical Studies of Mental Health in Higher Education. 100 Units.
This course draws on a range of perspectives from across the interpretive, critical, and humanistic social sciences to examine the issues of mental health, illness, and distress in higher education.
Instructor(s): E. Raikhel Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Registration by instructor consent only. Please contact the instructor.
Note(s): CHDV Course Distribution Areas: D; 4
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 24333, EDSO 23305, HLTH 23305, CHDV 33305, ANTH 35133
CHDV 23370. Bright and Dark Sides of Empathy. 100 Units.
The experience of empathy is a powerful phenomenon. It motivates prosocial behavior, especially parental care, and facilitates cooperation and group living. As an important aspect of the patient-doctor relationship, empathy is associated with better health outcomes. Yet, empathy is limited and fragile. It is susceptible to many biases and can lead to poor moral decisions. This course invites students to critically explore the science of empathy by examining its scope and its limits. It delves into cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research from the social sciences and the biological sciences to understand the mechanisms and functions of empathy. The topics examined in this course include: The evolution of empathy; The neural and neuro-endocrinological mechanisms; How empathy develops in young children; The impact of biases and implicit attitudes on empathy; The social situations and group dynamics that influence empathy; The lack of empathy in psychopathy and narcissistic personalities; Why and how empathy improves health outcomes in medicine.
Instructor(s): J. Decety Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 23370
CHDV 23511. Memory, Reconciliation, and Healing: Transitional Justice. 100 Units.
Across the globe, recent national attempts to transition out of authoritarian rule and to manage the legacies of political conflicts have invoked discourses and questions of human rights. In the last fifty years, millions of people across the world have experience periods of protest and mobilization, violence and genocide, the emergence and entrenchment of armed revolutionary forces, and repressive governments. As these periods came to an end, the governments, civil societies, and individual citizens in each country have had to face the challenges of rebuilding social fabric, trust, and democratic culture while memorializing the past and considering the root causes of past conflict and authoritarianism. These processes have include discourses of rights (e.g. transitional justice, but also participation, democracy, education, etc.) and have shaped the lives of millions of individuals in these countries as well as the trajectories of each nation and its governments. The proposed course draws on Peru, South Africa, and Ireland as case studies to guide students in comparatively analyzing the transitional processes and current implications. The goal of the course is for students to explore how these societies and their citizens have sought to deal with these problematic national histories and what ways these processes continue to influence each society. The students will leave the class with a better understanding of how conflict and post-conflict issues and developments.
Equivalent Course(s): HMRT 23511, LACS 23511
CHDV 23700. Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Language Development. 100 Units.
This discussion-based course covers cross-linguistic evidence concerning similarities and dissimilarities in how children learn language across diverse language communities. Each year will revolve around a central topic. This year we will focus on the acquisition of phonology.
Instructor(s): M. Casillas Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): satisfies UG category: B and Grad categories: 2, M
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 33700
CHDV 23900. Introduction to Language Acquisition. 100 Units.
This course addresses the major issues involved in first-language acquisition. We deal with the child's production and perception of speech sounds (phonology), the acquisition of the lexicon (semantics), the comprehension and production of structured word combinations (syntax), and the ability to use language to communicate (pragmatics).
Instructor(s): S. Goldin-Meadow Terms Offered: Winter. In Winter 2023, only an undergraduate section of this course will be offered.
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 23200, LING 21600, PSYC 23200, LING 31600, PSYC 33200, CHDV 31600
CHDV 23930. Biological and Cultural Evolution. 100 Units.
This course draws on readings in and case studies of language evolution, biological evolution, cognitive development and scaffolding, processes of socialization and formation of groups and institutions, and the history and philosophy of science and technology. We seek primarily to elaborate theory to understand and model processes of cultural evolution, while exploring analogies, differences, and relations to biological evolution. This has been a highly contentious area, and we examine why. We seek to evaluate what such a theory could reasonably cover and what it cannot.
Instructor(s): W. Wimsatt, S. Mufwene Terms Offered: Not offered in 2022-2023
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing or consent of instructor required; core background in evolution and genetics strongly recommended.
Equivalent Course(s): LING 39286, CHSS 37900, PHIL 32500, CHDV 33930, PHIL 22500, NCDV 27400, BPRO 23900, ANTH 28615, LING 11100, HIPS 23900, ANTH 38615
CHDV 24010. Introduction to Health and Society II. 100 Units.
