• Horizon Seminar Social Science Courses

    Horizon Academic offers two distinct kinds of research experiences: Horizon Labs, which is a one-on-one research mentorship program, and Horizon Seminar. Horizon Seminar allows high school students to complete a college-level research project under the guidance of a professor or lecturer with decades of teaching experience in their field. Students develop individualized research topics and attend small group classes, with an average class size of 4 and a maximum of 6 students. Our Senior Instructors lead 14 classes throughout the trimester, and our Teaching Assistants (who tend to be masters or PhD students in these fields) offer an additional 6 sessions for review, discussion, and feedback. Although Horizon Seminar classes meet in small groups of 4-6 students, all students complete their own individual research project and are not expected to agree upon a research topic with other students.

    Environmental Engineering Horizon Seminar Social Science Course Icon: How do ecosystems collapse? How can we engineer solutions to environmental catastrophe? Dr. Truncer’s course explores how human society can react to environmental systems collapse. Students may examine and research a variety of sustainability issues with regard to agricultural production, urbanization, infrastructure, resource use, and modern day engineering innovations. Dr. Truncer has previously taught this course at Harvard University and Stanford University.

    How do ecosystems collapse? How can we engineer solutions to environmental catastrophe? This course explores how human society can react to environmental systems collapse. Students may examine and research a variety of sustainability issues with regard to agricultural production, urbanization, infrastructure, resource use, and modern day engineering innovations.

    Behavioral Economics Horizon Seminar Social Science Course Icon: How does our psychology influence the decisions we make ​every day and, ultimately, economic outcomes? We explore the rules-of-thumb that our brains constantly employ to makes choices, and how they can backfire, leading to biases in our decisions. You will be a participant in live experiments and learn how social scientists use them to study behavior. Professor Gallo has previously taught at Harvard and Oxford, and he currently teaches behavioral economics at Cambridge.

    How does our psychology influence the decisions we make ​every day and, ultimately, economic outcomes? We explore the rules-of-thumb that our brains constantly employ to makes choices, and how they can backfire, leading to biases in our decisions. You will be a participant in live experiments and learn how social scientists use them to study behavior. Professor Gallo has previously taught at Harvard and Oxford, and he currently teaches behavioral economics at Cambridge.

    International Relations Horizon Seminar Social Science Course Icon: What are the causes of war and peace? How does the international system affect the behavior of states, and how does this affect people on the ground? We explore the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. We critically examine controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition. Professor Rezvani had previously taught this course at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Oxford.

    (The Seminar track of this course is only available in the spring and summer terms, turn to the Labs track for a year-round option.)

    What are the causes of war and peace? How does the international system affect the behavior of states, and how does this affect people on the ground? We explore the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. We critically examine controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition. Professor Rezvani had previously taught this course at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Oxford.

    Psychology and Emotion Regulation Horizon Seminar Course Icon: The course will explain and illustrate research methods in psychology using current research on human emotions, emotion regulation, and emotional disorders. Students will become familiar with research methods and experimental designs in these areas. Students will also design a study on a current topic of their choice in one of these areas.

    (Only Available Spring and Summer Terms)

    The course will explain and illustrate research methods in psychology using current research on human emotions, emotion regulation, and emotional disorders. Students will become familiar with research methods and experimental designs in these areas. Students will also design a study on a current topic of their choice in one of these areas.

    Machine Learning and Social Media. Public social media platforms have become very popular avenues for many people to get news to share their thoughts, feelings, and worldviews. In turn, social media data feeds can provide invaluable insights and strong signals of emerging problems. For example, leveraging powerful machine learning tools and social media feeds, we can detect when a social media account is involved with spreading misinformation, fake news, and hate speech, or in engaging in cyberbullying or malicious “trolling.” Additionally, we can predict when a user might have indications of mental health decline such as depression.

    (Only Available Summer Terms) 

    Public social media platforms have become very popular avenues for many people to get news to share their thoughts, feelings, and worldviews. In turn, social media data feeds can provide invaluable insights and strong signals of emerging problems. For example, leveraging powerful machine learning tools and social media feeds, we can detect when a social media account is involved with spreading misinformation, fake news, and hate speech, or in engaging in cyberbullying or malicious “trolling.” Additionally, we can predict when a user might have indications of mental health decline such as depression.

    Cybersecurity. Internet attacks are increasingly sophisticated and complex, and they can have huge impact on our everyday lives. Do you really know how the Internet works? Are you sure that your personal data is well protected? In this class, we will first build our background knowledge on how computers communicate with one another through the internet. Then, we'll use machine learning approaches to detect compromised machines through network traffic, denial of service attacks, and hijacking attacks.

    (Only Available Summer Terms)

    Internet attacks are increasingly sophisticated and complex, and they can have huge impact on our everyday lives. Do you really know how the Internet works? Are you sure that your personal data is well protected? In this class, we will first build our background knowledge on how computers communicate with one another through the internet. Then, we'll use machine learning approaches to detect compromised machines through network traffic, denial of service attacks, and hijacking attacks.

  • Horizon Labs Social Science Courses

    Horizon Labs offers high school students the opportunity to work one-on-one with leading researchers and lecturers from some of the world's best known universities to develop highly specialized and unique research projects in interdisciplinary topics in the sciences and humanities. Horizon Labs allows students to get individualized mentorship from instructors who are on the front lines of PhD-level research, often who are in the process of completing their own PhD or postdoctoral research. These instructors are intimately acquainted with the latest studies, the most relevant data sets, and the most interesting perspectives being introduced in their respective fields. Through 20 hours of one-on-one mentorship with their instructors, Horizon Labs students can get access to useful and unique data sets, develop customized reading lists to enrich their writing, get individualized feedback about their paper drafts, and hear advice on publication opportunities from experts in their fields.

