This course in statistics for the Social Sciences, which necessarily must include the study of research methodology, is essentially the study of the body of methods for making wise decisions in the face of uncertainty. Thus, in addition to the lay definition of statistics as a collection of numerical facts, it refers to a subject matter, important components of which are the concepts of probability and error. The subject matter of statistics is the available methodology to analyze data in order to make decisions based on that analysis. Statistics is part of the scientific method used in dealing with phenomena that has been described numerically, either by counts of measurements. There are three main purposes of this course: first, to provide the student with a detailed beginning knowledge of the methods of statistics enabling the solving of date problems; second, to enable the student to understand decisions as to the best choice of statistical methods based on the nature of the measurements present in the data; and third, to provide the necessary background which will allow one to successfully read, understand and interpret research reports in social science disciplines that contain statistical conclusion.

'From my inmost soul do I detest that sort of inquisitive indolence, so common at present in this country, which is perpetually asking the pestering question, what news? what news? the question comes from a character made up of a boy's curiosity, a girl's timidity, and a dotard's garrulity. If you be HUMAN BEINGS, to whom I address myself, MAKE NEWS.' Thus did William Drennan, the Dublin obstetrician, address himself to his "fellow slaves" in 1784. The link between the past and the future lies in human agency, and since Seattle 1999 it has flourished at the urban venues of international banking and trading, advancing the discussion of planetary poverty, intellectual property rights, and accumulation of riches. The discussion progresses with action. The course examines the phases of globalization with a view to contributing to the new one. One book looks at globalization from below, a new book called The Many Headed Hydra; Sailors, Slaves, Commoners In The Hidden History Of The Revolutionary Atlantic. Other readings include Daniel Singer, Whose Millenium? Theirs Or Ours, and Midnight Notes Collective, Auroras Of The Zapatistas, Jerry Mander, The Case Against The Global Economy."

Titled after the famous C.L.R. James essay, this course looks at the ideas of writers located outside the U.S. (in Africa and its diaspora) who directly influenced African-American political thought in the twentieth century. In addition to James, we will read Aimé Césaire, Léopold Senghor, Franz Fanon, Maryse Condé and others.

The powers that be present the death penalty to us as indispensable logic in the attainment of justice: yet wherever we find it we also find terror and slavery, or the mockery of justice. A brief survey of the death penalty in human history quickly illustrates the theme that the death penalty is an aspect of power not justice: that is a survey we must make in the context of the current debate. We must read some fundamental tracts of our time, Sister Prejean's Dead Man's Walking and Mumia Abu Jamal's Live From Death Row. We must engage with the discussion of the death penalty that transpires on death row and its prison environs. We recall Jose Marti, the Cuban poet of the hemisphere, and his vow: "Red as a desert sun/The sun rose at the horizon/And shone upon a dead slave hanged/From a mountain ceiba. A small boy witnessed it/And trembled for the groaning men; At the victim's feet he vowed to cleanse/That crime with his life". What is at stake in the discussion of the death penalty is the devalorization of human life and labor. Our researches will be applied and published.

The media play an immense role in our society, and shape our lives in ways undreamt of only a few generations ago. This course has a twofold purpose--to learn how the press, television, advertising, etc, are structured to serve the purposes of power and social control; and to teach students to become "media literate." Thus roughly half the time will be spent in studying readings about the various ideological functions of the media, while the other half will be spent in learning interpretative skills that can enable students to develop an active as against a passive role in relation to the media. To this end, the last few sessions will be devoted to the theme of resistance to the media and the making of an alternative media.

This course will focus on the legal boundaries between individual autonomy and state control. These boundaries, however, are never static since the Constitution is an organic document, subject to continual interpretation by the Supreme Court. Topics of study will include the nature and limits of freedom of speech and religion, equal protection (including affirmative action), intimacy and privacy (including abortion), due process in criminal law, and emerging concepts of constitutional adjudication such as critical legal studies and feminist jurisprudence. Landmark Supreme Court cases and opinions will be examined, enabling the student to consider the process of legal reasoning and the Court's reliance upon or deviation from prior legal authority. Relevant commentaries and historical documents will be read and discussed as well.

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.