Contents
Welcome
Whether you think you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.
--Henry Ford
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences courses study selected issues of contemporary life using an integrated/interdisciplinary social sciences perspective. These courses demonstrate ways cultural, psychological, sociological, political, geographic, and economic forces influence people and shape situations.
Why Study Social Science?
Can you answer these questions?
SSCI 101 Cultural Diversity
- What is a family, and why does it exist?
- In what ways do climate and geography affect who and what we are?
- Why do some people riot, others call their congressperson, and others use the ballot box to get their demands met?
- How can we call women, who are 51% of Americans, a minority, and not white males who are about 38% of Americans?
- How are Judaism and Islam similar to each other yet different from Hinduism -- which is nonetheless somewhat similar to Christianity which has a common history with Judaism and Islam?
These questions, and others regarding the influence of culture on people and people on culture, are explored in the Cultural Diversity course (SSCI 101).
SSCI 102 Popular Culture
- Where does Rock-n-Roll come from? Why was it such a powerful force in our society?
- What impact does movies, music, athletics, TV, and technology have on our lives?
- What are the current debates over rap music as it relates to issues of race and gender?
- How does the use of cell phones affect our personal relations?
- Does the television show "The Simpsons" reflect our cultural values as a society?
These are the types of questions that are examined in this course that explores the relationship between society and popular culture in the United States from the latter half of the twentieth century to the present. This is an interdisciplinary course that will draw from socsci, Economics, Geography, Polical Science, Sociology,and Pschology to study American popular cutlure.
SSCI 104 World Economic Geography
- Why do nations trade?
- How do different nations address the basic economic issues of scarcity and choice?
- How can countries pursue economic growth?
- How do population, resource endowment, politics, culture, religion, and language affect the economies of nations and the world?
These questions and others regarding economics issues from a global perspective are explored in the World Economic Geography course.
SSCI 105 Law and Society
- What is the nature and structure of the legal system in the United States?
- How are the legal systems organized in other countries?
- What is the relationship between the legal system and other social institutions like the family, education, health care, and religion?
- What is the relationship between the legal system and systems of inequality in the United States?
- What is the role of the legal system in reacting to or creating social change?
- What are the various professions within the legal system and their corresponding duties and roles?
These questions and others regarding the relationship between the law and society are explored in the Law and Society course
Social Science Course Descriptions
Columbus State offers these courses in Social Science.
Social Science Faculty
Social Science-Related Sites
Social Science links through Yahoo.
DejaNews archives many of the usenet discussion groups. From there many kinds of FAQs are available.
Xplore Society provides links to information on environmental issues, human rights, and current affairs.
The Alternative Group (TAG) is an advocacy group for Generation Xers that provides a non-partisan perspective on major issues that affect young Americans.
Social and Behavioral Sciences Department
309 Center for Technology and Learning
550 East Spring Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614)287-5005