Organizing Society

Catalog description

This course will explore how various societies, past and present, have been organized. From small tribal societies that practice communism to large industrial societies that foment capitalism, the mechanisms by which society is organized are intentional and deliberate. Anthropological, sociological, political, economic, and historical perspectives will be considered throughout the course. Special attention will be given to how inequality manifests itself within societies. This course will require students to select the societies we will study and to actively participate in researching these societies. The course will culminate in student groups designing a society according to goals and outcomes they set by applying the knowledge they have gained over the course of the semester.