    Organizational Behavior. How do organizations make good decisions, and why do they sometimes make bad ones? In what ways can team dynamics be improved? How can businesses foster creativity and innovation, and why are they important? This course examines the intersection of business and management studies, behavioral sciences, and psychology. Organizations, such as schools, startups, non-profits, corporations, and governments, are complex social systems that influence, and are influenced by, individual and group behavior.

    How do organizations make good decisions, and why do they sometimes make bad ones? In what ways can team dynamics be improved? How can businesses foster creativity and innovation, and why are they important? This course examines the intersection of business and management studies, behavioral sciences, and psychology. Organizations, such as schools, startups, non-profits, corporations, and governments, are complex social systems that influence, and are influenced by, individual and group behavior.

    Psychology Horizon Labs Social Science Course Icon: Horizon Academic is thrilled to offer a full range of 72 subtopics in psychology, spanning key questions in clinical, social, developmental, and cognitive psychology. Our psychology program started out with a narrower focus on data science and pathology, but our psychology offerings have continued to grow as more instructors of diverse psychology backgrounds have joined our team. We invite you to have a closer look at the many diverse psychology sub-topics we offer.

    Horizon Academic is thrilled to offer a full range of 72 subtopics in psychology, spanning key questions in clinical, social, developmental, and cognitive psychology. Our psychology program started out with a narrower focus on data science and pathology, but our psychology offerings have continued to grow as more instructors of diverse psychology backgrounds have joined our team. We invite you to have a closer look at the many diverse psychology sub-topics we offer.

    The Philosophy of the Mind Horizon Labs Social Science Course Icon: What is a ‘mind’? How do our minds hook onto the world? This course uses philosophy and cognitive science to investigate the nature of mind and cognition, with a particular focus on perception and thought. Depending on their interests, students can focus on interpreting scientific experiments or focus on the more philosophical issues that thinking about the mind raises. This is an adapted version of a course that Mr. Craig has taught at Oxford University.

    What is a ‘mind’? How do our minds hook onto the world? Are artificial intelligences genuine minds? Could trees be conscious? How can we scientifically study the mind, which is something we seem to know only through introspection? How do minds come to know the physical world? This course uses philosophy and cognitive science to investigate the nature of mind, consciousness and cognition. Students can focus on interpreting scientific experiments or on more philosophical issues. This is an adapted version of a course that Dr. Craig taught at Oxford University.

    Political Theory and Philosophy Horizon Labs Social Science Course Icon: What justifies the authority of the state? What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? How should societies reckon with implicit bias, historical injustices, and structures of racism, classism, and sexism? Can meritocracy exist alongside entrenched privilege? We examine these questions and more in Mr. Cabezas's course, based on his section of the Contemporary Civilization (CC) course at Columbia University.

    What justifies the authority of the state? What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? How should societies reckon with implicit bias, historical injustices, and structures of racism, classism, and sexism? Can meritocracy exist alongside entrenched privilege? We examine these questions and more in Mr. Cabezas's course, based on his section of the Contemporary Civilization (CC) course at Columbia University.

    Critical History. We investigate the concepts central to the writing and understanding of history. These include, on the one hand, theoretical concepts like objectivity, historical fact, causality, agency, determinism, and morality; on the other, more empirical concepts like nation, empire, revolution, global, race, culture, and identity. Reading selected writings by distinguished historians, we will analyze how these concepts shape the way historical events and processes are interpreted.

    We investigate the concepts central to the writing and understanding of history. These include, on the one hand, theoretical concepts like objectivity, historical fact, causality, agency, determinism, and morality; on the other, more empirical concepts like nation, empire, revolution, global, race, culture, and identity. Reading selected writings by distinguished historians, we will analyze how these concepts shape the way historical events and processes are interpreted.

    International Relations. What are the causes of war and peace? How does the international system affect the behavior of states, and how does this affect people on the ground? We explore the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. We critically examine controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition.

    What are the causes of war and peace? How does the international system affect the behavior of states, and how does this affect people on the ground? We explore the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. We critically examine controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition.

    Ancient Greco-Roman History Horizon Labs Social Science Course Icon: How was slavery classified in the Greco-Roman world? What alternative forms of bondage existed alongside it? What were the conditions of the slave systems during this time? How might we imagine the lives of those under bondage? To what extent were slaves able to express their autonomy? How was love expressed among people in the Greco-Roman world? Are there any compelling cases in other eras that merit further comparisons? In this course, we work to gather an accurate picture of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, not only from the perspective of political leaders and social elites, but from the perspective of the laborers, artisans, soldiers, and slaves who made up the majority of these societies.

    How was slavery classified in the Greco-Roman world? What alternative forms of bondage existed alongside it? What were the conditions of the slave systems during this time? How might we imagine the lives of those under bondage? To what extent were slaves able to express their autonomy? How was love expressed among people in the Greco-Roman world? Are there any compelling cases in other eras that merit further comparisons? In this course, we work to gather an accurate picture of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, not only from the perspective of political leaders and social elites, but from the perspective of the laborers, artisans, soldiers, and slaves who made up the majority of these societies.

