Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Steven Raymond Boomhower PhD, Senior Toxicologist, Gradient
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Steven Raymond Boomhower PhD, Senior Toxicologist, Gradient
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Karyn Gunnet-Shoval PhD, Lecturer in Extension and Associate of the Department of Psychology, Harvard University and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Cynthia A. Meyersburg PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Simon Barak Caine PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Richard Joseph Martin PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Steven Raymond Boomhower PhD, Senior Toxicologist, Gradient
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Karyn Gunnet-Shoval PhD, Lecturer in Extension and Associate of the Department of Psychology, Harvard University and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Steven Raymond Boomhower PhD, Senior Toxicologist, Gradient
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Anthropology and Psychology
Richard Joseph Martin PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This proseminar introduces students to basic behavioral science research methods in psychology and anthropology. It teaches them how to read and evaluate research papers and translate their ideas into viable research projects. Topics include library and archival research, scholarly writing and argumentation, descriptive research methods, quasi-experimental and experimental design, ethical issues, and analytical methods. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and research methods courses are recommended, computer literacy (skills and experience with the internet, Word, and Excel) required. Students must receive a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Ariane Liazos PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Harry Bastermajian PhD, Executive Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Asher Orkaby PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Doug Bond PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Doug Bond PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Asher Orkaby PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Ariane Liazos PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Michael Tworek PhD, Associate, Department of History, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2022
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Doug Bond PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
January 2023
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History, and International Relations
Stephen Shoemaker PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, as well as organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. Students study essential categories of analysis used in history and political science. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. The last day to take the test of critical reading and writing skills for this section is December 1. Students registered in the alternate expository writing course in the fall term may not register for this section. EXPO E-42b is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
January 2023
The Psychology of a Public Self in a Modern Media Age
John Paul Rollert PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business - Alvin Benjamin Carter III JD, Associate Attorney, Brown Rudnick LLP
Whether in job applications, on social media, or even among friends, we all have a self we present to the public, one that signals how we would like others to see us as well as our personal and professional ambitions. This intensive January session course aims to explore the art of creating, maintaining, and protecting a public self. In the first half of the course, we explore the meaning of a public self, with a special emphasis placed on the work of social psychologist Erving Goffman. In the second half, we examine the nuts-and-bolts of managing a public self in a modern media age.
Fall 2022
Dying Well
Jason Bryan Silverstein PhD, Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine and Co-Director, Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health Program, Harvard Medical School
"How does one go about dying?" the poet Franz Wright asked. "The world is filled with people / Who have never died." For a matter so inevitable, which the best minds of every generation have tackled, a good death seems increasingly out of reach. As modern medicine racks up victories to ensure healthier and longer lives, a quieter, darker parallel story is emerging in even our finest hospitals: people die anxious and in pain, pursuing long-shot treatments instead of comfort. Why is dying so difficult, and how can we make death a better experience for others, and ultimately ourselves? This course is split into three units. In the first, we focus on cancer, with a close reading of Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air. In this unit, we explore notions of identity, hope, and what counts as a good outcome, especially when it is at odds with the healthcare team. In the second, we reflect on mortality, including the badness of death and how death should change the way we live, reading Atul Gawande's Being Mortal and Shelly Kagan's Death. In the final unit, we examine death and dying through case studies, including sudden death, physician aid-in-dying, suicide, and the scientific quest to evade death altogether.
Spring 2023
Social Medicine in the United States
Jason Bryan Silverstein PhD, Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine and Co-Director, Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health Program, Harvard Medical School
If you are sick or hurt, whether you live or die depends not only on biological factors, but social ones: are you wealthy or poor? Do you have a stable home and health insurance? How far away is the closest trauma center or pharmacy? Do people believe your illness is your fault, or even something you deserve? This course explores how social factors create health disparities in the United States. We gain foundational knowledge of key concepts in social medicine, including an overview of health care policy in the United States and the arguments for health as a human right. We then turn to what we can call chronic emergencies: case studies of people and communities who have been denied health care and allowed to suffer and die, because they are poor, uninsured, undocumented, or otherwise social outcasts. Our examples are drawn from across the United States, from the eviction crisis in Milwaukee, to injection drug users in San Francisco, to the people who endure gang violence in Chicago, to the suffering of Mexican migrants in California. We give significant attention to the lived experience of poverty, housing insecurity, addiction, discrimination, and violence. As we encounter these examples, we engage directly with guest speakers from the community. In the final section, we turn from studying how harm falls unevenly to considering how social determinants can be incorporated into action plans; students apply the themes and concepts from the course to explore topics of their own choosing. By the end of the course, students not only have a knowledge of concepts and case studies in social medicine, but also knowledge about how to close the gaps that we study. For premedical students, this course reviews concepts found on the psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior section of the MCAT, including how sociocultural factors and access to resources have an impact on health.
