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Courses
This course concentrates on the study of anthropology as defined by its four sub-fields. These fields include physical/biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology &am linguistics. It emphasizes the study of people – both past and present – as well as the study of the physical world prior to and after the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMHs).
This course is an examination of the nature, function, and evolution of culture in Western and non-Western traditional societies. Family and kinship, religion, economic and political institutions are comparatively examined.
Pre/Co-Requisites: ENGL 112 and SSC 101
This course examines humans as biological organisms from an evolutionary perspective. It introduces important concepts, methods, finds and issues in the study of the Order of the Primates, including the relationships among fossil monkeys, apes and humans and the significance of genetic diversity of modern human populations.
This class introduces the study of past cultures and their environments. Course emphasis is on the scientific methods used in the social sciences, including research design, and the analytical techniques used by archaeologists to interpret chronology, taphonomy, source production areas, networks and human-environment interactions. It introduces important concepts, methods, findings and issues in the study of archaeological remains found around the globe.
The course introduces key concepts, themes, methodologies and tools of Geography. It defines Geography and discusses its importance and relationship to other sciences. The spatial variation in earth’s environment, population growth, distribution, economic activities and their global interconnections are also discussed.
Pre-Requisites: None
The course will examine the various components of the natural environment, the nature and characteristics of the physical elements, the physical process involved in their development, their distribution and basic interrelationships. Among the topics to be treated are size and shape of the earth and earth movements. Others are the composition of the atmosphere, weather and climate; temperature, precipitation, humidity, air pressure, and winds. Students will be trained in the art of using weather instruments to measure these elements. The course will also discuss modern weather maps, world climatic regions and influence of climate on vegetation, soil, and human activities.
Pre-requisite: ENGL 150
The main purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of Geography as a Social Science by emphasizing the concepts that relate to humans. The course will provide answers to basic questions which Human Geographers often ask-where do people live? Why are they there? How do the different cultural groups earn a living in their environments? What are the consequences of their activities for mother earth? The course will also discuss levels of economic development; spatial distribution of more developed countries; types of economic activities (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary); settlement geography (urban and rural); growth of the megalopolis; population growth and environmental deterioration.
Pre-requisite: ENGL 150 or Permission of chairperson
The course focuses on the analysis and explanation of spatial variations on the earth’s surface of activities related to the production, exchange and consumption of goods and services using maps, models and generalizations. The activities are discussed under the headings; primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and quinary. The students will explore the dynamics associated with the selected activities and discuss their global interdependence.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150, GEOG 101 or GEOG 202 or Permission of chairperson
The course introduces the students to the regional variations in the major features of the natural and human environments of the United States and Canada. It discusses the early settlements, population growth, and distribution, economic growth and transformations. Emphasis will be on the analysis and explanation of rapid changes in urbanization, industrialization, agricultural production, and trade and population distribution. Current problems such as ethnicity, environmental deterioration and the widening gap between the rich and poor will be discussed.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 150, GEOG 201 or 202
This course introduces students to geographic information systems (GIS). GIS is used to analyze spatial patterns and processes; it has wide applications in the social sciences, environmental management, business administration, and public policy. The course introduces students to methods, data, and technology used in geospatial analysis. Topics include spatial analysis, spatial data structures and databases, principles of cartography, and tools for data collection and editing.
Pre-requisites: MTH 115
This course examines the interaction between nature and society, with emphasis on natural resources and environmental conservation. The course familiarizes students with scholarship on human impacts on the environment. It analyzes the spatial dimensions of environmental conservation, environmental degradation, and natural resource management. The course applies these ideas to case studies of environmental conservation, environmental problems, and natural resources. It evaluates debates over sustainable development and environmental justice.
Pre-requisites: GEOG 101 or 201 or 202
The course introduces basic concepts, themes and theories in Urban Geography and examines the historical evolution of cities, their contemporary location patterns, physical environment, transportation and land use dynamics. Development of housing, gentrification, urban ethnicity, intra urban migration, function, urban planning and problems are also analyzed with particular reference to the New York Metropolis and Borough of Brooklyn.
Pre-Requisites: GEOG 201 or 202
The course provides an overview of the origins of civilizations to the age of European exploration, including contributions of the great cultures of Africa, Europe, the Near and Far East, and The Americas. Emphasis will be placed on the religious, social, and political ideas and institutions of these cultures.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 112
The course begins with the age of European exploration and ends with contemporary societies. Emphasis will be placed on the rise of monarchies, political, economic and social revolutions, and the emergence of the Third World.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 112
This course surveys American history from the Pre-Columbian peoples to the present. Among the topics to be studied are: the character of colonial society; the motivations and character of American expansionism; the War of Independence and the Federal Constitution; the changing role of government in American life; the intellectual and political expressions of nationalism, liberalism, and abolitionism; the nature of work and labor organization; immigration and the history of racial and ethnic minorities; urbanization and other major movements and individual figures in American history. An emphasis is placed on the development of constitutional rights.