What can the social sciences teach us about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic or the opioid epidemic of the past decade? How can we understand the sources of inequalities in access to care and in health outcomes across populations, both in the United States and globally? What is the significance of varying experiences of illness, categories of disorder, ideals of well-being, and forms of intervention across cultural settings and historical periods? This course introduces students introduces students to the social, political, and economic processes that shape individual and population health, as well as to a range of concepts and methods which social scientists use to study these processes. This summer's class will focus on the case studies of COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic, along with other cases.
Instructor(s): Eugene Raikhel Terms Offered: Summer. Not offered Summer 2022
Note(s): Please note that this course is not a continuation of HLTH 17000, but a summer session version of the same class. This course can be used to satisfy the HLTH 17000 requirement for the Health and Society minor. Students who are not currently in the minor are also welcome to take the course as an opportunity to learn about the social sciences of health and medicine.
Equivalent Course(s): HLTH 17001, SOCI 20509, ANTH 24334
CHDV 24050. Understanding Practical Wisdom. 100 Units.
Thinking about the nature of wisdom goes back to the Greek philosophers and the classical religious sages, but the concept of wisdom has changed in many ways over the history of thought. While wisdom has received less scholarly attention in modern times, it has recently re-emerged in popular discourse with a growing recognition of its potential importance for addressing complex issues in many domains. But what is wisdom? It's often used with a meaning more akin to "smart" or "clever." Is it just vast knowledge? This course will examine the nature of wisdom-how it has been defined in philosophy and psychological science, how its meaning has changed, and what its essential components might be. We will discuss how current philosophical and psychological theories conceptualize wisdom and consider whether, and how, wisdom can be studied scientifically; that is, can wisdom be measured and experimentally manipulated to illuminate its underlying mechanisms and understand its functions? Finally, we will explore how concepts of wisdom can be applied in business, education, medicine, the law, and in the course of our everyday lives. Readings will be drawn from a wide array of disciplines including philosophy, classics, history, psychology, behavioral economics, medicine, and public policy. The course will include lectures by philosophers and psychologists. This course is offered in association with the Chicago Moral Philosophy Project and the Good Life program (the Hyde Park Institute).
Instructor(s): A. Henly; H. Nusbaum Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing.
Equivalent Course(s): RLST 24055, PSYC 34060, PSYC 24060, BPRO 24050
CHDV 24299. Topics in Medical Anthropology: Troubling Adolescence. 100 Units.
Many theories of "adolescence" have often emphasized it as a development period of rapid change, risk taking, and experimentation. This course will take on some of key health-related concerns of adolescence, such as mental health (eg. depression, anxiety) and risk behaviors (eg. substance use, sexuality) asking after the phenomenological experience of such concerns as well as exploring their cultural specify. Furthermore, this course will review key historical and development frameworks for understanding "adolescence," reading them alongside anthropological and queer theories of temporality. Ultimately, the course asks, how do the troubles of adolescence play out in different contexts? And what happens if we trouble the concept of adolescence itself?
Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 24299
CHDV 24500. Language and Environment. 100 Units.
This seminar will explore the many ways that language influences and is influenced by the environment. Appropriate for those interested in the socio-cultural foundations of language and language-use, infrastructural dimensions of communication and interaction, and existence as semiotic.
Instructor(s): T. Edwards Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Distributions: grad 3; undergrad C
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 34500
CHDV 24599. Historical and Contemporary Issues in U.S. Racial Health Inequality. 100 Units.
This course explores persistent health inequality in the U.S. from the 1900s to the present day. The focus will be on racial gaps in urban health inequality with some discussion of rural communities. Readings will largely cover the research on Black and White gaps in health inequality, with the understanding that most of the issues discussed extend to health inequalities across many racial and ethnic groups. Readings cover the broad range of social determinants of health (socioeconomic status, education, access to health care, homelessness) and how these social determinants are rooted in longstanding legacies of American inequality. A major component of class assignments will be identifying emerging research and innovative policies and programs that point to promising pathways to eliminating health disparities.
Instructor(s): M. Keels Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Only students with 2nd year standing or above.
Note(s): Fulfills grad requirement: 2,4 and undergrad major requirement B.
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 24599, HLTH 24599, CHDV 44599, CRES 24599, PBPL 24599
CHDV 24702. Un/Making Citizenship: The Politics of the Intimate. 100 Units.
