Self, Society & Transformation

Catalog description

This course introduces students to systemic thinking and foundational concepts of systems theory informed by various lineages (e.g. cybernetics, general systems theory, family systems theory, complex thought, etc.). The purpose of this course is to understand the role of theory in inquiry and how systems and complexity theories provide a fundamental paradigm that is an alternative to traditional scientific reductionistic inquiry. Systems thinking is by its very nature transdisciplinary and can be a catalyst for thinking outside a disciplinary box about any issue of interest and at any scale - self, organization, and society. Students will discover how system theory can help them explore multiple perspectives and complex interrelationships associated with their current dissertation topic idea, and use these to develop their dissertation inquiry. RESTRICTED TO TSD STUDENTS