    Medical Sociology. In recent decades, views on what constitutes a “mental illness” and what constitutes humane treatments have evolved with social norms. Psychopathology has also become increasingly amenable to the discussion of “public issues” that fall outside of an individual’s private life. This course takes a sociological lens to the study of psychotherapy, grounding itself in the emergence of a modern “therapeutic society.” We focus on the practice of psychotherapy itself and the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy, as well as how those topics are discussed in society. In so doing, we consider both the role of “the medical expert”—the therapist—and the role of “the patient”—the individual attending therapy.

    In recent decades, views on what constitutes a “mental illness” and what constitutes humane treatments have evolved with social norms. Psychopathology has also become increasingly amenable to the discussion of “public issues” that fall outside of an individual’s private life. This course takes a sociological lens to the study of psychotherapy, grounding itself in the emergence of a modern “therapeutic society.” We focus on the practice of psychotherapy itself and the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy, as well as how those topics are discussed in society. In so doing, we consider both the role of “the medical expert”—the therapist—and the role of “the patient”—the individual attending therapy.

    Games, Networks, and Politics Horizon Labs Social Science Course Icon: The decisions we make are always affected by the decisions of others. This course will study the different circumstances in which humans interact on a pair, community, and national scale. We will cover a wide range of topics, starting with popular models in game theory such as the Prisoners Dilemma and different versions of auctions. We will then progress to understanding how information and preferences can spread through different networks, focusing on how these networks are formed and taking examples from social influence and epidemic spreading. Finally, we explore decision making in the context of politics.

    The decisions we make are always affected by the decisions of others. This course will study the different circumstances in which humans interact on a pair, community, and national scale. We will cover a wide range of topics, starting with popular models in game theory such as the Prisoners Dilemma and different versions of auctions. We will then progress to understanding how information and preferences can spread through different networks, focusing on how these networks are formed and taking examples from social influence and epidemic spreading. Finally, we explore decision making in the context of politics.

  • Research Questions by Each Course

    Below are the lists of pre-approved topics for each Horizon course. Please note that these lists are not restrictive or exhaustive: students at Horizon Academic often submit customized research topics or proposals. If a student wishes to research something else besides these questions but still related to the general course topic, then they should identify their proposed research question in their application. Prior to evaluating their application, we will consult with the course instructor to confirm whether the custom topic request is permitted.

  • Horizon Seminar

    Small Group Classes. Individualized Research Projects. Taught by Professors and Lecturers.

  • Environmental Problems in Human Society:

    Lessons from the Past, Engineering Future Solutions

    【 Megan Latshaw 】

    How do ecosystems collapse? How can we engineer solutions to environmental catastrophe? This course course explores how human society can react to environmental systems collapse. Students may examine and research a variety of sustainability issues with regard to agricultural production, urbanization, infrastructure, resource use, and modern day engineering innovations.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. What advantages does organic farming have over conventional farming? Can organic farms compete with conventional farms in feeding the world?

     

    2. How can cities and their infrastructure be designed for the predicted changes in climate? Provide specific examples in your response.

     

    3. The recent tremendous growth of urban areas has created a multitude of environmental problems and challenges. Choose one area of urban design that can improve the urban environment – what costs and benefits are involved?

     

    4. What are the latest advances in hydroponic and vertical farming? Are these the food production methods of the future? What are the costs?

     

    5. Are the economic benefits of dam building worth the environmental costs?

     

    6. Sea level rise is expected to impact many coastal cities and islands (e.g. Andaman Islands) in the coming years. What are the advantages or disadvantages of relocating an island settlement or city versus building dikes and protective barriers such as in the case of the Netherlands?

     

    7. Are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) significantly different from the variation produced through more traditional methods of cross-breeding and the creation of hybrids?

     

    8. Oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and are becoming more acidic. How will this affect marine ecosystems and thus human society? What policies might be implemented to make the public more aware of this looming environmental crisis and what incentives would encourage governments to take action?

     

    9. Money and research are now being poured into the technology of self-driving cars. Is maintaining the concept of “car” an efficient means of transportation, or are there better, more sustainable systems for the movement of people?

     

    10. Soil erosion is severe in many areas of the world. What farming methods and other activities are creating this erosion? What farming methods can not only reduce soil erosion but build nutrient-rich soil that enhances crop yields and lowers carbon emissions substantially? What policies might encourage soil conservation on farmland?

     

    11. Renewable energy sources are gaining more and more attention, and represent an increasingly larger percentage of energy production. What is the most promising type of renewable energy and why? Can modern society completely convert to renewable energy sources from a largely carbon-based system? What further advances or changes in lifestyle might be required?

     

    12. Most large farms rely on mechanization and need to add massive amounts of artificial fertilizer to produce high crop yields. How did this situation come about, and is this a sustainable practice? What are the carbon costs of such agriculture and are there feasible alternatives?

     

    13. Can sustainable practices be successfully incorporated into current business models? If not, what might need to change in order to create a better fit?

     

    14. Are United Nations treaties and resolutions an effective means to pass worldwide sustainability measures or is a different system necessary?

     

    15. Some architects are now designing “walkable” cities. What does this mean and what are the advantages and disadvantages of such an urban design? Illustrate your response with examples.

     

    16. Aquaculture, or fish farming, is increasingly providing a major source of food for a growing world population. What forms of aquaculture are most sustainable, and which forms are the least sustainable? Why? Provide specific examples of aquaculture in your analysis.