Pre-requisite: ENGL 150
This course is a topical examination of themes relevant to the history and culture of the African American population in the Western hemisphere with particular reference to gender and socio-economic class relations. Topics will include African origins, African American intellectual thought, slavery, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, the struggle for human rights, the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, United States foreign policy in African and the Caribbean, and contemporary ethnicity in African American life and culture.
Pre-requisite: ENGL 150
This course explores early American History through the discussion and analysis of Original documents from the Mayflower to the Civil War. The dynamics in the development of early American History and society are explored in such documents as: The Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, the US Constitution, the Dred Scott Decision and many others.
Pre-Requisites: HIST 101 or HIST 102 and ENGL 112
This course will discuss the Black experience in the United States from 1619 to the Civil War. The origins of status duality in American society, and the contributions of Blacks in the making of America will be emphasized.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 1502
This course surveys the social, economic, cultural and political impacts of the Civil War and the Post Reconstruction Period on Afro American communities in America.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
The colonial background to the independence struggle, the goals of the founding fathers, the Constitution and its evolution, westward expansion and interaction with aboriginal peoples, the Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery and emancipation, the growth of capitalism, trade unionism, populism, and education will be discussed.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
The growth of the economy, and power during the 20th Century; the internal problems of social justice, civil rights, urban development, and the impact of science and technology will be discussed. In general, the course will focus on the increasing complexity of American life and on the efforts made to cope with that complexity.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
This course is a survey of African history from earliest times to the end of the 18th Century, including discussions of the people of Africa in the ancient world, the spread of Islam, and the kingdoms of the savannah and forest. Early European contacts with Africa and trade are studied.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
This is a survey of the development of the Caribbean Islands and mainland countries of Guyana and Belize. It also deals with European conquest, slavery, emancipation, and political independence.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
This is a study of selected aspects of the history of Europe. These aspects include the Roman, Christian, Islamic, and “barbarian” contributions to European civilization; the Renaissance and the genesis of the expansion of Europe; the consequences to European wealth and power of such expansion; the agricultural and industrial revolution of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
Major currents which have helped to shape modern Europe, including, but not limited to: political revolutions -English (1668), French (1789), and Russian (1917); the Industrial Revolution; 19th and 20th Century patterns of imperialism and the rise of the modern nation state. European international relations in the 19th and 20th Century will be addressed.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
This course explores the development of cities from a historical perspective. An attempt is made to analyze the historical patterns that have led to the growth of cities into large metropolitan areas. The course will also examine the problems and prospects of the modern city. Case studies will be used where necessary to highlight Western and non-Western cities.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
This course focuses on strategies employed by women during the course of the Civil Rights Movement to gain visibility and access to leadership activities within a movement fundamentally driven by the decision-making power of men. The course pulls women’s roles into historical consciousness and makes visible women’s critical contributions to various civil rights campaigns. We will also backdrop the sociological and cultural dynamics that determined women’s roles, and survey the impact of women’s diversity in the Civil Rights Movement.
Pre-requisite(s): ENGL 150 and HIST 101
The role of women in Western Society from the earliest times to the present is examined. Literary works by women as well as primary sources are utilized to assess the historical position of women including the opportunities available to them within their historical contexts.
Pre-Requisites: HIST 101 or HIST 102 and HIST 208 and ENGL 150
This course will study the involuntary migration of African peoples to the Caribbean, Central, and South America. The major themes thathave helped to define the unique milieu of peoples of African descent in these societies will be addressed. Case study topics to be covered include responses to slavery by the African slaves, race and ethnicity, the survival of African cultures, Black Social Movements, and the role of Black peoples in the nation building process.
Pre-Requisites: HIST 101 or HIST 102 and HIST 208 and ENGL 150
This course will discuss the development, approaches, and accomplishments of Black Civil Rights Movements in the United States. Emphasis will be placed upon the growth of the radicalmilitant and the conservative leadership patterns in the Black struggle for social equality and justice in American society.
A discussion of the philosophical and ideological issues around which social and political movements evolve and the political impact of these Movements. Focus is on such movements as the Chicano, Civil Rights, Students and Black Liberation Movements. Readings will include essays by Salazar, Savio, Malcolm X, Rustin, Fanon, Marcuse, and St. Clair Drake.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150 and HIST 200
This course is a comparative study of slavery in selected countries illustrating the peculiarities of the laws, treatment, and use of slaves, and progress toward emancipation in the various systems (Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, American, and British).
