Social Sciences

Introduction for nonmajors to study of humans as biological and cultural beings. Includes surveys of archaeology and physical, cultural, and linguistic anthropology to examine human biological and cultural evolution, culture, and cultural systems. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This course introduces students to the key concepts and methods utilized by archaeologists in the excavation, analysis, and interpretation of a variety of material evidence left by ancient societies and cultures. Students will engage in a series of practical exercises (labs) to gain hands-on experience with a variety of artifacts and techniques commonly utilized within the discipline. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduction to study of recent cultures and societies. Focus on development of anthropological thought, language, culture, and broad patterns of cultural behavior. Includes cross-cultural perspectives on belief systems, economic behavior, family, kinship, and sociopolitical structures. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the theories, methodologies, and principles used in the examination of the origins and development of religious beliefs and practices ranging from the Paleolithic through Modern Period. Topics range from gender rites to rites of passage, from ritual feasting to ritual fasting, from normative practices to taboos, sacred landscapes to profane utterances. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Promotes use of critical thinking to explore an individual's relationship to the supply and demand of goods and services. Tools of economic analysis are used to investigate management of environmental systems. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Presents economic theories used as tools for critical thinking to show how the U.S. economy operates. Emphasis on causes and consequences of unemployment and inflation and how they affect the well-being of Americans. The use of government spending, taxation, and the monetary system to promote full employment and stable prices will be examined. Explores role of energy and natural resources in shaping our economic future. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduction to fundamental economic concepts through contemporary social issues. Examine how societies deal with limited resources and social, cultural, and political responses to changing economic conditions. Recommended for those seeking a greater understanding of economics and contemporary issues. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduces concepts and techniques relating to the study of place and population, migration, economic, cultural and political organizations. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Historical comparative study of the world’s major civilizations (African, Asian, Middle East, European, and American) from prehistory to ca.1200 CE. There will be an emphasis on material existence and understanding value systems. We will delve into how these are expressed in different political, social, economic, cultural, and religious systems as well as in literature and art. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Comparative study of the world’s major civilizations (African, Asian, Middle East, European, and American) from roughly 1200 CE to 1815. There will be an emphasis on material existence and understanding value systems. We will delve into how these are expressed in different political, social, economic, cultural and religious systems as well as in literature and art. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Comparative historical study of the world's major civilizations (African, Asian, Middle East, European, and American) from the beginning of industrialization to today’s global world. There will be an emphasis on material existence and understanding value systems. We will delve into how these are expressed in different political, social, economic, cultural, and religious systems as well as in literature and art. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

United States development from European settlements clinging tenuously on the Atlantic coast, or wayward outposts in the Southeast and Southwest, to a large, relatively unified nation between two oceans. We will examine the people of North America, Europe and Africa before colonialism and then address the social, cultural, economic and geographical determinants for colonization. We will explore how colonists began to see themselves separate from the mother country and how this resulted in revolution and a new nation. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

United States evolvement after the early years of nation building. The course will begin at the end of the Jacksonian Reform era, and end with the period of overseas expansion as the United States become a Great Power nation. This course will examine a number of crisis or issues of change, including civil war, western expansion, industrialization, immigration and urbanization. The student will learn how the people of the United States responded to crisis periods through reform movements such as Populism, unionization, Progressivism and imperialism. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

The third part of the History of the United States examines the 20th century starting with World War I. In this period attention directed toward the development of the United States as a modern nation-state. We will cover the process industrialization, urbanization, and immigration that shaped the contours of the country right into the 21st century. Other topics of interest in the larger processes will be the Great Depression, Imperialism, World War I and II, the Cold War, environmentalism, nuclear war and terrorism. The course will end as the United States enters the post-Cold War era. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