  • Behavioral Economics

    【 Edoardo Gallo 】

    How does our psychology influence the decisions we make ​every day and, ultimately, economic outcomes? Professor Gallo's course explores the heuristics, or rules-of-thumb, our brain constantly employs to makes choices, and how in some instances they systematically backfire leading to biases in our decisions. You will be a participant in live experiments and learn how social scientists use them to study how people behave. Professor Gallo has previously taught at Harvard and Oxford, and he is currently teaching behavioral economics as well as other courses at Cambridge.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. What behavioral principles should be used to design a pension scheme?

     

    2. What type of policies mitigate the bad consequences of unemployment?

     

    3. Design an insurance policy that is going to attract consumers by exploiting psychological biases.

     

    4. Humans are prone to errors when making decisions under uncertainty. How can modern technology reduce these errors?

     

    5. Pollution is a problem affecting most large metropolitan areas. How may insights from psychology inform urban policy to decrease pollution?

     

    6. Top students from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not apply to the best universities. What are the potential reasons and what kind of actions can be taken to change this?

     

    7. Doctors routinely make recommendations that may have life/death implications for their patients. How can biases in decision-making affect their advice?

     

    8. How can we increase the rate at which individuals recycle?

     

    9. Describe how psychological biases may affect judicial decisions and propose policy changes to minimize their negative impact.

     

    10. Delays in paying income tax lead to significant financial losses from governments. What design changes could be made to tax collection policy to minimize these delays?

     

    11. Buying a house is an infrequent transaction with large financial consequences. In what ways can a prospective house buyer or seller avoid mistakes due to psychological biases?

     

    12. A new type of fertilizer has been invented that increases crop yields by 300%. Nevertheless, farmers are not adopting it. What could be the reasons and what policies can be implemented to increase takeup?

     

    13. A major supermarket chain has hired you as a consultant to apply behavioral principles to improve their sales. Write a report with your recommendations.

     

    14. You are a financial advisor for a wealthy individual. Come up with an investment strategy that avoids pitfalls from biases in decision making.

     

    15. Develop an idea for a phone app that uses insights from behavioral economics to improve an individual’s health.

  • Controversies in International Relations

    【 David Rezvani 】

    What are the causes of war and peace? Professor Rezvani’s course explores the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. It critically examines controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition. Professor Rezvani had previously taught at Harvard, MIT, and Oxford University.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. Should countries (like the US or others) allow companies and individuals to hack back against foreign cyber attackers?

     

    2. Which country has the best model for fighting global pandemics?

     

    3. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with China?

     

    4. What is the greatest challenge to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and how can it be overcome?

     

    5. Should other countries be happy or worried about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?

     

    6. What is the best type of free trade agreement for Asia?

     

    7. What explains China’s remarkable economic growth?

     

    8. Is China a revisionist or status quo power?

     

    9. Was Brexit the right decision for the United Kingdom?

     

    10. What political outcome has the best chance at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

     

    11. In light of the massive flow of refugees from places like Ukraine and the Middle East to Europe, is international migration bad for host countries?

     

    12. What is the best solution to address the plight of the Rohingya?

     

    13. Should the international community prohibit Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons?

     

    14. Is global poverty better reduced through free trade or international aid?

     

    15. Does humanitarian disaster justify military intervention?

     

    16. Was it a right choice for America and its allies to have invaded Libya?

     

    17. What role should countries play in their policy toward Syria?

     

    18. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with Russia?

     

    19. Do you believe that Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine is the West’s fault?

     

    20. What carbon tax or carbon emission trading scheme do you favor to address the threat of global warming?

     

    21. In light of the similarities and differences between credit monitoring systems in different countries, what changes, if any, would you make to China’s social credit system?

  • Clinical Psychology and Emotion Regulation

    【 Bridget Callaghan 】

    (Only available Spring and Summer terms)

     

    The course will explain and illustrate research methods in psychology using current research on human emotions, emotion regulation, and emotional disorders. Students will become familiar with research methods and experimental designs in these areas. Students will also design a study on a current topic of their choice in one of these areas.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. Does it make sense to think of mental disorders as discrete categories or dimensions that we all vary on?

     

    2. How do we regulate our emotions? How does emotion regulation go awry in psychopathology?

     

    3. How can moods and emotions be measured and manipulated?

     

    4. Are cognitions important for emotions?

     

    5. What are the implications of cognitive approaches towards emotions for our understanding and treatment of emotional disorders.

     

    6. Why are we not better at treating mental disorders?

     

    7. Are today's youth really more anxious and depressed than youth in the past? If so, what is contributing to this increase?

     

    8. How do scientists study treatments for mental health problems? What are empirically supported treatments, why are they useful, and what are their limitations?

     

    9. How can mental health treatments be delivered? What are the advantages and disadvantages of certain delivery formats?

     

    10. How can we increase access to mental health treatments?

     

    11. What is depression, exactly? Is it one syndrome, or is it a collection of different syndromes that we grouped under the same name?

