SOCIAL STUDIES

CRN	90260	Distribution	C
Course No.	SST 110
Title	Approaches to the Study of Race & Ethnicity in the United States
Professor	Aureliano De Soto
Schedule	Wed Fri 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 303

Cross-listed: American Studies, MES

This course seeks to introduce the student to concepts and frameworks for the study of racial and ethnic formations in the United States from the colonial to contemporary periods. The course conducts a survey of key texts that examine the social, cultural, and historic formation of major racial/ethnic identities in the USA, including Blacks, Latinas/os, Asian Americans, and whiteness. Central topics include European attitudes towards non-European populations in British North America, paradoxes of American liberty and revolutionary thought, African slavery, histories of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, patterns of assimilation, acculturalization, and resistance, and the impact of social movements of the 1960s on contemporary expressions of racial and ethnic identity. The course provides students with am interdisciplinary framework for advanced work on race and ethnicity in the United States in literature, history, and the social sciences. A general familiarity with U. S. history is recommended.

CRN	90325	Distribution	C
Course No.	SST 220
Title	Marxism & Radical Social Theory
Professor	Joel Kovel
Schedule	Mon Wed 10:00 am - 11:20 am OLIN 201

Cross-listed: Political Studies

Though one of the most consequential doctrines of modern history, Marxism is now in grave crisis and has been written off by many. This course will explore the essentials of Marxism, evaluate its various interpretations, and assess its future in light of recent capitalist victories. Roughly half the sessions will be devoted to the basic writings of Marx and the remainder to key texts of other Marxist thinkers, for example, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Gramsci and Marcuse, among others. Limited to 25 students. Open to first-year students.

CRN	90261	Distribution	C
Course No.	SST 227
Title	The Latina/o Condition: An Introduction to Latina/o Studies
Professor	Aureliano De Soto
Schedule	Tu Th 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 301

Cross-listed: American Studies, MES

This course introduces students to the field of Latina/o Studies through a broad survey of critical and historical writings by and about Latina/o populations in the United States, including Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, and Central Americans. This study is organized around a series of central questions, including: Who is a Latina/o? What is the relationship between race and ethnicity for Latinas/os? What are the political and historical convergences and divergences among different Latina/o national subgroups? What are the educational, linguistic, and political issues confronting Latinas/os in the USA? The course will provide students with basic analytical and critical frameworks for advanced study of Latinas/os in literature, the arts, history, and the social sciences. A general familiarity with U. S. history is recommended.

CRN	90324	Distribution	C
Course No.	SST 332
Title	The Ecological Crisis
Professor	Joel Kovel
Schedule	Mon 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm OLIN 301

The course surveys the ecological crisis in all its dimensions: biological, political, economic, technological, scientific, cultural, psychological, ethical, philosophical, and spiritual. Does it have an "efficient cause," a main dynamism that can be isolated and overcome? The dominant system of production, capitalism, is investigated in this light. Finally, the course considers the overriding questions, What is to be done? What social, technological, psychological, and spiritual changes are necessary to overcome the crisis; how do existing ecological movements measure up against these goals? Limited enrollment, but open to students of all levels.