Fall 2022
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Cares? Reimagining Global Health
Arthur Kleinman MD, Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University, and Professor of Medical Anthropology and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School - Anne E. Becker MD, PhD, Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School - Salmaan Keshavjee MD, PhD, Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
If you are sick or hurt, whether you live or die depends not only on biological factors, but social ones: who you are and where you are, what sort of healthcare system is available to help you survive, and what kind of care is available to help you recover, if society believes you deserve it. The global coronavirus pandemic illustrates with dramatic urgency the role social forces play in patterning health inequities and determining individual fates. The vulnerabilities of those most likely to get sick and to die from COVID-19 stem from the ongoing effects of systemic racism on racialized subjects, the devaluation of eldercare and precarity of low-paid work under neoliberal forms of governance, and enduring material effects of colonial-era power structures that render health care systems dangerously weak or inaccessible for many communities. Now, as ever, it is imperative to develop frameworks and methodologies to identify and to intervene effectively in harmful social configurations that cause illness and suffering. Most medical research narrowly focuses on the biological basis of disease, but this course takes a novel biosocial approach to reveal how governments, institutions, and histories shape health and well-being, how poverty and racism get into someone's lymph nodes, how cost-saving measures manifest as tuberculosis in someone's lungs. In doing so, the course challenges the conventional assumptions within the field of global health examining how interventions influence what happens after a catastrophe in unexpected ways, how the persistence of health inequalities over centuries can be explained, how the structures of powerful institutions influence the policies they develop, how the poor deserve not only health care but high quality health care, and how caregiving and global health are urgent moral practices.
Spring 2023
Health Inequities and Health Justice in Urban Communities
Flavia Perea PhD, Lecturer on Sociology, Harvard University
This course explores the relationship between health, place, and social location, and how nested factors influence and determine the health of people and communities in urban settings. Emphasizing health as multidimensional, contextual, and socially determined, we explore the history, principles, theories, and frameworks relevant to understanding inequities in health, as well as tools and strategies for advancing justice in health across sectors of civic and community life. We explore how inequity gets under the skin and operates on the body; discuss how racism, oppression, social stratification, and systemic advantages and disadvantages all structure and perpetuate injustice in health; how systems, institutions, and policies influence health. To understand how socio-environmental factors can create pathways to health or disparities, we explore the mechanisms by which poverty, socioeconomic status, education, housing, and the built environment create and sustain inequitable health outcomes in urban communities. Understanding the social conditions people need to be healthy, we turn our attention to approaches for advancing justice in health, with particular attention to root-cause strategies. We explore community development, capacity building, and community mobilization as strategies for building power for health. We discuss health improvement interventions and how community engagement, participatory processes, and cross-sector collaboration can help create and sustain health promoting environments.
Spring 2023
Child Health in America and Around the World
Judith S. Palfrey MD, T. Berry Brazelton Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Emerita, Harvard Medical School, and Honorary Associate of Adams House, Harvard College - John Sean G. Palfrey Jr. MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health Emeritus, Boston University, and Honorary Associate of Adams House Emeritus, Harvard College
This course focuses on children and adolescents and looks at factors that have an impact on their health, growth, and development. Increasingly, it is understood that child health depends on a complex of interrelated factors. Biologic and genetic issues are very important in determining children's health status. Societal, environmental, community, and family factors also play a major role in child health outcomes. We focus on social concerns such as economic status, class, race, and ethnicity. Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics has called out poverty and racism as actual pathogens. We explore the American healthcare system and ask why in the richest country in the world, our child health outcomes are measured near the bottom in comparison with other industrialized nations and our black infant mortality remains twice that of white infant mortality. In this time of COVID-19, we pay special attention to the impact of infections on children and compare the US response with that of other countries. We also look at the history of infectious disease outbreaks and the ways that these have been controlled and ultimately prevented. Finally, the course emphasizes the importance of team approaches among people from multiple backgrounds and organizations. Increasingly, we are understanding that if the threats to child health live in the society and community, so do the answers. We discuss strength-based approaches and the shifting of power and agency to families and communities and learn how hope and accentuating the positive are new approaches that are beginning to have success in the promotion of child health.