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150 and HIST 201
This course is designed to assist students in the examination of Slavery, Colonialism, and Independence on the African Continent. Historical developments within the Continent will be studied with emphasis on their similarities and differences. The stimuli for change in the various societies and regions will be highlighted. For example, the impact of Islam in North, West, and East Africa will be compared, and the changing pattern of commerce in West and East Africa will be studied. Similarly, the African experience during the periods of European conquest, colonization, national liberation, and nation-building at independence will also be examined.
Pre-requisites: HIST 101 or HIST 102 and HIST 208 and ENGL 150
This course deals with selected issues that have helped to form the unique African-American culture and history. It examines the major forces and people that have contributed to the creation of that history. Topics such as Blacks in slavery, emancipation, reconstruction, northward migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights, and Black Nationalist Movements will be critically examined.
Pre-Requisites: HIST 101 or HIST 102, HIST 208 and ENGL 150
Basic concepts in political science, including the nature of political power, definitions of basic terms; constitutional and behavioral approaches used in the study of political science. ENGL 112
The constitutional framework, of the U.S. political system, with special attention to relationship between cities, states, national government in the system; the relations between the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court; the nature of the American political party system, and of the workings of interest groups; relationship between the American social, economic, and political systems; and contemporary issues in American government are examined.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 112 and POL 101
This course focuses on the political systems in selected nations in Western and Eastern Europe, systems in developing areas. It considers the impact of the economic system on that political system and vice versa and discusses political culture as a variant in comparative analysis.
Pre-Requisites: POL 101 and ENGL 112
This course covers the basis of relationships between nations; the role of region and world international organizations and of international law in international relations; basic considerations underlying the development blocs; theories of international system; contrasts between third world and major powers in regard to inception of international relations are examined.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150
Studies include emphasis on the federal system context and upon administrative and political decentralization, with special reference to the inner city; fiscal aspects of state, federal and local relationships, techniques for citizen influence on the political process. Especially in terms of needs of inner cities; problems of rural and “suburban” political power in relation to urban political power in relation especially the inner city.
Pre-Requisites: POL 200
Studies include the emergence of a third world movement in the Post World War II period; the concept of non-alignment; impact of the third world movement on international politics generally and, upon the major powers in particular. Third world challenges to the prevailing assumptions of the international legal, political and economic systems are examined.
Pre-Requisites: POL 101 and ENGL 112
This is a survey of the development of the American foreign policy system from the revolutionary period to the present. Discussions will include the determinants of American diplomacy, idealism versus realism in American to reign policy, Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny, expansion and the American empire. In addition, emphasis will be placed on America’s rise from a hemisphere to a world power.
Pre-Requisites: POL 200
A study of the development of the American presidency. Focus will be upon the nature and theory of the executive branch and its relations with the other parts of government and society. Included will be selected cases or the expansion and deterioration of presidential power.
Pre-Requisites: POL 200 and ENGL 150
This course examines the origins, purposes, structures, role, functions, and achievements and challenges of the United Nations (UN). Specifically, the course will focus on some of the following contemporary issues and problems as we enter the 21st century: Peacekeeping, International Law, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Economic Development, Gender, Third World Debt, Refugees, Child Labor, Sanctions, terrorism, and the Environmental degradation. Attention will be given to conflicts and cooperation between states in the Genera! Assembly, Security Council, and the influence of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and the operations of the UN bureaucracy and its present attempts at internal reforms.
Pre-requisites: POL 101 and ENGL 150
This course offers a study of selected U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have been influential in determining the applicability and meaning of the U.S. constitution. Emphasis will be placed on the historical development of the court, including judicial review and the role of the bench in such areas as civil rights.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150 and POL 101 or POL 200
This course presents the evolution to techniques for enhancing consumer protection; the legal right of the consumer; his/her awareness of these legal rights; the evolution of ombudsman techniques; the administration of the law.
Pre-Requisites: POL 101 or POL 200 and ENGL 150
This course offers an extensive review and a survey of Western political thought from Plato to Rousseau and Paine.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150 and POL 101 or POL 200
This course focuses on major contributions of political thought and theories of the modern slate from Rousseau to the present time, including such figures as Hegel, Marx, John Stuart Mill, Nietzsche, Fanon, Marcusc, and Dewey.