The state is like a gravitational force that holds people in relation to itself, tugging and turning each person to different degrees. Citizenship is the mediation of that relationship. In this course, we examine different dimensions of citizenship across the life course, considering the ways people are formed into certain kinds of subjects. We ask: how and why are intimate life events of interest not only to those involved, but also to governing authorities? From the governance of conception and birth, to the (non)conferral of legal identities, the state manages legitimacy through documents like birth certificates, whose contents or absence can shape a person's entire life trajectory. In childhood, schools work to transform children into certain kinds of future citizens. From legal adulthood's gradual accrual of rights -- to vote, to have sex, to drink, to stand trial -- to old age and long after death, citizenship extends beyond the lifecourse. Over the course of the quarter, we investigate the ways people negotiate attempts to transform them into citizens, examining in particular how citizenship is mediated in relation to religion, sexuality, migration, disability, marriage, pregnancy, old age, and death.
Instructor(s): Kathryn Takabvirwa Terms Offered: TBD
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 24702, GNSE 24704
CHDV 24711. The Sociology of Work. 100 Units.
From the Great Depression to the Great Resignation, paid work has played a central role in American life. The average American spends 1/3 of their life at work - making it an area of the social world heavily examined by politicians, journalists, and social scientists. In this course, we will look at the structural and interpersonal dynamics of work to consider the questions of what makes a "good job" in America and who gets to decide? Our topics will include low-wage work, the stigma of "dirty jobs," gender and racial inequality at work, physical and emotional labor on the job, side hustles and the gig economy, and life after retirement. Students will be required to write a 15 page research paper that draws on interview data they will collect over the quarter. No prior background in doing interviews is required!
Instructor(s): K. Schilt Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 20555, PBPL 20555, SOCI 20555
CHDV 25220. Constructing a Society of Human Rights: A Psychological Framework. 100 Units.
This course is designed to discuss the ways that cultural and social psychology contribute to understandings about human rights conceptually, and how human rights issues emerge from social dynamics. Over the course of the quarter, students will learn about theories on intergroup conflict and prejudice, how an individual's beliefs emerge from social contexts and shape their relationships with others, how obedience to authority is created and abused, and how social positioning and narratives influence conceptions of self and other. We will also discuss the relevance and impact of psychological study and data on human rights issues.
Equivalent Course(s): HMRT 25220, PBPL 25220, INRE 30600
CHDV 25599. Qualitative Analysis with MAXQDA: Interpretive Frameworks, Coding Techniques, and Quality Criteria. 100 Units.
This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to work with and analyze qualitative data from a variety of data collection methods and approaches to analysis. Following a brief overview of the interpretive frameworks, analytic strategies, and ethics in qualitative inquiry, the course focuses on coding, content and thematic analysis, discourse analysis and mixed methods with MAXQDA.
Instructor(s): S. Numanbayraktaroglu Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Distribution: M
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 35599
CHDV 25699. When Cultures Collide: The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies. 100 Units.
Coming to terms with diversity in an increasingly multicultural world has become one of the most pressing public policy projects for liberal democracies in the early 21st century. One way to come to terms with diversity is to try to understand the scope and limits of toleration for variety at different national sites where immigration from foreign lands has complicated the cultural landscape. This seminar examines a series of legal and moral questions about the proper response to norm conflict between mainstream populations and cultural minority groups (including old and new immigrants), with special reference to court cases that have arisen in the recent history of the United States.
Instructor(s): R. Shweder Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates students: 4th year standing and instructor consent only
Note(s): Subject area: Grad: 2, 3
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 45600, PSYC 45300, HMRT 35600, GNSE 45600, KNOW 45699, CHDV 45699
CHDV 25750. The Psychology and Neurobiology of Stress. 100 Units.
This course explores the topic of stress and its influence on behavior and neurobiology. Specifically, the course will discuss how factors such as age, gender, and social context interact to influence how we respond to stressors both physiologically and behaviorally. The course will also explore how stress influences mental and physical health.
Instructor(s): G. Norman Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): NSCI 22535, PSYC 25750
CHDV 25900. Developmental Psychology. 100 Units.
This is an introductory course in developmental psychology, with a focus on cognitive and social development in infancy through early childhood. Example topics include children's early thinking about number, morality, and social relationships, as well as how early environments inform children's social and cognitive development. Where appropriate, we make links to both philosophical inquiries into the nature of the human mind, and to practical inquiries concerning education and public policy.
