PHR 101 Foundations of Social and Political Inquiry
Recent years have seen the emergence of the Occupy movement, the Arab Spring, the near-collapse of the European Union, and eruptions of unrest in many parts of the world. What connects these events and grievances? What differentiates them? Which possibilities and dangers can we glimpse in them? These are the sorts of questions that social scientists ask, and this course will address. This course introduces tools and perspectives from the critical, interpretive tradition of social science for the analysis of politics and human rights. Students will become familiar with key concepts such as power, structure, agency, ideology, and globalization. In the process they will discover new ways of looking at the world and acquire a firm foundation for further study in politics and human rights.