College of Social Studies
The College of Social Studies (CSS) offers a distinctive blend of teaching methods, subject matter, and educational structure. Its collegial organization combines tutorials and courses in social theory within the college with individually selected courses from other departments and programs in the University to achieve an integrated education in the social sciences. Founded in 1959, the CSS has provided an unusual educational opportunity for many Wesleyan students whose careers upon graduation have ranged from medicine to law, forestry to college teaching, international business to screenwriting.
Faculty
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
BA, Concordia College Or; MA, Reed College; PHD, Columbia University
Assistant Professor in the College of Social Studies; Assistant Professor, History
Affiliated Faculty
John P. Bonin
BA, Boston College; MA, University of Rochester; PHD, University of Rochester
Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science; Professor of Economics; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Professor, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Sonali Chakravarti
BA, Swarthmore College; MA, Yale University; MPHIL, Yale University; PHD, Yale University
Professor of Government; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Marc A. Eisner
BA, University of Wisconsin at Madison; MA, Marquette University; MBA, University of Connecticut; PHD, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Henry Merritt Wriston Chair in Public Policy; Professor of Government; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Professor, Environmental Studies
Erik Grimmer-Solem
BA, Brigham Young University; DPHIL, Oxford University; MPHIL, Cambridge University; MSC, London School of Economics and Political Science
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Professor in the College of Social Studies; Professor of History; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Professor, German Studies
Richard S. Grossman
AB, Harvard University; MA, Harvard University; MSC, London School of Economics and Political Science; PHD, Harvard University
Andrews Professor of Economics; Professor of Economics; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Nina Hagel
BA, Johns Hopkins University; MA, University of California, Berkeley; PHD, University of California, Berkeley
Assistant Professor of Government; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Assistant Professor, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Kerwin Kaye
BA, University of Colorado Boulder; MA, University San Francisco; PHD, New York University
Associate Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Associate Professor, Sociology; Associate Professor, American Studies
Ioana Emy Matesan
MA, Arizona State University; PHD, Syracuse University
Associate Professor of Government; Co-Chair, College of Social Studies; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Coordinator, Middle Eastern Studies
Cecilia Miller
BA, LeTourneau College; DPHIL, Oxford University; MPHIL, University of St Andrews
Professor of History; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Professor, Medieval Studies
Wendy Rayack
BA, Oberlin College; MA, University of Wisconsin at Madison; PHD, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Associate Professor of Economics; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Peter Rutland
BA, Oxford University; DPHIL, York University
Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought; Professor of Government; Professor, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Gilbert L. Skillman
BA, University Kentucky Lexngt; MA, University of Michigan; PHD, University of Michigan
Professor of Economics; Co-Chair, College of Social Studies; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Victoria Smolkin
BA, Sarah Lawrence College; PHD, University of California, Berkeley
Associate Professor of History; Associate Professor, Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies; Tutor, College of Social Studies
Jennifer Tucker
BA, Stanford University; MPHIL, Cambridge University; PHD, Johns Hopkins University
Professor of History; Director, Center for the Study of Guns and Society; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Professor, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Professor, Science in Society; Professor, Environmental Studies
Laura Ann Twagira
BA, Wellesley College; MA, Sarah Lawrence College; PHD, Rutgers University
Associate Professor of History; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Associate Professor, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Associate Professor, Science in Society
Sarah E. Wiliarty
BA, Harvard University; MA, University of California, Berkeley; PHD, University of California, Berkeley
Associate Professor of Government; Faculty Director of Continuing Studies Curriculum; Tutor, College of Social Studies; Associate Professor, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Associate Professor, German Studies
Visiting Faculty
Richard H. Elphick
BA, University of Toronto; MA, University of California, Los Angeles; PHD, Yale University
Professor of History, Emeritus; Professor of History, Emeritus
Richard A. Miller
BA, Oberlin College; MA, Yale University; MAA, Wesleyan University; PHD, Yale University
Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, Emeritus; Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, Emeritus
J. Donald Moon
BA, University Minnesota Mpls; MA, University of California, Berkeley; PHD, University Minnesota Mpls
John E. Andrus Professor of Government, Emeritus; Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Professor in the College of Social Studies, Emeritus
Nancy L. Schwartz
BA, Oberlin College; MAA, Wesleyan University; PHD, Yale University
Professor of Government, Emerita; Professor of Government, Emerita
CSS102F History and the Turn to the Present (FYS)