Instructor(s): K. O'Doherty, M. Fulcher, Winter; M. Fulcher, Spring Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Note(s): CHDV Distribution, B
Equivalent Course(s): EDSO 20500, PSYC 20500
CHDV 26000. Social Psychology. 100 Units.
This course introduces students to the field of social psychology - the scientific study of how people think about, feel about, interact with, influence, and relate to one another. Topics covered include self and social perception, social influence, beliefs and attitudes, altruism, and intergroup processes. Where relevant, we will discuss if and how findings in social psychology can be applied in real-world contexts such as health, work, and relationships.
Instructor(s): Y.C. Leong Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 20600
CHDV 26008. Principles and Methods of Measurement. 100 Units.
Accurate measurement of key theoretical constructs with known and consistent psychometric properties is one of the essential steps in quantitative social and behavioral research. However, measurement of phenomena that are not directly observable (such as psychological attributes, perceptions of organizational climate, or quality of services) is difficult. Much of the research in psychometrics has been developed in an attempt to properly define and quantify such phenomena. This course is designed to introduce students to the relevant concepts, principles, and methods underlying the construction and interpretation of tests or measures. It provides in-depth coverage of test reliability and validity, topics in test theory, and statistical procedures applicable to psychometric methods. Such understanding is essential for rigorous practice in measurement as well as for proper interpretation of research. The course is highly recommended for students who plan to pursue careers in academic research or applied practice involving the use or development of tests or measures in the social and behavioral sciences.
Instructor(s): Yanyan Sheng Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Course work or background experience in statistics through inferential statistics and linear regression.
Equivalent Course(s): SOSC 36008, PSYC 28962, SOSC 26008, CHDV 36008
CHDV 26050. Race, Ethnicity, Language, and Citizenship in the United States. 100 Units.
This course is intended to help students make sense of the current discourse on diversity and inclusion/exclusion from a historical perspective. They will be trained to read critically the evolution of political discourse on citizenship in the United States since the American Revolution. They will learn to detect the role of shifting interpretations of race and ethnicity, after that of European nationality, in determining who is (not) a (full) citizen. For instance, who counted as "American" in the early stages of the Republic? Why were Native Americans and (descendants of) forced immigrants from Africa excluded at the outset? How did English become the unofficial language of American citizenship and inclusion? What factors favored its rise and drove to extinction the competing European national languages?
Instructor(s): Salikoko Mufwene Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 36055, LING 36050, RDIN 26050, LING 26050
CHDV 26200. Signs of Crisis: Ethnographies of Self and Society in Turbulent Times. 100 Units.
Societies" and "selves" make each other up. Under ordinary circumstances, we know intuitively what it means to live in the world. We don't think much about it, though, until things start falling apart. Maybe you suffer a trauma or an environmental disaster hits. Maybe the political system you took for granted all these years collapses, or from one day to the next, your money loses all of its value. In moments like these, and only in retrospect, your "life" and "the world" become coherent things you can talk about, as in, "My life is falling apart," or, "This must be the end of the world as we know it." Going further, you might wonder, "What is a world, exactly? What is it composed of? And now, as it is falling apart, how do we begin to imagine, and plan for, a new kind of future?
Instructor(s): J. Cole
T. Edwards Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Completion of SOSC sequence Self, Culture and Society or Power, Identity Resistance is required. Instructor consent required.
Note(s): Categories - undergrad B, C, D; grads: 2,3
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 36200, ANTH 29000
CHDV 26700. Language and Technology. 100 Units.
This course is concerned with the complex cultural dynamics we are immersed in as users of language and technology. Exploring those dynamics, we will ask questions fundamental to the field of linguistic anthropology, like: Who am I, and how do I know for sure? How do I glean information from my environment, and how do my information-seeking activities generate information for others? What is "context"? How are competing contexts generated, activated, or contested, and by whom? How is the rapid and ongoing substitution of channels (e.g. visual, auditory, proprioceptive) consequential for how we live and what we do? How are the messages we send out transmitted, diverted, twisted, or missed entirely, and to what end? Each week, an over-arching question like this will be introduced in readings and a short lecture, along with a set of key concepts, which students will apply in thinking about the environments with which they are most familiar. Students will have opportunities to explore connections that interest them through a range of discussion-based activities in class and in a final project, which may take one of many forms.