Pre-Requisites: POL 393
This course critically examines the political and socioeconomic evolution of the Third World. Specifically, the course surveys the post-war post-colonial context into which newly independent nations began their complex journey toward economic, social, and political development. The course examines the impact of ideology, nationalism, and cold war. Also covered are class structures, gender, structures of governance, and problems of economic and social development. The course critically examines the relationship between the Third World and the policies of the major powers, multilateralism, and regional organizations.
Pre-requisites: POL 101 and ENGL 150
This course will focus on the changes and continuities of United States foreign policy in the World. Objectives of national strategy, effects of technology and social change on political, military and economic components of foreign policy will be rigorously analyzed. The course will review U.S. foreign policy during the cold war, nuclear weapons, relations with the former Soviet Union and China and the enduring concern with national security. A major theme will be new post-cold war issues of globalization, tree markets and international terrorism. Another theme will be the restructuring and reorientation of U.S. foreign policy to meet the new challenges of the 21st century. The course will focus on economic, strategic, diplomatic, regional, and military alliances, sources of global conflicts and their resolution. An important theme of the course will be United States relations with the Third World.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 150 and POL 101 or POL 200
This course will familiarize the student with the basic concepts in sociology and develop his/her appreciation of the nature and scope of the discipline. Emphasis will be centered on the critical importance of human interaction, inter-and intra-group relations, cultural relativity, the process of socialization, race, caste and class stratification, and on sex, age, and other bases of differentiation. The structure of social organizations and of institutions and the nature of power, authority, and status as well as the problem of social change will be analyzed.
Co-requisite: ENGL 112
This course undertakes a critical examination of African-American families within the sociological context of American society. Its focus is the diversity of African-American family within the American experience from the colonial period to the present. To achieve this goal, this course examines the contributions of W.E.B. DuBois, E. Franklin Frazier, and Harriette Pipes McAdoo in providing us with an historical and sociological framework through which to understand the diverse experiences of the African American family.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 150, SOC 101, SSC 101
This course examines the different lifestyles and characteristics of various neighborhoods, social class, race, ethnicity, culture, and other factors affecting urban environments will be discussed with special attention given to the multicultural nature of New York City.
Pre-Requisites: SOC 101 and ENGL 112.
This course focuses on classical sociological theories that were developed and disseminated by Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. In addition to examining the contributions of classical social theorists, this course also examines the works of Harriet Martineau, Ida B. Mills, Jane Addams, W.E.B DuBois, Walter Rodney, and Frantz Fanon. The reason for examining the contributions of the aforementioned authors is because the field of classical sociological theory has been dominated by the research of White European males. The contributions of women, blacks, and minorities have been significantly marginalized. To address the invisibility of marginal social theorists, this course attends to classical and contemporary social theorists and their theoretical models for examining the social universe.
Prerequisite: SOC 101 or SSC 101 and ENGL 150
This course analyzes the social basis upon which groups and people have been ranked based on gender, nationality, religion, class, and race. It delineates the implication of this ranking as it relates directly to dominant and dominated groups’ access to wealth, power, prestige, and equal opportunity. In its analysis of the social basis for social stratification in the United States and the world, this course examines globalization, capitalism, and the new and/or emerging forms of hierarchical relationships, which are unfolding within and between nation-states that are competing in the interstate system.
Prerequisite: SOC 101 and ENGL 150
This course will deal with a broad range of “deviant” behavior with an emphasis on such behavior common to groups in our society. The legitimacy of the concept of “deviance” itself will be examined within the context of problems of socialization, norms, and the pressures of society. Salient topics are: drugs, social behavior, religion, politics, and crimes as they relate to deviance.
Pre-Requisites: SOC 101 and ENGL 150
This course will examine a study of latent and manifest functions of the Police and Penal System, sources of community/police antagonism, and the nature and practices of crime control in the Criminal Justice System. In the area of Criminal Justice and Administration we will examine the social dynamics of those legal institutions (police, courts, and corrections) dedicated to dealing with criminal behavior and overall social control.
Pre-Requisites: SOC 101 or SSC 101 and ENGL 150
The evolution of social service in the U.S. from the beginning of the century to the present will be studied. Specific references will be made in regard to the social welfare movement, covering such topics as the growth of settlement houses, social security, adoption, foster care and public assistance. The regulatory control exercised by federal, state, and municipal government in the area of social policy will be examined.
Pre-Requisites: SOC 208 and SOC 321
This course deals with major issues facing the local community, e.g. housing, the delivery of health and social services and education. The student should be involved as participant/observer in at least one of these areas.
Pre-Requisites: SW 220 and ENGL 150
This course will provide an intensive study of the historical roots, development, influence, ideology, and total function of the church in the Black community in America. The role of religion as an instrument of protest, escape mechanism, emotional outlet, focal point of political organizing and of social life will be analyzed.
