History and Social Studies

Year – 6 credits

Required for freshmen

In Contemporary World History, students examine and analyze important events, ideas, institutions, and developments throughout the world from the mid-twentieth century to the present. The course begins with a review of imperialism and the World Wars to establish the historical context for an interdisciplinary examination of the Cold War, decolonization, and globalization. Though global in its perspective, this course utilizes City as Our Campus partnerships to support the study of history, politics, and culture. In addition to developing a strong command over the material, students will develop reading, writing, and research skills essential to their success in future history courses and beyond, expand their capacities for critical thinking, and develop an appreciation of divergent perspectives. At the end of the year, students will apply their historical knowledge to better understand the roots of contemporary global issues and debates.

Year – 6 credits

Open to sophomores

Who gets to claim American identity and citizenship? How, and through what struggles, has access to the full rights and guarantees of American citizenship expanded throughout the American experience? These questions inform this course, in which students challenge and interrogate basic assumptions about when, where, how, and by whom the United States was, and is continually being, founded. By positing multiple “foundings” of the United States, this course elevates voices beyond the powerful to include other Americans who have worked to realize the full promise of our Republic’s ideas. In this course, students begin with the Indigenous Communities and the American Revolution, considering to what extent and for whom the Revolution changed life in America. Next, students investigate the framework of the Constitution, tracing the evolution of our government and individual rights to see how the Constitution’s meaning and application have changed over time, particularly during the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras. Finally, students will examine in-depth case studies from later decades - the culture wars of the 1920s, the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and 60s, and the political revolution of the 1980s - that encapsulate the continuities, changes, and contradictions of American history. Throughout the course, we will pay special attention to the ways in which Americans’ complex and ever-shifting identities shaped their daily lives, political systems, and values. Assignments and assessments invite students to read primary and secondary texts critically; research honestly and effectively; and analyze, construct, and present compelling arguments on paper and in the classroom.

Year - 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

This discussion-based seminar is designed to develop student awareness and activism centered on the issues associated with the concept of genocide and crimes against humanity in a global perspective. Students will explore historical manifestations of genocide through the lenses of history, literature, sociology, economics, the development of international law, and psychology. This interdisciplinary approach engages students intellectually, challenges them to think critically, and equips them to identify and connect themes—actors, reconciliation and remembrance, and historical memory—across historical events. Through the history of the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the genocide in Cambodia perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, the Rwandan genocide, the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the long Guatemalan civil war and genocide of the 1980s, students will grapple with primary and secondary sources, survivor testimony, and trial records. Utilizing the content of the class, students will study the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of historical genocides and the associated ideologies of racism, antisemitism, religious hatreds, and prejudices that preceded the violence. Together we will also promote a nuanced engagement with current events centered on crimes against humanity. Students will learn to think critically, research effectively, synthesize complex ideas, and present compelling arguments on paper and in class discussions.

Year – 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

Prerequisite: CS for Art and Humanities, CS for Mathematics and Science, Interactive Storytelling and Video Game Design, or any other year-long CS offering. 

Machine learning is ubiquitous today, utilized in everything from curating recommendation lists on Netflix to diagnosing medical conditions to detecting credit card fraud. Engaged citizens should recognize the pervasiveness of this technology and assess its impacts critically. Students in Machine Learning ask questions and solve problems with big data to better understand the world from both historical and contemporary perspectives. They explore and grapple with issues—such as determining authorship, understanding political affiliations, optimizing transportation systems, and analyzing the criminal justice system—that require an interdisciplinary lens to comprehend. Further, students will learn the computer science techniques necessary to engage societal problems keeping in mind the historical forces that sired these issues in the first place, and the predictable social and political consequences of technological change. Students taking this course may earn computer science or history credit but not both, and will designate their choice at the time of enrollment. 