  • Leveraging Machine Learning and Social Media to Detect Fake News, Understand Mental Health, and Combat Cybercrime

    【 Maria Konte 】

    (Only Available Spring and Summer Terms)

     

    Public social media platforms have become very popular avenues for many people to get news to share their thoughts, feelings, and worldviews. In turn, social media data feeds can provide invaluable insights and strong signals of emerging problems. For example, leveraging powerful machine learning tools and social media feeds, we can detect when a social media account is involved with spreading misinformation, fake news, and hate speech, or in engaging in cyberbullying or malicious “trolling.” Additionally, we can predict when a user might have indications of mental health decline such as depression. Finally, we can detect when accounts on social media are being misused or abused for malicious purposes such as spamming, participating in cyberattacks, or proliferating malicious software. In this class, we will work with real world social media datasets (Twitter, Reddit, etc.) and applied machine learning techniques to develop models that indicate when a problem is under the way.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. Digital Epidemiology: Mental health and social media

     

    2. Predicting Depression using social media data

     

    3. Detecting fake news and misinformation

     

    4. Modeling the spread of information over social media

     

    5. Detecting hate speech

     

    6. Identifying cyberbullying on social media

     

    7. Applying graph analysis techniques on social media

     

    8. The formation of communities on social media

     

    9. Non-Coding Track: public policy and regulation of social media

  • Data Science Approaches to Internet Security

    【 Maria Konte 】

    (Only Available Summer Terms)

     

    Internet attacks are increasingly sophisticated and complex, and they can have huge impact on our everyday lives by disconnecting entire networks, disrupting food and gas supply chains, and leaking sensitive financial and personal information. As a result, the need for experts in all aspects in the Cybersecurity field is continuously increasing. In this class, we will first build our background knowledge on how computers communicate with one another, and how they work as parts of the Internet. Then we will learn about the indications that a device (computers, servers, handheld devices, and IoT / household devices connected to the Internet) is compromised or has atypical behavior. We use machine learning approaches to detect compromised machines through network traffic, denial of service attacks, and hijacking attacks. The course also features a non-coding track for students who are interested in the public policy and regulatory aspects of Cybersecurity. Skills we will focus on include Data science, Machine Learning, Network Traffic analysis, Internet Policies.

     

    We will work with real datasets on cross disciplinary projects.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. How does the Internet work?

     

    2. How to detect compromised devices?

     

    3. Hands-on Internet Security: Network Traffic Analysis

     

    4. What could bring the Internet down? Introduction to Security and overview of Internet Attacks.

     

    5. Hands-on Internet Security: Denial of Service Attacks (DoS)

     

    6. Hands-on Internet Security: Hijacking attacks

     

    7. How global physical and political events impact the Internet?

     

    8. Non-Coding Track: Public Policies and the Internet

  • Horizon Labs

    One on One Mentorship. Specialized Research Topics. Flexible Timing.

  • The Philosophy of the Mind

    【 Alasdair Craig 】

    What is a mind and what is consciousness? Are artificial intelligences genuine minds? Could trees be conscious? What are the implications of artificial intelligence for creativity and morality? How can we scientifically study the mind? These are some of the questions you can explore in this course, which uses philosophy and cognitive science to investigate the nature of the mind, consciousness and cognition. Course materials include classical and contemporary writing by philosophers and cognitive scientists, as well as videos and podcasts of philosophers and cognitive scientists debating the issues. Students will also cultivate study skills and learn how to write and debate with clarity and rigor. Depending on their interests, students can focus on interpreting scientific experiments or focus more on philosophical issues to do with the mind and consciousness. The course is adapted from courses that Dr. Craig has taught undergraduates at the University of Oxford.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. Are conscious minds physical, material things, or are they non-physical? For example, is the human brain a mind, or must minds be something else, over and above the brain?

     

    2. Could artificial intelligences be conscious? Could they have emotions?

     

    3. What is pain? Is it a state of the brain? Could a robot feel pain?

     

    4. What do perceptual illusions and hallucinations reveal about the nature of consciousness and perception? Do we ever ‘directly’ see the world as it really is?

     

    5. Can science explain consciousness, or will consciousness always be mysterious to science?

     

    6. Can the conscious experiences that we have when we see, hear and smell be influenced by our prior beliefs, expectations and desires?

     

    7. In the future, will we read novels and listen to music written by artificial intelligences?

     

    8. Could artificial intelligence bring about the end of the human species?

     

    9. What are delusions? To understand what is going on when people suffer from delusions, must we postulate abnormalities in how beliefs are formed and maintained, or does it suffice to appeal to abnormalities in perception or experience?

     

    10. What is the structure of the mind? How does it process information?

     

    11. Is the human mind best understood as a kind of computer?

     

    12. What exactly is consciousness?

     

    13. Could panpsychism – the view that all matter is conscious – actually be true?

     

    14. Do we have free will?

  • Political Theory and Philosophy

    【 César Cabezas Gamarra 】|【 Sonny K. 】|【 Johan T. 】

    What justifies the authority of the state? What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? How should societies reckon with implicit bias, historical injustices, and structures of racism, classism, and sexism? Can meritocracy exist alongside entrenched privilege? We examine these questions and more in Mr. Cabezas's course, based on his section of the Contemporary Civilization (CC) course at Columbia University.

     

    Pre-approved Topic List

     

    1. What justifies the authority of the state? What are the problems associated with social life in the absence of government (i.e. a state of nature)? How does the "social contract" proposed by the likes of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau work as a solution to these problems?

     

    2. What are the supreme principles (if any) that should guide our moral conduct? Do they admit of exceptions?

     

    3. What is implicit bias? Should we blame agents for having implicit biases even if they are outside their control?

     

    4. Can we explain the various aspects of social reality purely in terms of individual beliefs, actions and intentions? Or does an adequate explanation of social reality require reference to social phenomena such as organizations, social structures and social laws?