With emphasis on the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, Pacific Northwest (PNW) history proceeds through five main periods: indigenous peoples before European arrival, European arrival and exploration, European colonialism, industrial and urban development and immigration, and regional autonomy for the PNW, and considers various marginalized groups in society, including Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans. Within these different historical periods, the course also examines social difference (e.g., ethnicity, race, and gender), economic and political organization, and cultural values. ENGL& 101 is strongly recommended. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This course will examine the environmental history of the Greater Pacific Northwest; the geographic area defined by the Columbia River watershed, including the coastal areas of present-day Oregon, extending north through the Salish Sea including into Canada. Topics covered will include natural history of the Pacific Northwest, the experience of native indigenous people as past, present, and on-going stewards of the land, the historical dynamic of the PNW as a meeting point of multiple cultures, and how historical cultural, social and economic values influence interaction with the environment as a set of changing relationships over time. It will also ask the class as a community and as individuals to reflect on how we understand and value our environment, how we interact with people and place, and how we engage with the past. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Students in this course will self-reflect on their own learning in relationship to indigenous pedagogies and explore if indigenous informed educational philosophies can represent a practice of healing. This course will examine The Assimilation Era, 1870s to 1970s, when governmental educational institutions were employed to disrupt and disappear the complex educational systems practiced by native people since time immemorial. The common practices of pre-colonial indigenous pedagogies will be illuminated and engaged to critically explore the colonizing pedagogy forced on students in government-sanctioned schools. Indigenous pedagogies have proven so resilient that they help to illustrate how indigenous people have continually renewed and revived their cultures through education despite the ongoing oppression of colonization. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Formerly HIST 215, Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduction to American Indian and Indigenous Studies, a field of research grounded in the study of American Indian and indigenous peoples. This field emphasizes individual and community wellness, political self-determination, cultural revitalization and cross-cultural understanding. This course presents foundational terms, concepts and ideas and is recommended for all students but is particularly relevant for those who will pursue a degree in Native American Studies or Indigenous Studies or American Indian/Indigenous Studies. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Nature and function of political institutions in major national systems. ENGL& 101 or concurrent enrollment is recommended. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Popular government in United States; theory and practice of national institutions. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduction to the core issues and approaches used to understand the international system. The study of international relations broadly encompasses the fields of political economy and international security, both of which will be covered in this course, along with increasingly prominent cross-border issues that require global governance (countries working together to resolve problems). This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This course introduces us to political systems and governments in different countries. We will learn some core approaches, concepts, themes, and theories that will help us understand, analyze, and compare domestic politics and institutions seen around the world. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introductory course aimed at familiarizing the student with important ideas and ideologies that have shaped the contemporary world. Ideologies to be explored include Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism, Nationalism, Fascism, etc. We will explore the philosophical foundations that undergird different political and economic systems in the world. To promote a deeper understanding, we will also read a selection of original works of major contributors within the ideological traditions. ENGL& 101 is recommended. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introduction to science of behavior. Emphasis on biological foundations of behavior, cognition, learning, intelligence, motivation, memory, personality, and psychological disorders. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Scientific study of human growth, development, and change throughout life cycle. Physical, cognitive, social, personality, and other aspects of the individual examined through successive stages, from prenatal development until death. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Applies principles of science to study of abnormal behavior. Develop broad understanding of origin, characteristics, and classification of mental disorders from perspectives of psychological theory and research. Introduction to applied areas of diagnosis and assessment incorporated. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Cognitive Psychology explores the mind and brain as information processing systems. We will explore how the brain and mind are designed to collect and interpret data from the environment and then use that data to perceive the world, create memories, make decisions, plan actions, and act in the environment in such a way as to accomplish a required goal. This course explores the cognitive approach to psychology as it studies the topics of memory, attention, perception, problem solving, decision making, and language, among others. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Study of impact of social situations on individual thought processes, emotions, and behavior. Experimental investigation of interpersonal attraction, attitude formation, conformity, aggression, social perception, helping behavior, and prejudice. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Introductory course to develop the analytical skills necessary to understand major developments in the contemporary world and to provide the basis for more advanced study in the field of world politics. The course deepens students’ understanding of globalization and the need for common solutions to global problems that transcend borders. This class will include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Human social behavior, social institutions, and society from sociological perspective. Includes introduction to sociological theory and research and application to topics such as social structure, socialization, deviance, inequality, and stratification. Completion of ENGL& 101 or concurrent enrollment recommended. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This course explores the definition, causes, consequences, and solutions to social problems in U.S. society. We use sociological perspectives to examine some of the most critical problems facing society such as gun violence, racism, climate change, income inequality and poverty. The course examines how race, class, and gender inequalities contribute to and manifest as social problems. We also examine the roles of policymakers, social advocates, and the media in the process of defining social problems. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

Examines elements that create differences within society and exposes learners to a variety of cultural ideas that will lead to a better understanding of people who are different. Culture, ethnicity, lifestyle, religion, disabilities, age, and gender issues will be examined. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This class explores gender and sexuality as organizing principles of identity, interactions, and social institutions. The class emphasizes the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, class, and age in shaping contemporary inequalities. Major theoretical approaches to gender and sexuality will also be introduced. Other topics include media, family, culture, relationships, work, and social movements. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

This class explores society’s relationship with food and agriculture. We examine practices of production, distribution, preparation, and consumption of food. From seeds to the waste stream, we learn what social, political, and economic factors shape our food system and our food choices. Our focus will be both global and local as we investigate the relationships between food, culture, inequality, and ecology. Food justice and food security are organizing themes of the course. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)

An introduction to types of museums, with a focus on Indigenous museums and indigenized museums, and the roles of such institutions within society. This course explores historical and current issues of power structures forming narratives and representations about identity, race, ethnicity, culture, history, and gender within museums. Social justice and social change are important themes for this course. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)