Year – 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

By 2050, human geographers believe that 75% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and the cities in which humans live, work, and raise families will face difficult challenges involving social inequality, housing, transportation, deteriorating infrastructure, post-industrial revitalization, environmental sustainability, crime, and food security. This advanced seminar immerses students in the study of urban systems through theoretical analysis, fieldwork, and a capstone research project. Students explore the city as interconnected social, cultural, political, ecological, and economic systems, using urban design as a tool to elevate the human condition.  Broadly conceived, urban design fuses various disciplines—ranging from architecture to political science to environmental science—to promote the creation of communities that connect people and places, raise the quality of life, and address recognized impediments to long-term sustainability.  Like all city planners, students will approach their work steeped in a set of design theories, including those of Liz Ogbu, Alejandro Aravena, Dana McKinney White, Teju Cole, Jan Gehl, Amanda Burden, and Mara Holt Skov.  Students will also use the work of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs to understand the ways in which historical disputes over the best design practices continue to shape approaches to urban development.  Students will analyze the historical and modern implications of urban planning debates and conduct hands-on fieldwork, observing urban sites and engaging with experts and community stakeholders.

Through design challenges, analytical essays, and public presentations, students hone critical skills while addressing global urban issues such as affordable housing, sustainability, and social equity. The capstone project involves developing research questions, conducting field studies, analyzing data, and proposing evidence-based solutions, culminating in a multi-draft essay and a publicly presented studio project.

Year – 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

Historian Carl Becker famously intoned, “The history that lies inert in unread books does no work in the world.” This course intends to introduce students to the public dimensions of history and to challenge students to do the work of history outside of the classroom, engaging the wider world as Becker envisioned.  Broadly defined as public history, this approach to the field of history relies on the ways in which the past appears in public-facing settings, such as museum exhibitions, battlefields, street names, historic houses, online memory sites, Hollywood films, monuments, and statues.  By examining public discussions of the past, students will grapple with the ways in which disputes over the meaning of historical events reflect both the values of the present and efforts to imagine the future.  We will explore the relationship between individual memories and collective commemorations, tracing the complicated ways in which personal experiences, popular media, monuments, and public ceremonies interact to create meaning.  Why do some stories become “our” heritage, while others are forgotten?  How and why do societies remember something?  What moral choices inform the representation of the past and the ways in which individuals write their autobiographies?  Students enrolled in this discussion-based course will investigate the scientific and psychological basis for memory, create time capsules, and write a portion of an autobiography.  Unlike Becker’s unread books, students will continually do work in the world, and this course will rely heavily on City as our Campus excursions and field work to explore the often-contested stories and narratives Americans tell one another.  Students will travel to Oakland, Lawrenceville, the North Shore, and Shanksville, PA, where they will analyze the Flight 93 Memorial.  They also will leave the city and journey along the Civil Rights Heritage Trail, which will afford them an opportunity to examine first-hand how museums, monuments, and memorials in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee tell the stories of the Black Freedom Movement. Upon their return, students will draw upon their experiences throughout the year and complete a capstone project centered on memorializing a historical event of their choosing. Note: Enrolled students will be charged a fee in connection with the Travel Seminar to cover meals and transportation. The fee will not exceed $800 and support is available for students receiving financial assistance from WT.

Spring Semester – 3 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

This semester-long course asks students to explore two fundamental queries:  How do the stories a nation tells orient its actions and position in the world? What happens when counternarratives challenge regional realpolitik?  Thousands of years ago, China’s Zhou Dynasty crowned itself “The Middle Kingdom,” positioning China at the center of the known world culturally and cartographically. Narratives justifying China’s control of East Asia, including Tibet and Taiwan, continue today to pervade the country’s national consciousness and impact relations with neighboring Asian states. Through film, memoir, fiction, and historical articles, students will examine how national identity, hegemony, and global relations impact contemporary geopolitics in East Asia.   

Students should prepare to read primary sources and literature, write analytical essays, and complete research projects. Additionally, students will participate in discussion-based classes and presentations. This class will also engage students through City as Our Campus opportunities.

