Social Studies
The Division of Social Studies and Humanities, separately and in cooperation, offer courses that are of fundamental importance to inquiry in the disciplines represented in the two divisions as well as to education in the liberal arts generally. These courses acquaint students with what people have thought and done individually and socially in the past and with the means by which they have expressed their ideas and emotions. Such study enriches one’s understanding of human nature by exploring the channels through which individual have interpreted human experience –literature, art, music religious and philosophical systems, political and social orders, and historical works.
These courses do not in themselves constitute a major program of study. Students should consult with the relevant department about acceptance of these courses as cognate credit for their proposed major or for inclusion in an independent major.
Also listed as Mathematics 115. Introduces the notions of variability and uncertainty and such common statistical concepts as point and interval estimation and hypothesis testing. Data-oriented, with real-world examples chosen from the social and biological sciences. The computer is used for data analysis and to illustrate probabilistic and statistical concepts.
This course offers an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) for spatial analysis and mapmaking. Covers topics such as the nature of geographic information, georeferencing, GIS data models, cartographic design, geovisualization, the Global Positioning System, and basic and intermediate spatial analysis skills. Focus on understanding the major underlying theories and concepts of GIS, which students put into practice using GIS software applications in lab exercises and an independent research project.
This course examines the geographical dimensions of health and disease, emphasizing global and domestic public health issues. Key approaches and themes include the human ecology approach to health; epidemiological mapping and spatial analysis; environmental health; the relationship among demographic change, economic development, and population health; the spatial diffusion of infectious diseases; the disease ecology approach to infectious and vector-borne diseases; and challenges of “global health” in the 21st century, with special emphasis on “emerging infectious diseases.”
* Indicates courses not offered every year.
