HIS4616 Cambodia: Rebuilding Culture and Economy After Genocide

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

In this action-oriented seminar students will explore the historical, political, and cultural events that shape Cambodian politics, culture and economy in Cambodia and the Cambodian diaspora today. After a brief historical introduction including the 600 years of Angkor civilization, Buddhism, and French colonialism, we will study the Khmer Rouge genocide (1975-1979) and its aftermath, and the current revival of society, economy, music, film, and dance. Our texts will include histories, memoirs, films, fieldtrips (as possible during Covid-19) and interviews in Lowell, MA - the second largest Cambodian-American community in the U.S. Students may be able to include a service learning component by teaching English online to 7-9th graders in a rural Cambodian school.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: HIS4616
  • Number of Credits: 4

SOC4615 Childhood and Youth
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course exercises the sociological imagination in understanding how children are molded by social institutions and interactions, as well as the manner in which children utilize agency to react to, change, and reproduce their own social realities. By examining childhood, students will gain an understanding of how inequalities and opportunities are pervasive shapers of children's realities and adulthood outcomes, from both interpersonal and structural levels. Through in-class discussions and writing assignments, students will explore and critique theories of childhood. Reflecting on the perspectives of children as socialized beings and as social actors, we will analyze the intersecting roles of the family, culture, education, authority, gender, race, social class, and ideology in shaping childhood.


Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: SOC4615
  • Number of Credits: 4

HSS2013 China Today: The Dragon Rises
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This intermediate history course will introduce you to China's dynamic present within the context of the complex legacy of the Chinese past. We will examine the historical, cultural, political, and economic development of post 1949 China, with brief introductions to relevant aspects of the imperial past. You will gain a nuanced appreciation for the incredible economic growth of China from 1990 to the present, and the concomitant problems of state-society relations, human rights, minority relations, the environment, and the gaps between the rich and the poor and the urban and rural citizens. We will take advantage of Boston's resources through site visits to view Chinese art, undertake a scavenger hunt in Chinatown, and enjoy Chinese food. We will explore China through the use of scholarship, fiction, maps, memoir, art, film, and music.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: HSS2013
  • Number of Credits: 4

POL4645 Comparative Latin American Politics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Comparative politics is a core subfield of Political Science and International Relations. The study of comparative politics has a lively and engaging body of scholars who are dedicated to understanding the potentials and limitations of democracy. The field has developed many interesting areas of research focusing on the comparison of political systems, national institutions, gender rights, environmental issues, and economic development.

This is an advanced level course, focused on contemporary Latin American politics. The course begins with an introduction to theories and methods of comparative politics, and a brief overview of basic concepts in political science such as different forms of government, electoral systems, and democratic systems. The course then discusses six central themes in comparative politics in Latin America: Party Systems and Political Representation, Economic Development and Inequality, Environmental Policies, Gender Policies, Regional Migration, and Foreign Relations. In each of these six themes, we will use cases from various Latin American countries for an in-depth discussion.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: POL4645
  • Number of Credits: 4

HSS2033 Comparative Politics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
Comparative politics is a field that seeks to understand political dynamics within states and to understand a variety of political phenomena common in many countries. This course will use such cases as Britain, France, Russia, China, Iran, India, and Brazil to look at issues of nationalism, economic policies, institutional design, development, and social change. Comparative Politics is also characterized by a methodology that seeks to illuminate the reasons for similarities and differences across countries and provide some tools to think more critically about various political claims and proposals.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: HSS2033
  • Number of Credits: 4

POL4630 Critical Race and Indigenous Studies
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
What is race? Who are Indigenous people? What is white supremacy? What is settler colonialism? These questions form the general basis for a class that will bring together Critical Race Studies and Critical Indigenous Studies. A uniting premise of both of these types of "studies" is that race and racial injustice and Indigenous people's claims and experience of marginalization continue to shape political, social, economic, and cultural life. In other words, we do not live in a post-racial or a post-colonial society - white supremacy and settler colonialism persist. This, however, does not end the discussion. Instead, it raises many questions about the history of race as a social and political construct and of the role of Indigenous political struggle and settler colonial rule. This approach also requires us to understand what white supremacy and settler colonialism mean, theoretically and in practice, on their own and in relationship to each other. Along with these concepts, the course will introduce students to such concepts as whiteness as a political identity, the Black radical tradition, the model-minority myth, racial capitalism, intersectionality, queer theory, and many others. Much of the material for the course focuses on the history and present of the U.S. context, but this does not limit the direction the course can take in class discussion and, more importantly, in the papers and projects students produce to fulfill the class requirements.


Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: POL4630
  • Number of Credits: 4

CSP2051

4 Credits

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: CSP2051
  • Number of Credits: 4

CSP2050

4 Credits

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: CSP2050
  • Number of Credits: 4

CVA2008 Cultural Anthropology
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology is a four credit intermediate History and Society course. The central focus of this course is the phenomenon of culture, that remarkable accomplishment that makes humans unique among all other species. We will use the concept of culture to investigate the question of what it means to be human. A major area of focus will be upon the ways cultural meanings are generated, shared, symbolized, ritualized, contested and altered in the face of different types of challenges. We will also study the relationship of cultural meaning to different economic, kinship and political systems. Throughout the course, as we study a variety of unfamiliar societies, we will continually refer back to our own societies with the goal of looking at our own ways of doing things with a new frame of mind. This frame of mind, or anthropological perspective, searches for the internal logics and constellations of values and beliefs that underpin all societies and subcultures. Central to this course is a succession of small fieldwork projects. This course will particularly strengthen your multicultural and rhetorical competencies

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: CVA2008
  • Number of Credits: 4

CSP2008 Cultural Anthropology

(Formerly CVA2008)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology is a four credit intermediate History and Society course. The central focus of this course is the phenomenon of culture, that remarkable accomplishment that makes humans unique among all other species. We will use the concept of culture to investigate the question of what it means to be human. A major area of focus will be upon the ways cultural meanings are generated, shared, symbolized, ritualized, contested and altered in the face of different types of challenges. We will also study the relationship of cultural meaning to different economic, kinship and political systems. Throughout the course, as we study a variety of unfamiliar societies, we will continually refer back to our own societies with the goal of looking at our own ways of doing things with a new frame of mind. This frame of mind, or anthropological perspective, searches for the internal logics and constellations of values and beliefs that underpin all societies and subcultures. Central to this course is a succession of small fieldwork projects. This course will particularly strengthen your multicultural and rhetorical competencies

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: CSP2008
  • Number of Credits: 4