Year – 3 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

“The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.” –Justice Anthony Kennedy, 1992

Questions will dominate this course as we seek to understand the complex values and principles lurking beneath Mr. Justice Kennedy’s call for tolerance and vision of government. What does it mean in practice to tolerate speech? Under what, if any, circumstances do the obligations of governance require the restriction of rights? To what extent should public policies become agents of social change? What is the proper balance between liberty and security? To address these and other questions, we will survey some of the great issues and controversies that surround American politics and constitutional law.  To grapple with these issues, the course is divided into two discrete chunks.  The first semester will be devoted to analyzing the principles behind the formation of the Constitution, paying particular attention to electoral politics and the looming presidential election, the federated nature of the American system, and the dispersal of political powers among the three branches of national government. Students will deepen their understanding of civic life, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and the formation of public policies.  The second semester focuses closely on the Supreme Court and its decisions, with a special emphasis on current issues before the court.  We will read U.S. Supreme Court decisions and listen to selected oral arguments seeking to understand the nature of the Constitution, the contested nature of its interpretation, and the evolving meaning of civil liberties and civil rights.  This course has an additional, somewhat practical side. It is hoped that students will be inspired to invest themselves in the political process, will think of ways to improve public policies, and will be inspired to press their ideas in the public realm. This course will emphasize critical thinking, the open exchange of ideas, and the occasional essay.  Additional assessments will include case studies, objective tests, simulated debates, case presentations, and written analyses of legal issues throughout US history.

Year – 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

This discussion-based course addresses the main economic, religious, political and cultural trends in the modern Middle East. Students will engage and learn about the cultural diversity of the Middle East, relations with Great Powers, the impact of imperialism, the challenge of modernity, the creation of nation-states and nationalist ideologies, the discovery of oil, radical religious groups, and war and peace. Significant time will be given to comparative religious understanding of the region, utilizing the work of scholars such as Gerrard Russell and Sari Nusseibeh.  Throughout the course,  significant changes will be evaluated in light of their impact on the lives of a variety of individuals in the region and especially how they have grappled differently with increasing Western political and economic domination. Topics of focus will include the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, European imperialism, the rise of nationalism and Zionism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, political Islam, and the role of the United States in the region. We will engage with the scholarship of Rashid Khalidi, Benny Morris, and Asef Bayat. Attention will be paid to the links between the history of the modern Middle East and contemporary events in the region. This course will emphasize critical thinking and the open exchange of ideas. Students will learn to think critically, research effectively, synthesize complex ideas, and present compelling arguments on paper and in oral presentations.

Year – 6 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

Economics allows us to see how decisions are made when resources are scarce and have to be allocated. This advanced course explores the interplay between economic theory and policy, examining how foundational principles shape decisions that address contemporary social, political, and environmental challenges. Through case studies, simulations, and critical analysis, the course emphasizes applying theoretical frameworks to evaluate real-world policies across sectors like technology and athletics. Together, students will read policy papers and economic analyses to investigate themes including capitalism and to what degree it continues to function for everyone; poverty, the role of the government in the economy;  monopolies and technology companies; and global trade and whether it is free or fair. In each of these case studies, students will read and analyze economic arguments and investigate to what degree theory is applied in practice. Students will engage the ideas of thinkers such as, but not limited to, Thomas Pikkety, John Maynard Keynes, Yanis Varoufakis, and Milton Friedman. We will also engage the work of Kate Raworth on sustainability and economic thinking, Esther Duflo and development economics, and Claudia Goldin on gender and labor economics. This course places a significant emphasis on class discussions and analytical skills. Students are not expected to find solutions but to think critically and develop questions for further study. Complexity is key and students will find all of our case studies exist in the gray area of black and white.

Fall Semester – 3 credits

Open to juniors and seniors

This semester-long interdisciplinary course grapples with several core questions. How do beliefs about death—and the reward that might follow— impart meaning to our daily habits and rituals? How do belief and faith impact the way people live their lives? Framed around two books about religion and death, Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician by Shinmon Aoki and The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, students will interrogate how and why systems of belief are central to the human experience. Students will analyze the influence of cultural and historical factors that motivate people and groups to put their faith in belief systems from Stoicism and prophets to God/s. They will read about worldviews such as Humanism and Confucianism, as well as from ancient texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Sutras, Torah, New Testament, and Qur’an.  

Students should prepare to read primary sources and literature, write analytical essays, and complete research projects. Additionally, students will participate in discussion-based classes and presentations. This class will also engage students through City as Our Campus opportunities, which will include visits to local places of worship to apply course questions first-hand.