Global Arc

This course will examine how institutions develop, vary in design, and shape public policy. Law will be a primary focus because it is central to the development of institutions in modern societies and provides the formal means for expressing and fixing policy. The course will cover a wide range of institutions- social, economic, and political- not only in an American context but also in comparative perspective.

Introduction to communications policy and law, covering such topics as freedom of the press and the development of journalism; intellectual property; regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting, and cable; and policy challenges raised by the Internet and the globalization of the media.

The recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Daniel Prude and the subsequent Black Lives Matter Protests have elevated the conversations on racism, police violence, and the rise of mass incarceration n the United States. The United States has the world's highest rate of police violence as well as the world's highest rate of incarceration. This seminar will study the history and role of policing in the United States, and introduce students to current issues surrounding policing practices as they intersect with constitutional rights, racial justice, and the rise of mass incarceration in the United States

This course examines the dynamics of the Black American political experience in the U.S. The focus will be on Black Americans as actors, creators and initiators in the political process. Beginning with an exploration of the historical antecedents of blackness in America, this course will explore how the Black experience in America has shaped the American political system and how black Americans have come to understand their position within the American Political system. The course is intended to be an introduction to the Black political experience.

This course will explore the context, content, and significance of reparations. States deploy reparations to acknowledge and sometimes make restitution for institutionalized violence. Typically, reparations are won by activist-led movements. Conflicts may arise over who can speak for harmed groups and what constitutes justice. For their part, state actors may approach reparations strategically, e.g., to reframe a historical narrative. After studying various precedents, we will turn to recent developments in the long struggle for restorative justice for African Americans and other African diasporic communities worldwide.

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 recurring, high-profile issues in technology policy and law. Each session will explore a challenging topic, including consumer privacy, data security, electronic surveillance, net neutrality, online speech, algorithmic fairness, cryptocurrencies, election security, and offensive operations. The seminar will also cover foundational technical concepts that affect policy and law, including internet architecture, cryptography, systems security, privacy science, and artificial intelligence. Materials and discussion will draw extensively from current events and primary sources.