Andrew Grossman
Great Issues in the Social Sciences, Fall 2005.

Overview:

The theme for this semester will be the state, citizenship, freedom, and slavery. This seminar will examine a number of issues concerning "social" science and society. One important issue that we will consider (from a number of different and competing perspectives), is whether social science is a "science?" Examination of this question will lead us to consider various issues regarding the status of norms, values, and objectivity in the social sciences. Once we consider these theoretical matters we will turn our attention to a set of interrelated themes: the state, freedom, citizenship, repression, revolution, and society and how these themes are interpreted in political texts, literature, and film. In the post-9/11 period much has been made about novelty and historical change (i.e., “we are in a new era” etc.). However, this may not be the case at all. The seminar will focus on how, by which processes, and with reference to our theoretical discussions, key issues are incorporated into texts and, hence, become part of our general knowledge base.