Instructor(s): T. Edwards Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Distribution categories: Undergraduate: C, Graduate: 3
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 26700, CHDV 36700
CHDV 26910. Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. 100 Units.
It's not what you say, It's how you say it" An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. More than the content, the information, the semantic meanings of speech-all those aspects that tend to be the official function of language in our (and not just our) society-how does how we communicate, in all its subtle complexity, say something about us as persons? How do we "do things with words": signal identities (of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, religion, subculture), form social relations (of solidarity and community, of social hierarchy and invidious distinction, etc.), enact power and create social difference, indeed, shape thought and social reality itself? And how do how human societies do this vary across time and space, across cultures and contexts? And how can we productively study them? In this introduction to the field of linguistic anthropology, we explore how anthropological approaches to communication can elucidate these questions to these longstanding but pressing questions of human meaningfulness in cultural and political context.
Instructor(s): Constantine Nakassis Terms Offered: Autumn. Winter 2023
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 26910, LING 26910
CHDV 27015. Scientific and Humanistic Contributions to Knowledge Formation. 100 Units.
In this course, we will explore whether the sciences and the humanities can make complementary contributions to the formation of knowledge, thus leading to the integration and unification of human knowledge. In the first part of the course we will take a historical approach to the issue; we will discuss how art and science were considered complementary for much of the 18th and 19th century (for example, in the views and work of Wolfgang Goethe), how they became separate ('the two cultures') in the middle of the 20th century with the compartmentalization of academic disciplines, and how some attempts have recently been made at a reunification under the concept of 'consilience'. In the second part of the course, we will focus on conceptual issues such as the cognitive value of literature, the role of ideas in knowledge formation in science and literature, the role of creativity in scientific and literary production, and how scientific and philosophical ideas have been incorporated into literary fiction in the genre known as 'the novel of ideas'. As an example of the latter, we will read the novel 'One, No One, and 100,000' (1926) by Luigi Pirandello and discuss how this author elaborated and articulated a view of the human persona (including issues of identity and personality) from French philosophers and psychologists such as Henri Bergson and Alfred Binet.
Instructor(s): D. Maestripieri Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Satisfies CHD graduate program distribution (1) Comparative Behavioral Biology
Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 27515, KNOW 47015, SCTH 47015, CHDV 47015, CHSS 47015
CHDV 27099. Anthropology Of Trauma: Historical, Theoretical and Cross-Cultural Approaches. 100 Units.
Over the last several decades, "trauma" has become an overwhelmingly popular concept across the world. But what is trauma? What can trauma tell us about the relationship between ourselves, our pasts, and our futures? This course explores such questions from historical, theoretical, and anthropological perspectives. We will begin by studying early theorizations of "traumatic memory" as a painful shock to the psyche which could not be incorporated into the subject's conscious memory. We will then follow how these early theories were elaborated in studies of trauma during the World Wars and the invention/discovery of "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" and its enshrinement in the DSM 3. In the second part of the class, we will explore how theorists and practitioners expanded on an idea that had its roots in individual experience and eventually scaled it to describe broader shared phenomena such as "cultural trauma". Finally, in the third part of the class, we will turn to anthropology to ask how we may study the ways in which "trauma" is understood across the world today. What qualities of trauma are universal and which are socially particular? What do theories of trauma reveal and obscure when studying individual and collective suffering? We will seek to answer such questions by studying texts which consider trauma as both a specific global humanitarian discourse which travels, and as a universally occurring "social fact" which takes different shapes across different locals.
Instructor(s): Z. Berman Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 27099, HLTH 27099
CHDV 27861. Darwinism and Literature. 100 Units.
In this course we will explore the notion that literary fiction can contribute to the generation of new knowledge of the human mind, human behavior, and human societies. Some novelists in the late 19th and early 20th century provided fictional portrayals of human nature that were grounded into Darwinian theory. These novelists operated within the conceptual framework of the complementarity of science and literature advanced by Goethe and the other romantics. At a time when novels became highly introspective and psychological, these writers used their literary craftsmanship to explore and illustrate universals aspects of human nature. In this course we read the work of several novelists such as George Eliot, HG Wells, Joseph Conrad, Jack London, Yuvgeny Zamyatin, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Italo Svevo, and Elias Canetti, and discuss how these authors anticipated the discoveries made decades later by cognitive, social, and evolutionary psychology.