     

    5. Is morality merely a matter of personal (or group) opinion? Or are there objective moral facts that transcend cultures and historical eras?

     

    6. What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? Is being free not having others interfere with one's personal affairs? Or is it to have the capacity to make one's own laws by participating in the collective process of government? Or is freedom a matter of not being subject to the arbitrary power of the state and/or other subjects?

     

    7. What is the role of privileges or unearned advantages in sustaining systems of oppression?

     

    8. What are our moral duties regarding injustices in which we participate indirectly (e.g. buying clothes produced in sweatshops)?

     

    9. Are we morally responsible for the moral failures of our ancestors (e.g. colonization, slavery, the Holocaust)? What about the present-day consequences of their moral failures?

     

    10. What are some convincing argument for the right to reparations for African-Americans?

     

    11. Why are epistemic virtues such as humility, open-mindedness, and curiosity important for our life in community?

     

    12. What is the importance of public deliberation and disagreement for a democratic society?

     

    13. Can people be willfully ignorant? If so, how does willful ignorance contribute to the maintenance of social injustice?

     

    14. Given that science has ruled out the existence of biological races, should we give up the concept of race? Or is there a plausible non-biological concept of race that can contribute to a better understanding of racial relations?

     

    15. What is the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality?

     

    16. Is racism a matter of individual beliefs, intentions and actions, or can racism also take place at the level of institutions and social structures?

     

    17. What is intersectionality? How does it contribute to a better understanding of gender, race and class?

     

    18. What is work? What is meaningful work? How might we make work more meaningful?

     

    19. Is work an oppressive institution? Can we make work (more) free? How?

     

    20. What is a Universal Basic Income? What are the best arguments in favor of UBI and what are the strongest objections?

     

    21. What is care-work? How does the distribution of responsibility for care

     

    22. Is work becoming more "precarious”? How do we weigh the benefits of flexible work up against the perils of precarity?

     

    23. What is civil disobedience? When, if ever, is civil disobedience justified?

     

    24. How should the climate justice movement think about the use of civil disobedience? Might there be arguments for going even further? What about uncivil disobedience?

     

    25. On revolution, with a focus on Hannah Arendt: Why did Arendt favor the American over the French revolution? What does it tell us about her conception of modern politics?

     

    26. What is an oligarchy? Is the US an oligarchy? What can be done to make an oligarchy more democratic?

  • Research Topics in Psychology

    【 Sori Baek 】|【 Brian Earp 】|【 Megha C.】|【 Andy S.】|【 Erik N. 】|【Ellen R.】|【Joanna Szypula】|【Ana Maria Pereira de Souza】|【 Christa C.】|【 Jiyoung 】|【 Aliza 】|【 ChiChi M. 】|【 Alex R. 】|

    【 Jackie Katzman 】|【 Alexander Jay 】|【 Karly D. 】|【 Emily 】

    Please note that topics offered by Ms. Sori Baek are marked with "B" next to them. Those offered by Mr. Brian E. are marked as "E". Those offered by Ms. Ellen R. are marked as "R". Those offered by Ms. Joanna S. are marked as "J". Those offered by Ms. Megha C. are marked as "M". Those offered by Ms. Ana Maria Pereira de Souza are marked as "A". Those offered by Mr. Andy S. are marked as "S". Those offered by Ms. Christa C. are marked as "C". Those offered by Jiyoung are marked as "I". Those offered by Ms. ChiChi M. are marked as "H". Those offered by Ms. Aliza are marked as "L". Those offered by Ms. Alex R. are marked as "X". Those offered by Ms. Jackie Katzman are marked as "K". Those offered by Mr. Alexander Jay are marked as "D". Those offered by Ms. Karly D. are marked as "Y". Those offered by Emily are marked as "Z".

     

    Topics in Cognitive Psychology

     

    1. How do people learn a new language? Is it different for adults and kids? [B, R, M]

     

    2. What helps a memory stick? What helps us remember things better? [B, R, J, M, A, S, L, Y]

     

    3. What makes memories become more accurate or inaccurate? What does this mean for eyewitness testimonies? [B, J, M, A, S, L, K, Y]

     

    4. Why are we so good at seeing “faces” from objects, like an outlet or a smiley face [ :) ]? Does this have an evolutionary reason? [B, R, M, A, S]

     

    5. Carrying a heavier backpack can make a hill look bigger. What are some other ways in which things change our perception? [B, R, S, Y]

     

    6. What affects our attention, and what distracts us? How do we select what we pay attention to? [B, M, A, S]

     

    7. How do other people affect how we think? How do opinions of others change our own opinions? [B, N, R, M, A, S, L, X, Y]

     

    8. Why are we so captivated by surprising and unexpected things, like magic? Does this have an evolutionary reason? [B, S]

     

    9. How do optical illusions work? How do they trick our brains? [B]

     

    10. What happens in our brain when we make predictions that turn out to be wrong? How does this experience help us learn? [B, S, X, Y, Z]

     

    11. We’re really good at hearing our name, even if it’s said by someone standing really far away in a loud room. Why does this happen? [B, R, M, A, S]

     

    12. Are babies’ brains as good as adults’ brains? In what way? [B, R, H, Z]

     

    13. What do babies do to learn? Are they good learners? [B, R, H, L, Z]

     

