SSCI 300 Seeing Like a Social Scientist
Most of us are only dimly aware of how politics, culture, and society influence, and often coerce, our daily lives. The calling of a social scientist is to help us make these invisible social structures visible. In this course, students develop the skills and tools to discover, analyze, and interpret these obscure social processes. Ideally, this knowledge will have a liberating effect on their individual lives. Students will also perceive how their civic and ethical participation can change politics, culture, and society, as well as themselves.
Note: Students must have earned 60 credits prior to taking this course or receive special permission from the department.
Prerequisites
Special information
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective August 16, 2013 to present
Learning outcomes
General
- Knows the social sciences well enough to understand the dynamics of politics, culture and society, and the relevance those social processes for everyday life.
- Masters the higher order thinking skills required to analyze and interpret social science data from a variety of sources.
- Understands and appreciates the nature of citizenship and democracy in the twenty-first century for developing a sense of ethical and civic responsibility.
- Writes informed, well-reasoned, and literate essays.
- Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.
- Recognize and understand the social significance of gender and sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, religion, social class and physical ability;
- Understand and utilize a global perspective;
Fall 2025
| Section | Title | Instructor | books | eservices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Seeing Like a Social Scientist | Santos, Jose L. | Books for SSCI-300-01 Fall 2025 | Course details for SSCI-300-01 Fall 2025 |
Spring 2026
| Section | Title | Instructor | books | eservices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Seeing Like a Social Scientist | Santos, Jose L. | Books for SSCI-300-50 Spring 2026 | Course details for SSCI-300-50 Spring 2026 |