This course attempts to make sense of contemporary politics, economics, and society through an historical examination of the present. It will discuss contemporary topics such as neoliberalism, nationalism, COVID-19, critical race theory, the forever war, the New Cold War, etc. It will also raise methodological questions on the promises and perils of using history to understand the present.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-CSS
Prereq: None
CSS213 History and the Turn to the Present
This course attempts to make sense of contemporary politics, economics, and society through an historical examination of the present. It will discuss contemporary topics such as neoliberalism, nationalism, COVID-19, critical race theory, the forever war, the New Cold War, etc. It will also raise methodological questions on the promises and perils of using history to understand the present.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-CSS
Prereq: None
CSS220 Sophomore Economics Tutorial: History of Welfare Economics
This tutorial addresses the question: What can economics tell us about the impact of economic systems and policies on human wellbeing? We will have two main focuses: (1) How do we define value and measure impacts of consumption and policy on individuals and society as a whole? And (2) How do we assess what is the proper role of government in the economy? We will consider the evolution of thought on these questions as exemplified by classical economists in the 18th and 19th centuries, the utilitarian thinkers of the 19th century, neoclassical economists in the early 20th century, early welfare economists in the 1920s, the "New Welfare Economics" of the 1930s and 40s, and the challenges to welfare economics as a discipline that emerged in the 1950s and 60s. Throughout our examination, we will pay careful attention to the distinction between positive and normative modes of inquiry in economics.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
Credits: 1.50
Gen Ed Area: SBS-ECON
Prereq: None
CSS230 Sophomore Government Tutorial: State and Society in the Modern Age
This tutorial examines the rise and evolution of the modern state. While many of the readings focus on Western Europe and the United States, the course draws on cross-regional comparisons to tease out theoretical propositions, compare historical processes across different parts of the world, and consider different understandings of the body politic. We start by exploring what factors account for the rise and consolidation of the nation state in the Western context, after which we consider how the process of state-building occurred in the Middle East and North Africa and explore some of the challenges the sovereign state model faces outside the European context. We then move on to discuss the emergence of different systems of governance and some of the challenges to the state. We will consider whether there are certain paths that lead to democracy and whether there is something unique about American democracy. We will take into account the challenges posed by modernization and evaluate what factors best explain the rise of communism and fascism. We will then consider how the communist and fascist past impacted the rise of the social democratic model in Europe and compare the European and Japanese approaches to welfare provisions. We conclude by considering yet another model for organizing the political community--the religious state. We will examine when, how, and why the notion of the Islamic state emerged, reflect on the extent to which the concept of an Islamic state challenges Western notions of the nation-state and investigate how the discourse on Islam and the state has changed over time in Indonesia, the largest Muslim majority country.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
Credits: 1.50
Gen Ed Area: SBS-GOVT
Prereq: None
CSS240 Sophomore History Tutorial: The Emergence of Modern Europe
This tutorial sequence analyzes the formation of modern European society from the late 18th to the last quarter of the 20th century. Most attention will be placed on Britain, France, Germany and Russia as these countries were shaped by, and responded to, demographic, economic, social, political, and intellectual forces that led to revolutions, political and social reforms, new modes of production, changes in social hierarchies, and new forms of warfare. Much attention will be placed on the social and political consequences of the French Revolution and industrialization, but empire, the origins and consequences of the two world wars (including the Russian revolution and the rise and defeat of Nazism) will also come under extensive discussion, as will the creation of a more stable and prosperous postwar European order. Europe's links to Africa, Asia and the Americas will be discussed in the context of imperialism and the two world wars. In addition to developing knowledge of the most important processes that have shaped the modern world, this tutorial seeks to foster a critical awareness of the varieties of historical narrative, the skills needed to interpret historical primary sources, and the possibilities and limits of history as a tool of social investigation.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
Credits: 1.50
Gen Ed Area: SBS-HIST
Prereq: None
CSS271 Sophomore Colloquium: Modern Social Theory
This colloquium examines a number of competing conceptual frameworks in the social sciences derived from major political philosophers and social theorists, such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Freud.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-GOVT
Prereq: None
CSS320 Junior Economics Tutorial: China in the Global Economy
China is a country that has both transitioned to a mixed-market economy and developed rapidly into a global economic power. As such, the economy displays characteristics of both an emerging market and a developing country. China is a large enough player to design its own institutional infrastructure to support "capitalism with Chinese characteristics." This course examines in detail China's great economic transformation beginning in 1978 in what is often described as a "gradualist" transition to a market economy. In the last four decades, the speed of China's development and its growth rates of GDP are without precedent in history.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-ECON