Instructor(s): D. Maestripieri Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Distribution requirements: Undergraduate: A; Graduate: 1
Equivalent Course(s): KNOW 31418, CHSS 34921, KNOW 21418, HIST 34921, CHDV 37861, HIPS 24921, HIST 24921
CHDV 27950. Evolution and Economics of Human Behavior. 100 Units.
This course explores how evolutionary biology and behavioral economics explain many different aspects of human behavior. Specific topics include evolutionary theory, natural and sexual selection, game theory, cost-benefit analyses of behavior from an evolutionary and a behavioral economics perspective, aggression, power and dominance, cooperation and competition, biological markets, parental investment, life history and risk-taking, love and mating, physical attractiveness and the market, emotion and motivation, sex and consumer behavior, cognitive biases in decision-making, and personality and psychopathology.
Instructor(s): D. Maestripieri Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): CHDV Distribution: Undergraduate subject area: A, Graduate distribution: 1
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 37950, ECON 14810, PSYC 27950, PSYC 37950, BIOS 29265
CHDV 28301. Disability and Design. 100 Units.
Disability is often an afterthought, an unexpected tragedy to be mitigated, accommodated, or overcome. In cultural, political, and educational spheres, disabilities are non-normative, marginal, even invisible. This runs counter to many of our lived experiences of difference where, in fact, disabilities of all kinds are the "new normal." In this interdisciplinary course, we center both the category and experience of disability. Moreover, we consider the stakes of explicitly designing for different kinds of bodies and minds. Rather than approaching disability as a problem to be accommodated, we consider the affordances that disability offers for design. This course begins by situating us in the growing discipline of Disability Studies and the activist (and intersectional) Disability Justice movement. We then move to four two-week units in specific areas where disability meets design: architecture, infrastructure, and public space; education and the classroom; economics, employment, and public policy; and aesthetics. Traversing from architecture to art, and from education to economic policy, this course asks how we can design for access.
Instructor(s): M. Friedner, J. Iverson Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth-year standing
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 38301, MUSI 35719, MUSI 25719, HLTH 28301, BPRO 28300, MAAD 28300
CHDV 28955. Disability and Sexuality. 100 Units.
How have academics, activists, and policymakers across the world addressed the intersection of disability and sexuality? What are the different perspectives and issues of concern for stakeholders regarding the sexuality of disabled people? What are the social, ethical, and political stakes of talking about, representing, and analysing the nexus of disability and sexuality from a foundation in the social sciences? This class addresses these questions by engaging with a wide variety of sources, such as, ethnographic, gender studies, and disability studies writings, memoirs, blog posts, and documentaries. We begin by learning about the foundational social science concepts of disability and sexuality separately. We next move to examining key frameworks, perspectives, and debates regarding the sexual lives of disabled people. Through the class, we analyze how disability, age, gender, race, class, geographic location, and queerness shape sexual experiences of disabled people. We will consider themes of bodily pleasure and control, romantic love and marriage, reproductive choice and constraints, and the role of kinship and family. In the latter half of the class, we move to memoirs, ethnographic accounts, and documentaries that highlight the lived experiences and perspectives of disabled people. These texts and our discussions will bring up questions of ethics of representation (who gets to talk about whose sexuality), sexual autonomy, care, and personhood more broadly.
Instructor(s): S. Vaidya Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 28001, GNSE 12122
CHDV 29700. Undergraduate Reading and Research. 100 Units.
Select section from faculty list on web.
Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.
CHDV 29800. BA Honors Seminar. 100 Units.
Required for students seeking departmental honors, this seminar is designed to help develop an honors paper project that will be approved and supervised by a HD faculty member. A course preceptor will guide students through the process of research design and proposal writing.
Instructor(s): K. Robbins Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the Director of Undergraduate Studies
Note(s): Eligible students should plan to take the BA Honors Seminar in the Spring Quarter of their third year.
CHDV 29900. Honors Paper Preparation. 100 Units.
The CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation course helps students successfully complete work on their BA honors paper. In order to complete honors, students who successfully took CHDV 29800 in Spring Quarter of their third year must register for CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation during Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, as a 13th required course. Students are encouraged to collect their data over the summer; then this course scaffolds the process of analyzing data (such as transcription and coding) and writing up BA papers (such as tips on describing methods and peer review). The grade assigned by their thesis supervisor on the final BA paper is retroactively assigned as the grade for this course.
Instructor(s): K. Robbins Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): CHDV 29800 and an approved honors paper. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.