Prerequisites: Interest in children and adolescent health and development. Familiarity with population-based data sets is helpful but not required.
Fall 2022
Pursuing Truth and Justice: Community-Based, Participatory, and Action Research
Flavia Perea PhD, Lecturer on Sociology, Harvard University
This course explores the principles and methods of community-based, participatory, and action research. We engage with various perspectives on the process, practice, and applications of engaged inquiry, with an emphasis on diverse voices, sources, and materials. The course seeks to connect to students' professional work and personal pursuits outside of their coursework. Through this course, students learn to apply the course concepts and tools to their academic and professional work, as well as to advocacy and organizing efforts they may be engaged or interested with. In the course we discuss various frameworks and systems of knowing and meaning making through the research process; how they are centered on, or the extent they intersect with the pursuit of equity and justice; and pragmatic approaches for moving from theory to practice. We discuss power and privilege in the context of research; perspectives on investigator identity and location; the promise and limitations of engaged inquiry to help advance social change; and the ethics of inquiry with historically and systemically oppressed people and communities. We explore a variety of approaches, including participatory action research (PAR), community-based participatory research (CBPR), and citizen science, and discuss how different approaches for asking questions, methods for gathering and analyzing information, and sharing knowledge can be applied within various engaged research approaches. Ultimately, we critically examine how inquiry that emphasizes equity, collaboration, and reciprocity in the uncovering, integration, application, and dissemination of knowledge can be a tool of liberation and certain methods a strategy for responding to oppression, colonization, and systems of domination.
January 2023
Leadership and Politics
John Paul Rollert PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business - George Jacob Wendt JD, Consultant
American politics, in general, and presidential campaigns, in particular, hold many lessons for leading for-profit and not-for-profit start-up ventures. Capital must be raised; a large, diverse team must be organized and deployed; and a brand must be developed and sold. The hours are long, the pressure is incredibly intense, and the stakes could not be higher. Succeed, and you are on your way to a plumb job in Washington, DC. Fail, and you are left looking for a job. Accordingly, popular politics provides remarkable lessons in compelling leadership and successful management. This intensive January session course aims to harvest them by way of an analysis of recent presidential campaigns and contemporary politics. Though emphasis is placed on American politics, lessons may be applied across the public and private sectors. Our readings are drawn from history, literature, philosophy, business, and politics, and in addition to lectures and discussion, the course also features guest speakers from business, journalism, and politics. Students may not take both GOVT E-1353 (offered previously) and SSCI E-144 for degree or certificate credit.
Spring 2023
Self, Society, and Politics
Nicolas Prevelakis PhD, Associate Senior Lecturer on Social Studies, Harvard University
This course examines the main ways in which the relationship between self, society, and politics has been conceptualized in major sociological and philosophical texts. What are the political implications of different ways of understanding the self? Is it fair to talk about a western individualistic tradition? And how do recent technological changes affect our understanding of who we are and how we interact? The course relies on readings of classical texts, from sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and history. It includes primary texts (Plato, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, mile Durkheim, W.E.B. Du Bois, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler), as well as recent sociological studies. Particular emphasis is placed on the ways in which social and political theorists have used conceptions of the self as foundation for their views of society and politics.
Spring 2023
Survey Research Methods
Chase H. Harrison PhD, Senior Preceptor in Survey Methodology, Harvard University
This course introduces students to the theoretical underpinnings and practical challenges of survey research, designed to help students better understand, interpret, and critically evaluate surveys and public opinion polls.
Prerequisites: An introductory course in social science research methods, or appropriate background, is helpful.
Fall 2022
Advanced Research Methods in the Social Sciences
Chase H. Harrison PhD, Senior Preceptor in Survey Methodology, Harvard University
This course surveys a wide range of research methods in the social sciences. The purpose of this course is to teach the theory and application of those research methods to help students create well-designed thesis projects. It gives students a sound grounding in a broad range and variety of approaches, designs, statistical techniques, and methods to conducting social science research, both qualitative and quantitative. Focus is on developing analytical thinking skills, identifying research questions, formulating hypotheses, operationalizing ways to test them, and drawing conclusions based on logical analysis of the source testimony. It is ideally suited for Master of Liberal Arts candidates who are looking for a thesis topic or who would like to do more research on a possible thesis topic, as well as others who are interested in pursuing graduate study in the social sciences.
