Core courses
In their second year, Social Sciences majors enroll in core courses that provide the foundation for the Social Sciences concentrations. They also take electives from core courses offered in other majors.
In this course we learn about the mind by looking at (1) multiple levels of analysis, from neurons to social systems, (2) multiple methodologies used in research, and (3) how multiple types of explanation (mechanism, function, ontogeny, phylogeny) shed light on each other. Using these three course objectives, we will build up a framework for understanding the full range of topics in cognitive science, and how they relate to other disciplines both within the social sciences (e.g., political science and economics) and beyond them (e.g., biology and computer science).
How do economists address the challenge of allocating scarce resources to best serve the unlimited needs and wants of those in society? The first half of this course introduces the idea that markets can work efficiently to coordinate economic activity thereby addressing the problem of scarcity. However, when markets fail to work efficiently, an argument for government intervention in the market arises as a potential solution to better serve the needs of those in society. These concepts of scarcity, efficiency, and ultimately, trade-offs are then applied to the analysis of international financial markets in the second half of the semester where the drivers of manias, bubbles, and crises are explored.
Governments greatly affect their citizens and, in turn, citizens may greatly affect government and their society. The course has four units to examine these influences. The first unit is a brief introduction to the discipline of political science. The second unit covers the rise of the modern state, seeking to understand the ideas, structural factors, and rational decisions that led to different political orders. The third unit examines how society can change the state through revolutionary and reformist social movements. We end by exploring ongoing struggles in the contemporary world to remake states and societies by critically examining case studies of both positive and negative social change. For the final project, students design a campaign to enact a specific social change (at the local, state, or federal level) and devise ways to assess its impact. Note: This course qualifies as part of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Sustainability because it provides causal frameworks for understanding the political context of sustainable design, technology, and environmental policy. These causal frameworks include structuralism, constructivism, institutionalism, and rational choice.
Concentrations Courses
In their third year, Social Sciences majors select a concentration, begin taking courses within it and begin work on their capstone courses. They also take electives chosen from other Minerva courses (other concentration courses in Social Sciences, core and concentration courses in other colleges).
In the fourth year, Social Sciences majors enroll in additional electives chosen from Minerva’s course offerings within or outside the major. Additionally, they take senior tutorials in the major, and finish their capstone courses.
We explore broad theories of cognition and emotion through the lens of psychology, also drawing on philosophy and artificial intelligence. Within cognition, we examine different kinds of thinking, including induction, deduction, problem solving, and decision making, and we learn how to integrate theories of different types of thinking (such as inductive reasoning and problem solving). We also combine theories of thinking with theories of other cognitive processes such as attention and memory—so that instead of many seemingly separate cognitive processes, we have a cognitive being who can perform many different types of cognitive tasks. In addition, we examine and evaluate theories of emotions, both traditional and contemporary. How do emotions influence a wide variety of cognitive processes such as problem solving and decision making, and how might this help us to understand cognition and emotion? Finally, we explore theories of creativity from both cognitive and emotion-based perspectives.
Explore how the brain gives rise to the mind through the lens of cognitive neuroscience. Learn about the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain and consider the role of this physical substrate in neural computation. This course introduces the methodological foundations of cognitive neuroscience and their application to analyzing specific mental processes and events, with links to related fields such as genetics and computational neuroscience. In addition, it provides a framework for understanding cognitive disorders, mental thriving and human development, which supports student engagement in public policy or social ventures.Topics include the evolution of the brain, consciousness, vision, motor control, speech, memory, executive function, developmental psychology, and disorders of the brain such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and autism spectrum disorder.
How can we effectively change our own habits and behaviors? What is the best way to motivate and persuade others? Is it ethical to consciously motivate or persuade those around us? As the answers to these questions have become better understood, they are being used to help people adopt more beneficial practices across many fields such as medicine, business, and environmental activism. Drawing on personality psychology, health psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology, we gain a better understanding of what motivates us and learn why specific ways to influence people's beliefs and behavior are most effective in certain contexts.