Course Descriptions

Lower Division Courses

Urbanism
A historical introduction to the issues, principles and processes of urban design in western societies. Lectures will trace the evolution of selected cities (from ancient Athens to contemporary Los Angeles) where value-laden design decisions have left clear imprints upon our built environment, urban culture, and everyday lives. Field trips. Satisfies fine arts core requirement.

Ecology: A Human Approach
A course designed for non-majors. Ecological concepts and how they relate to critical contemporary issues: air and water pollution, radiation, energy, world hunger. Includes experiments, demonstrations and field trips.

Basic Macroeconomics
Investment, GDP, interest rates, the budget deficit, inflation, unemployment, banking, monetary and fiscal policies and exchange rates appear frequently in the media, but are often little understood. Macroeconomics studies these aggregates and their interconnections, and looks as well at the influence of the Federal Reserve and the federal government.

Basic Microeconomics
Microeconomics studies the decisions and interaction of consumers and businesses, resulting in an understanding of the process by which prices and quantities are determined in a market setting. Forms of industrial organization such as competition, monopoly and oligopoly are explored. Also studied are the markets for labor and other factors of production.

Introduction to Politics
Introduces students to major approaches to the study of politics. Examines key political concepts such as power, democracy and freedom; types of political actors, such as political parties, interest groups and leaders; and important political institutions. Situates contemporary politics within social structure and history.

Introduction to Sociology
An introduction to sociology with a focus on its nature as a scientificdiscipline. The analysis of society through the use of sociological theories, concepts and methods. This course serves as a prerequisite to all other sociology courses and seeks to stimulate students to continue to deepen their understanding of societies.

Upper Division Courses


African American History II
A survey of African American history from the Reconstruction period to the present: the era of accommodation and the origins of 20th-century protest; Washington-Du Bois debate; migration and urbanization; the Harlem Renaissance; the civil rights movement; black power and contemporary issues. Fulfills urban studies requirement in history

American Pluralism
Contemporary and historical studies in the racial and ethnic diversity of American (U.S.) society with a special emphasis on the issues of race relations, migration, and immigration.

Museums and Methods
Exploration of materials and techniques of the visual arts and a study of the different types of modern institutions for their exhibition. The course relies on field trips to museums, galleries and other institutions, mainly in New York City. Priority to SR, HA Majors, AH/VA Double Majors.

Architectural Design I
Prerequisites: AR 1135 or permission. Corequisites: AR 2061 or permission. Introducing the basic language of three-dimensional form, this studio course will involve students in the process of architectural vision and creation. Sketching, diagramming, scale model making and computer model making are the tools used in this process.

Architectural Design II
Prerequisites: AR 2060, AR 2061, or permission. Corequisites: AR 3071. This intermediate studio course will focus on the design of public buildings in New York City, informed by contemporary theories of context, typology, place, narrative and tectonics. Students will explore their designs through sketching, diagramming, model-building and computer modeling, rendering and animation. Portfolio presentation.

Theories of Media and Society
An overview of theory and research concerning media and mass communication in relation to culture and society. Provides students with the ability to analyze the institutions, forms and content of media. An overview of theory and research concerning media and mass communication in relation to culture and society. Provides students with the ability to analyze the institutions, forms and content of media.

Class, Taste, and Mass Culture
An examination of cultural hierarchy and conflicting notions regarding the “ideal” form and content of the symbolic environment.  Drawing from various critiques of the mass media, this course explores the ways in which debates about cultural and aesthetic standards reflect socio-economic and political concerns.

Inequality in America
A study of the ways in which inequalities of wealth, power and prestige are institutionalized in complex societies. Social class and social status as they relate to other aspects of social organization and affect the life chances of individuals.

Introduction to Social Work
This course provides an introduction to the values, knowledge and skillsof the social work profession. Focus will be on the historical and contemporary roles and relationships of the social work profession to community problems, field of practice, vulnerable populations, and social welfare history and policy.

Social Science Statistics
Introduces the student to the basic concepts of both descriptive and inferential statistics. Both models will be presented, their assumptions delineated, and their application to research in the social sciences emphasized. Prerequisites: Introduction to Anthropology, Sociology, or Political Science.

Popular Music as Communication
Current issues in popular music studies-mediation, globalization, authenticity, identity, community, etc. - covering a wide range of popular musics in North America. Regular reading and listening assignments.

Latino New York
New York as represented, imagined, and constructed by Spanish and Latin American immigrant and exile writers and by native Latino NewYorkers through culture (literature, film, music, performance art, visual arts, and daily life).  A review of research on Latino New York cultures and a cultural history of Latino New York, this course will also be conducted as an interdisciplinary seminar where students will be able to engage in and share their research on some aspect of the cultures of Latino New York.

Social Problems of Race and Ethnicity
This course explores the historical and contemporary issues surrounding the impact that race and ethnicity have in society. Students will examine how racial and ethnic criteria often guide important economic, political and social decisions that affect access to resources by various groups and which usually have major consequences for the individual.

World Poverty
An investigation into the causes and consequences of poverty, both in the United States and in developing countries.  The available statistics and the economic explanations of poverty are surveyed.  Contemporary debates over policies to reduce poverty are discussed, including issues of welfare, food and housing subsidies, foreign aid, famine relief and agricultural development.  The link between income distribution and economic growth is also discussed.

International Economic Policy
This course uses economic methodology to study the fundamental relationship between wealth and political power in the context of various international and economic policies.  The course follows the outline of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.  Contemporary issues covered can include protectionism, economic sanctions, trade wars and foreign assistance and international macroeconomic coordination. (This course complements PORU 3915.)Prerequisite(s): EC 1100 and EC 1200.

Community Psychology
This course covers the history of the community mental-health movement, epidemiology, theory and research regarding risk, vulnerability, resilience, adjustment and maladjustment, as well as person- and environmentally-oriented preventive interventions. Includes a service component that is integrated with class discussion.