Social and Behavioral Sciences

The College of Letters and Science Seven-Course Breadth requirement and American Cultures Breadth requirement are the foundation of the college's liberal arts program. It can only be fulfilled with college coursework; AP exams and other high school work do not count toward this requirement.

Analyze the determinants of human behavior, the dynamics of social interaction among human beings, and the complex political, economic, social, cultural, and psychological factors at play in societies. Courses meeting this requirement include courses in development studies, economics, political economy, history, legal studies, political science, sociology, social welfare, and many courses in anthropology, linguistics and psychology.

* - Courses that also fulfill the American Cultures Breadth requirement

These courses are provisional and may be adjusted based on unforeseen circumstances.

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Anthropology 1—Introduction to Biological Anthropology (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XANTHRO 1

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Either the Biological Science or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: An introductory course providing a comprehensive introduction to the field of Biological Anthropology. It is a study of the processes and products of human evolution. Topics we will cover include evolutionary history and theory, systematics, genetics, primate behavior and ecology, comparative primate anatomy, the primate fossil record with emphasis on the human lineage, human variation and adaptation, the origins of culture, and human biocultural evolution.

Schedule of Classes

Asian American Studies 20A—Introduction to the History of Asians in the United States (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XASAMST 20A

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Either the Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C− or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: Examine critical aspects of Asian-American histories and experiences from 1848 to the present. Gain a historical framework for a basic understanding of the experiences of the major Asian-American groups and an analytical foundation for comparative analyses. You will understand national and international factors that have an impact on migration and related policies; intersecting issues of race, class and gender relations; interclass conflicts between labor and capital; and intraclass conflicts as evidenced by labor agitation against Asian migration and resettlement. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Schedule of Classes

Environmental Science Policy and Management 50AC—Introduction to Culture and Natural Resource Management (4 units)*

Also Fulfills AC Requirement

Department Abbreviation: XESPM 50AC

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Both the American Cultures requirement and either the Historical Studies, Philosophy and Values, or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: An introduction to how culture affects the way we use and manage fire, wildland and urban forests, rangelands, parks and preserves, and croplands in America. The basic concepts and tools for evaluating the role of culture in resource use and management are introduced and used to examine the experience of American cultural groups in the development and management of western natural resources.

Schedule of Classes

Ethnic Studies 21AC—A Comparative Survey of Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States (4 units)*

Also Fulfills AC Requirement

Department Abbreviation: XETHSTD 21AC

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Both the American Cultures requirement and either the Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: Examine the historical experiences of European immigrants, African Americans and Latinos, emphasizing the themes of migration and economic change since the late-19th century. You will also learn about the experiences of Asian Americans, Native Americans and recently arrived immigrants in the context of the course themes. Throughout the course, discuss intragroup differences such as gender, socioeconomic stratification and cultural variation.

Schedule of Classes

Gender and Women’s Studies 10—Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XGWS 10

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C− or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: Get an introduction to questions and concepts in gender and women's studies. Critically study the formation of gender and its intersections with other relations of power, such as sexuality, racialization, class, religion and age. Questions are addressed within the context of a transnational world. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Schedule of Classes

Geography 4—World Peoples and Cultural Environments (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XGEOG 4

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Either the International Studies or the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade.

Course Description: Historical and contemporary cultural-environmental patterns. The development and spread of cultural adaptations, human use of resources, transformation and creation of human environments.

Class Description: Refugees, Climate Change, and Human Rights—This course examines the reasons behind the movement of people across national boundaries on a significant scale in the context of civil wars, fear of persecution, climate change, economic crises, armed conflict, collapsing and fragile states, natural disasters, violations of human rights, and the threat of terrorism and generalized violence. It also explores climate-related human mobility, migration, and displacement as responses to climatic and environmental changes.

Schedule of Classes

Global Studies 10B—Critical Issues in Global Studies (3 units)

Department Abbreviation: XGLOBAL 10B

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade.