    14. Can newborn babies tell their mothers apart from other people? In what way? [B, R, H, L, Y]

     

    15. A lot of toys are marketed to be good for the brain. Is this true? Which toys? Why or why not? [B, H, Y]

     

    16. What is our brain doing when we form memories and remember things from the past? [B, S, X, Y]

     

    17. What is our brain doing when we see numbers and do math? [B]

     

    18. What is our brain doing when we see alphabets and read a sentence? [B]

     

    19. What is our brain doing when we’re not paying attention in class? [B, S]

     

    20. How does the brain change when we learn a new skill and become better at it? [B, M, A, S, Y, Z]

     

    21. What factors lead to differences in intelligence? Is IQ a good measure of how intelligent someone is? [R, M, A, C, L, Y]

     

    22. What makes different education styles work better than others? What does it mean to be a certain type of learner? [L, Y]

     

    23.What are the differences between short and long term memory? How do attention and memory interact? [J, M, A, L, Y]

     

    24. What role does memory play in eating behaviors? Can we use memories to help us lose weight? [J]

     

    25. What are the barriers to access to mental health services between different racial and ethnic groups? [H, L, Y]

     

    26. Are there differences in how mental illness is perceived between different racial and ethnic groups? [H, L, Y]

     

    27. Are there differences in perception of mental illness between men and women, and does this have long term consequences? [H, L, Y]

     

    Topics in Clinical Psychology

     

    Clinical psychology is concerned with identifying, understanding, and treating psychological disorders. This course will explore questions such as how we differentiate sadness from depression, why some people develop mental disorders while others don’t, what the best treatments for anxiety disorders are, and more. Students will have the option of focusing on specific mental disorders or studying basic psychological mechanisms that have clinical relevance.

      1. Uncertainty is a core feature of our everyday lives, especially during current times. How do humans respond to uncertainty? How does it affect our cognition, emotions, and behavior? [N, M, A, L, Y]

       

      2. How does the psychological trait of intolerance of uncertainty increase risk for anxiety disorders? [N, M, L, Y]

       

      3. Does it make sense to think of mental disorders are discrete categories or as dimensions that we all vary on? [N, M, I, L, Y, Z]

       

      4. How do cognitive factors like attention, memory, and interpretation contribute to depression? [N, M, L, Y]

       

      5. What is the difference between fear and anxiety? [N, M, A, L, Y, Z]

       

      6. How do we regulate our emotions? How does emotion regulation go awry in psychopathology? [N, M, A, I, L, Y, Z]

       

      7. Is worry adaptive? [N, M, L, Y, Z]

       

      8. Rumination refers to repetitive negative thought about the past, and worry refers to repetitive negative thought about the future. Are these two processes fundamentally the same or different? [N, M, A, L, X, Y]

       

      9. Why are we not better at treating mental disorders? [N, M, L, X, Z]

       

      10. Does it make more sense to call mental disorders (e.g., depression) a "brain disease"? Why or why not? [N, M, A, H, L, X, Y, Z]

       

      11. What are the "active ingredients" in psychotherapies for emotional disorders? How do we know that these are really the mechanisms of change? [N, I, L, X, Y, Z]

       

      12. What is depression, exactly? Is it one syndrome, or is it a collection of different syndromes that we've grouped under the same name? [N, M, I, H, L, X, Y, Z]

       

      13. Are today's youth really more anxious and depressed than youth in the past? If so, what is contributing to this increase? [N, M, A, H, L, X, Y, Z]

       

      14. What do we know—and what do we not know—about treatments for emotional disorders? [A, L, Y]

       

      15. How do scientists study treatments for mental health problems? What are empirically supported treatments, why are they useful, and what are their limitations? [A, I, L, X, Z]

       

      16. How can mental health treatments be delivered? What are the advantages and disadvantages of certain delivery formats? [A, I, L]

       

      17. How can we increase access to mental health treatments? [I, L, Y]

       

      18. Are apps and internet programs effective treatments for common mental health problems? [I, L, Y]

       

      19. How have treatments been adapted for people in low- and middle-income countries? What strategies are used to ensure that treatments are effective and culturally appropriate? [H, Y]

       

      20. What is the research-implementation gap? How long does it take for research evidence to reach clinical practice? [I, L, Y]

       

      Topics in Pathology and Data Science

       

      What causes mental illness? Mr. Jones's course explores competing theories on the origins of emotional disorders such as depression, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We examine how complexity approaches in statistics and machine learning, such as network analysis, can help us understand the problem. Depending on their interests, students can focus on a substantive area of mental health or delve deeper into the computational aspects.

       

      1. The network theory of mental disorders states that mental disorders do not have a single underlying cause, but instead are the result of feedback loops in a complex system. How does this theory apply to depression? Anxiety? Trauma? Other psychological problems? [N, M, A, I]

       

      2. Why do mental disorder co-occur at such high rates? How can network analysis inform the comorbidity between them? [N, M, A, I, L]

       

      3. How can novel developments in data science (e.g., machine learning methods) contribute to the field of clinical psychology? [A, C, I, L, Z]

       

      4. What can we learn from exploratory data analysis of mental disorder symptoms? What kinds of psychometric data analyses and visualizations are most helpful? [A, C, I, L]

       

      5. Why are rates of emotional disorders often observed to be more common in developed nations compared to less developed nations? [L, Y, Z]

       

      6. One hallmark of anxiety disorders is avoidance. What factors lead people to avoid versus approach their fears? [N, M, A, L, X, Y, Z]