Spring 2023
Advanced Research Methods in the Social Sciences
Nadine Weidman PhD, Lecturer on the History of Science, Harvard University
This course surveys a wide range of research methods in the social sciences. The purpose of this course is to teach the theory and application of those research methods to help students create well-designed thesis projects. It gives students a sound grounding in a broad range and variety of approaches, designs, statistical techniques, and methods to conducting social science research, both qualitative and quantitative. Focus is on developing analytical thinking skills, identifying research questions, formulating hypotheses, operationalizing ways to test them, and drawing conclusions based on logical analysis of the source testimony. It is ideally suited for Master of Liberal Arts candidates who are looking for a thesis topic or who would like to do more research on a possible thesis topic, as well as others who are interested in pursuing graduate study in the social sciences.
Fall 2022
Identity Precapstone: Theory and Research
Richard Joseph Martin PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This course exposes students to a broad range of scholarly literature on various topics in the social scientific study of identity, such as class, gender, race, religion, and sexuality. Readings draw on a variety of methodological approaches, and students are expected to critically consume qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research. Students thus cultivate an understanding of psychological approaches and their relevance to solving real-world problems related to identity, building toward a capstone project in applied research. The course requires a midterm essay, as well as a draft, revision, and oral presentation of a written proposal for the capstone project in SSCI E-599b (which includes a problem statement, literature review, identification of sites and stakeholders, and project rationale).
Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in Master of Liberal Arts, psychology or anthropology, who are in their penultimate semester. Prospective candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing and in the process of successfully completing all degree requirements except the capstone, SSCI E-599b, which they must enroll in the upcoming spring term as their final course. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.
Fall 2022
Identity Precapstone: Theory and Research
Cynthia A. Meyersburg PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This course exposes students to a broad range of scholarly literature on various topics in the social scientific study of identity, such as class, gender, race, religion, and sexuality. Readings draw on a variety of methodological approaches, and students are expected to critically consume qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research. Students thus cultivate an understanding of psychological approaches and their relevance to solving real-world problems related to identity, building toward a capstone project in applied research. The course requires a midterm essay, as well as a draft, revision, and oral presentation of a written proposal for the capstone project in SSCI E-599b (which includes a problem statement, literature review, identification of sites and stakeholders, and project rationale).
Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in Master of Liberal Arts, psychology or anthropology, who are in their penultimate semester. Prospective candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing and in the process of successfully completing all degree requirements except the capstone, SSCI E-599b, which they must enroll in the upcoming spring term as their final course. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.
Spring 2023
Identity Capstone: Bridging Research and Practice
Richard Joseph Martin PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This course builds upon the foundation established in SSCI E-597b by creating a capstone project that bridges research and practice. The project includes two components: the project prototype and the academic report. The prototype is the specific product designed to address the real-world problem identified in the fall term proposal. Prototypes can take two different forms. First, they can apply research to design a project in order to solve or address a real-world problem experienced by stakeholders. Second, they may communicate scholarship to specific audiences who would benefit from knowing the information (for example, a publishable article or a website explaining current research to non-academic stakeholders). Projects build on specific interests of each student and are developed in consultation with the instructor. These specialized projects allow students to seek a practical application of existing research on identity, while developing their skills designing research-based practice and engaging stakeholders. The capstone project culminates with a formal presentation of the students' projects.
Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted capstone track candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, psychology or anthropology. Candidates must be in good academic standing, ready to graduate in May with only the capstone left to complete (no other course registration is allowed simultaneously with the capstone), and have successfully completed the precapstone course, SSCI E-597b, in the previous fall term. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.
Spring 2023
Identity Capstone: Bridging Research and Practice
Cynthia A. Meyersburg PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This course builds upon the foundation established in SSCI E-597b by creating a capstone project that bridges research and practice. The project includes two components: the project prototype and the academic report. The prototype is the specific product designed to address the real-world problem identified in the fall term proposal. Prototypes can take two different forms. First, they can apply research to design a project in order to solve or address a real-world problem experienced by stakeholders. Second, they may communicate scholarship to specific audiences who would benefit from knowing the information (for example, a publishable article or a website explaining current research to non-academic stakeholders). Projects build on specific interests of each student and are developed in consultation with the instructor. These specialized projects allow students to seek a practical application of existing research on identity, while developing their skills designing research-based practice and engaging stakeholders. The capstone project culminates with a formal presentation of the students' projects.
Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted capstone track candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, psychology or anthropology. Candidates must be in good academic standing, ready to graduate in May with only the capstone left to complete (no other course registration is allowed simultaneously with the capstone), and have successfully completed the precapstone course, SSCI E-597b, in the previous fall term. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.