Course Description: Global Studies 10B serves as an introduction to the Global Studies curriculum. Global Studies 10B introduces students to global issues through the lens of the humanities, such as art, literature, film, and culture. The topic of Global Studies 10B will vary from year to year, depending on the instructor. Students in each iteration of this course will learn about salient global interactions from a variety of cultural perspectives.

Class Description: Media and cinema in global cultures - In this course, we will study media and cinema as everyday stories deepening our relationship with global cultures and flows. We will study closely how visual storytelling affects our understanding of race, gender, health, immigration, justice, and other related issues in global cultures and politics.

Schedule of Classes

History 7B (AC)—The United States From Civil War to Present (4 units)*

This course fulfills the American History requirement, as well as the American Cultures Requirement

Department Abbreviation: XHISTOR 7B

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Both the American Cultures requirement and either the Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade. It also fulfills the American History requirement.

Course Description: Examine the experiences and conflicts that comprise American society's history. You will be exposed to a wide range of historical actors and dialogues in order to understand the past, from the perspective of the men and women who experienced it and to gain some insight into the daily lives of Americans: work and leisure, cultures and ideologies, relations with one another, and the political and economic system under which they lived. Lectures and readings focus on the complex interplay among political, economic and cultural interests, and will examine, in particular depth, race relations, the laboring classes, reform movements, the interior of American lives, the changing conditions for success and survival in the culture Americans were shaping, and the emerging role of the United States as a world power.

Schedule of Classes

History 30—Science and Society (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XHISTOR 30

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Either the Historical Studies, Philosophy and Values, or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C− or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: Science as we know it is the product of a historical process. In this course, we will explore the emergence of its concepts, practices, goals, and cognitive authority by surveying its roots in their social and cultural setting. We will trace the development of conceptions of the natural world from antiquity through the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment and up to the modern age. All the sciences fall within our purview, from their early forms up to today.

Schedule of Classes

Philosophy 2—Individual Morality and Social Justice (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XPHILOS 2

Prerequisite: None; however, this is a writing- and reading-intensive course, and students' writing skills should exceed the College Writing course level.

Satisfies: Either the Philosophy and Values or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade.

Course Description: Is there anything to be said in a principled way about “right” and “wrong” action? Is there some conception of “the good” that governs how we should conduct our lives and justifies our moral practices? In virtue of what is it possible that we are free to be held accountable for our deeds?

Schedule of Classes

Philosophy 3—The Nature of Mind (4 units)

Department Abbreviation: XPHILOS 3

Prerequisite: None; however, this is a writing- and reading-intensive course, and students' writing skills should exceed the College Writing course level.

Satisfies: Philosophy and Values breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade.

Course Description: What is the nature of the mind and consciousness? What can we know about the existence of other minds and their contents? What is the relation between mental entities and physical entities? Is the mind just the brain, or is the mind immaterial? We will be examining major issues in the philosophy of mind and some issues in epistemology.

Schedule of Classes

Political Science 1—Introduction to American Politics (4 units)

This course also fulfills the American Institutions requirement.

Department Abbreviation: XPOLSCI 1

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade.

Course Description: An introductory analysis of the structure and operations of the American political system, primarily at the national level.

Schedule of Classes

Psychology 1—General Psychology (3 units)

Department Abbreviation: XPSYCH 1

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C− or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: This course allows students to explore the field of psychology. It is designed to provide a historical and structural overview of the field. Upon completion, student will be prepared for future courses, having developed both the skill set and knowledge base that is expected.

Schedule of Classes

Sociology 3AC—Principles of Sociology: American Cultures (4 units)*

Also fulfills AC Requirement

Department Abbreviation: XSOCIOL 3AC

Prerequisite: None

Satisfies: Both the American Cultures requirement and the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth category if completed with a C- or better or a Passed grade

Course Description: Comparing the experience of three out of five ethnic groups (i.e., African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos/Latinos, European Americans and Native Americans), you examine historically how each people entered American society and built communities and transformed their cultures in the process. Gain an introduction to the sociological perspective; characteristic methods of research; and key concepts such as culture, community, class, race, social change and social movements. Three hours of lecture per week.

Schedule of Classes