Pre-Requisites: SOC 340
This course introduces the dynamic nature of urban social life that emerged with the industrial revolution and continues to evolve in a 21st century world dominated by the global economy. The course explores techniques of community organization with an emphasis on metropolitan urban centers, such as senior centers and youth programs. Community development, community planning, and community action-organizational models will be examined. A specific focus will be on issues facing the local communities of the greater New York City and the metropolitan area.
re-requisite: SOC 101 or SSC 101 and ENGL 150.
This interdisciplinary course is designed to give a broad overview of the subject matter covered by the Social Sciences and to introduce students to basic concepts, approaches, and principles governing Social Sciences. The underlying theme of the course is culture, society and social change. Attention is given to the historical development, continuity and changes in social institutions, culture and society. Among the topics discussed in this course will be the contributions of women to the development of social sciences and gender issues as they pertain to social inequality in the United States.
Pre/Co-requisite: ENGL 112
This course introduces students to the methods of research in the three allied fields of Geography, History, and Political Science and will be taught by instructors in those fields. Students and faculty have the opportunity of sharing their research experiences, approaches and techniques. The topics to be discussed include the purpose of research; major steps in research; procedures for field investigation, data collection and analysis; and the research proposal and what it should contain. Also to be discussed are specific problems associated with research in various aspects of Geography, History and Political Science and the research report.
Pre-requisite: SOC 101 or Permission of chairperson
This course is designed to allow students to integrate theory and practice in a social science area or to do research on current social issues. SSC 260 is open to all lower division social science majors who have earned at least 39 credits and an average of 2.5 in the Social Sciences. Admission into the course must be approved by the Department Chairperson before registration. Once registered, the student will submit a proposal to the assigned instructor, who must approve it within the first three weeks of the semester. The proposal will indicate the type of project to be carried out, the educational purpose to be achieved, and the learning methodology which will be followed to meet the learning objective. The instructor and student are required to meet at least once a week. Upon completion of the proposed study, the student will submit a final report to the instructor.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 150 and Permission of chairperson
The objectives of this course are to provide students with an understanding of basic statistical procedures involving frequency distributions, central tendency, variability, z-scores and standardized distributions, probability, hypothesis testing, and correlation. In addition, students will also learn how to enter data into a statistical software program (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences: SPSS) and generate frequency distributions, histograms, measure of central tendency and variability in SPSS. Students will also learn to narrate descriptive statistics and construct tables.
Pre-requisite: MTH 136 or MTH 138. Co-requisite: ENGL 150
This course will familiarize the student with the varied techniques used in social research. The focus will be on the types of data that are generated by the various social science disciplines and the methods used in analyzing the data. Students will be introduced to the principle of research design, the mechanics of qualitative vs quantitative research, the mechanics of interviewing, case study, questionnaire construction and tabulation. The various biases and other factors of social research will be covered.
Pre-requisite: SSC 303 (only for Juniors and Seniors)
This course provides students with the opportunity to examine critical issues facing society today. Concerns such as gender and cultural diversity, racism, sexism, economic inequality, schooling, family related problems, criminal behavior, suicide, alcoholism, and ethical conduct will be emphasized. The critical approach to social problems shall be used as the preferred conceptual framework for analysis.
Pre-Requisites: ENGL 150 and SSC 101
This course examines the major social issues and problems facing modern society. It will focus on contemporary issues of power and inequality that center on divisions of class, race and gender. Industrialization, urbanization, and immigration will provide an historical context for discussion. While the material in this course will come from the perspective of the instructor, the foundational objective is to provide students with a range of tactics and strategies for confronting the social issue of our society not to dictate what students should think about said issues.
Pre-requisites: SSC 101 and ENGL 150
The Senior Seminar provides a focus in which all prospective thesis writers share their experiences, approaches and techniques. The course will focus on the requirements of the Senior Thesis. Each student is to present a research proposal. The proposal must spell out the problem, theory, hypothesis, and method of data collection, analysis and testing the hypothesis. Tentative chapter headings and bibliography must be included and defended. The proposal must be presented at a meeting of the whole class at the end of the Semester before submission to their thesis advisors.
Pre-requisite: Permission of chairperson
The subject matter to be discussed in the senior thesis should be identified by the junior year. Students are encouraged to choose topics that excite them and are drawn from their academic field and personal backgrounds. Students are expected to engage in some primary research and original analysis and interpretation. The thesis is due the 3rd week in November for January graduates and the 3rd week in April for June graduates.
Pre-Requisites: SSC 4032