Prereq: None
CSS330 Junior Government Tutorial
This is the CSS junior government tutorial.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-GOVT
Prereq: None
CSS340 Junior History Tutorial: Post-Imperial History, 1945-1990
This tutorial will survey selected themes and subjects in the postwar history of former European colonies and imperial possessions, focusing specifically on the process of decolonization and nation building in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The tutorial will consider the legacy of imperialism, the development of nationalism and independence movements, and the challenges posed to newly independent states in the context of the Cold War. It will also analyze the problems of trade relations with the West and the challenge of sustained economic development. The tutorial aims to compliment the sophomore history tutorial (CSS 240) by building on its methods and foundations to broaden the horizon in order to consider the processes of modernization in a non-European setting. Throughout we will be testing the possibilities and limits of post-colonial theory as a tool for analyzing the postwar history of select countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and former Indochina. The tutorial aims to impart a basic understanding of the postwar history of former European colonies and develop some of the skills needed to write longer research papers.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-HIST
Prereq: None
CSS371 Junior Colloquium: Liberalism and Its Discontents
This course is a continuation of the sophomore colloquium covering several important social and political theories in the post-World War II era. The course will focus on post-World War II philosopher/theorists who have developed compelling large-scale theories about the nature of modern society: Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, Theodor Adorno (and other Frankfurt School thinkers), Friedrich Hayek, Franz Fanon, and Michel Foucault. The politics of human rights and humanitarianism will also be examined, as will issues pertaining to national borders and sovereignty.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-PHIL
Prereq: None
CSS391 Senior Colloquium: Big Powers and Small Wars
This course examines the international politics, theory, and logic of wars that see big powers wage wars of conquest against smaller powers. It explores and applies scholarly works of theory and analyzes historical case studies to gain a deeper understanding of how and why weaker belligerents can often achieve their political aims when facing stronger adversaries. Students will analyze the contradictions that can make wars of asymmetry difficult for stronger states. The seminar discussions will develop a keener grasp of the politics and logic that inhere in conflicts where the weak fight defensive wars against the strong. This interdisciplinary colloquium intersects international relations, conflict studies history, and theory. This course will improve students' knowledge in international security studies and hone their critical analysis skills.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-ECON
Prereq: None
CSS401 Individual Tutorial, Undergraduate
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS402 Individual Tutorial, Undergraduate
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS403 Department/Program Project or Essay
Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS407 Senior Tutorial (downgraded thesis)
Downgraded Senior Thesis Tutorial - Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor. Only enrolled in through the Honors Coordinator.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS408 Senior Tutorial (downgraded thesis)
Downgraded Senior Thesis Tutorial - Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor. Only enrolled in through the Honors Coordinator.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS409 Senior Thesis Tutorial
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS410 Senior Thesis Tutorial
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
CSS411 Group Tutorial, Undergraduate
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS412 Group Tutorial, Undergraduate
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS419 Student Forum
Student-run group tutorial, sponsored by a faculty member and approved by the chair of a department or program.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
CSS420 Student Forum
Student-run group tutorial, sponsored by a faculty member and approved by the chair of a department or program.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U
CSS465 Education in the Field, Undergraduate
Students must consult with the department and class dean in advance of undertaking education in the field for approval of the nature of the responsibilities and method of evaluation.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS467 Independent Study, Undergraduate
Credit may be earned for an independent study during a summer or authorized leave of absence provided that (1) plans have been approved in advance, and (2) all specified requirements have been satisfied.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS469 Education in the Field, Undergraduate
Students must consult with the department and class dean in advance of undertaking education in the field for approval of the nature of the responsibilities and method of evaluation.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: None
Prereq: None
CSS491 Teaching Apprentice Tutorial
The teaching apprentice program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to assist in teaching a faculty member's course for academic credit.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
CSS492 Teaching Apprentice Tutorial
The teaching apprentice program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to assist in teaching a faculty member's course for academic credit.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT