Global Arc

An introduction to the logic of decision making and reasoning under uncertainty. Focus on psychological mechanisms that govern choice and judgment and on characteristic errors found in intuitive judgment and choice. Discussion of divergence from the model of rational agent often assumed in social science theory and economics. Rules governing pleasure, pain, and well-being provide background for analysis of the rationality of some individual choices and for the evaluation of general policies that affect human welfare. Prerequisite: introductory statistics for social science or instructor's permission.

This course reviews psychological theories and research on how social groups, interactions, communications, and contexts influence the individual. We examine how, when, why, and by whom people are influenced, as well as the conditions under which they are impervious to influence. Topics include conformity, compliance, obedience, persuasion, social identities, social contagion, group decision-making, power, and leadership.

Prejudice is one of the most contentious topics in modern American society. There is debate regarding its causes, pervasiveness, and impact. This goal of this course is to familiarize students with the psychological research relevant to these questions. We will review theoretical perspectives on prejudice to develop an understanding of its cognitive, affective, and motivational underpinnings. We will also discuss how these psychological biases relate to evaluations of, and behavior toward, members of targeted groups. In addition, research-based strategies for reducing prejudice will be discussed.

This course examines a set of critical environmental issues including population growth, ozone layer depletion, climate change, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services and depletion of global fisheries. It provides an overview of the scientific basis for these problems and examines past, present and possible future policy responses.

This course surveys Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its policy implications. Technology topics include a history of the field; evolving conceptions of machine intelligence; and the current state of the technology. Policy topics include the economic effects of AI; regulatory policy; automated vehicles; autonomous aircraft; ensuring fairness, governance, and control; the role of AI in public decision making; national security implications, including autonomous weapons; cybersecurity; and the long-term future of AI. This course is suitable for students of all backgrounds; no technical knowledge is assumed.

Examines modern genetics' implications for public policy focusing on health, law, consumer products, and criminal justice. Topics include: genetic testing and therapy; consumer regulations including FDA rules on at-home genetic testing; the law and genetic discrimination in insurance; and uses of forensic DNA in the courtroom. Explores social, political, and philosophical problems in these areas: changing conceptions of the self; relation of new genetics to the old, racially-charged, eugenics; impact of new theories of gene action and epigenetics on ideas about the "hardwiring" of health and behavior, and on "genetic blame" and future policy.

This course will explore the public policies that have affected wealth, inequality, social mobility, and economic growth in the United States. We begin with the premise that the nation is both richer and poorer than it was half a century ago. That is, we raise the question of why, in the last few decades, American incomes have stagnated and the divide between the top and bottom has grown, with some even labeling ours the "new Gilded Age." To explore that puzzle, we will go back in time to study the evolution and impact of labor, social welfare, and economic policies in recent decades.

This undergraduate lecture course examines the effects, response to, and legacies of pandemics in the past -- their short term and lasting impacts on government, civil liberties, trust in experts, ethnic and racial tensions, social inequalities, and global and local economies. The course uses insights from these past cases of world-changing pandemics (from the plague through influenza, polio, AIDS, and COVID) to inform our understanding of current social, political, and economic challenges. Analysis of the past is also used to inform policy discussions about planning for the future.

How do we solve the social dilemmas posed by new technologies? Could a self-driving car or facial recognition algorithm be programmed to do good? We will look at ethical theories and apply them to these practical problems and more, including: how tech changes social networks; the meaning of "free speech" in new technological environments; technologies that exacerbate racial or gender discrimination; how the use of cryptocurrencies and fintech exacerbate inequality; how the use of A.I. in the health sectors will affect privacy; how artificial intelligence questions existing understandings of what it means to be an ethical human.

How do we evaluate whether a particular public policy is good or bad? Which goals should public policies serve? From Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), public policies cannot be properly understood without exploring the political and moral values that underpin them. This course asks what it means to think ethically about public policies. Each week, it introduces a domestic or international public policy, pairing it with relevant scholarship in ethics to better understand what is at stake. Students are invited to consider how they would improve or replace the policies in question.