       

      7. Rates of violence across the world have been steadily decreasing. If this is indeed the case, why are rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stagnant or even increasing? [N, Y]

       

      8. To what extent do mental disorders represent a "mismatch" between the modern world and our environment during evolution? What factors of modernity might influence mental illness? [E, M, A, Z]

       

      9. Why do some individuals with PTSD seem to compulsively revisit their traumatic past? How does this square with research on avoidance? [N, M, A, L, Y]

       

      10. Are trigger warnings or safe spaces effective approaches to helping those with PTSD? Why or why not? [N, M, A, L, Y]

       

      11. Today, phones and devices capture a huge amount of data about individuals (e.g., location, movement, texts, phone calls, app usage). Can this data be used for good when it comes to mental health? How? [N, A, C, I, L, Z]

       

      12. Can people really experience "post-traumatic growth" after a trauma? If so, what does this growth look like? [N, A, L, Y, Z]

       

      13. What is idiographic science? How can we study one person at a time? [I]

       

      14. Can we personalize psychotherapy interventions for each person? [A, I, L, X]

       

      15. How can data science help us predict substance use for each person? [A, I]

       

      16. Can a single survey item capture enough information, or do we always need multiple items? [I, Y]

       

      17. How much can we generalize from group-level research? [I, Y]

       

      18. How can we best capture fluctuations in people's emotions? What are affective dynamics? [I, L]

       

      Topics in Psychology and Law:

       

      1. For cases in which juvenile offenders are transferred to adult court, do jurors take their developmental vulnerabilities into account when they make decisions about them? [K]

       

      2. Mistaken identification is the leading cause of wrongful conviction. What procedural best-practices can make eyewitness evidence more reliable? How can social psychological theory inform these practices? [K, D, Y]

       

      3. Do the demograhics of the people selected as jury members affect their ultimate verdict decisions? [K, D]

       

      4. What strategies can help jurors better understand complex evidence in the courtroom? [K, D]

       

      5. Most all criminal cases are adjudicated thorugh plea negotiation. how can social psychological theory help attorneys better advise their clients? [K, D]

       

      6. Racial disparities in the criminal justice system are well documented and widespread. How can we lessen racial bias in policing, prison populations, and participation on juries? [K, D, Y]

       

      7. Why do people make false confessions? What aspects of police interrogations might increase the rate of false confession? [D, Y]

       

      8. Why do innocent people plead guilty? What components of plea bargaining increase the odds an innocent person will plead guilty? [D]

       

      9. How do the racial characteristics of a criminal case impact jurors' decision-making? [D, Y]

       

      10. How do robust social cognitive processes, such as stereotyping, affect jurors' perceptions and decision-making in civil and criminal cases? [D, Y]

       

      11. What is criminal profiling, and does it resemble the crime shows on t.v.? What does the science say about criminal profiling? How is it practiced by law enforcement agencies, and does it work? [D, Y]

       

      12. Jurors are often presented with a lot of complex information presented in a disorganized fashion. How do jurors make sense of the evidence, and render their decisions? [D]

       

      13. How do jurors' emotions impact their decision-making? [D]

       

      14. How does pre-trial publicity impact jurors decision-making? [D]

       

      15. What is 'juror rehabilitation'? Can it successfully reduce jurors' biases? [D]

       

      16. Jurors are constitutionally required to be impartial at the outset of a trial, but are they? How effective are legal system safe-guards (e.g., voir dire and jury selection) at removing biases? What about implicit biases? [D]

       

      Additional Topics in Psychology:

       

      1. Is psychology really a science? Should we trust findings in psychology more or less than in other fields? What is the "replication crisis" in psychology? [E, R, J, M, A, S, L, K, D, Y, Z]

       

      2. Some researchers believe that most published findings in psychology (and some other disciplines) are false alarms and so not reproducible. Why might they think that? Are they right? [E, R, J, M, S, L, K]

       

      3. How do psychologists use statistical information to infer the existence of invisible phenomena like psychological states or attributes? What are some of major problems with the way psychologists use statistics? [E, R, M, A, S, L, Y, Z]

       

      4. What does it mean to falsify a finding in psychology? If Researcher A runs an experiment and gets result X, and you run the same experiment and don't get that result, have you disproved their finding? Have you falsified their hypothesis or theory? Why does any of this matter? [E, R, J, M, S, D, Y, Z]

       

      5. What is the psychology of scientific communication -- and belief? Do people just believe whatever scientific findings they agree with morally? is belief in science politically polarized? What determines whether someone believes in climate science? Why do some people think vaccines are harmful? [E, R, M, S, Y]

       

      6. What does it mean to be "the same person" over time? Are you the same person as you were when you were a baby? If so, in what sense? What factors influence the perception that someone is "a completely different person" after some big change in their life (like becoming addicted to drugs, or undergoing a religious conversion)? [E, R, M, A, S]

       

      7. Does Alzheimer's disease change who you are? If you sign a contract before the disease sets in, is it still valid if you lose most of your memories? [E, A, S]

       

      8. What is the relationship between moral intuitions and psychological traits or disorders? If someone is willing to sacrifice the life of one person in order to save a greater number of people, for example, could this have something to do with the trait of psychopathy? [E, M, A, S, L]

       

      9. How does relational context influence moral judgments? Why are some things okay to do in one kind of relationship, but not okay in other relationships? What explains our moral intuitions about different actions? Is it all about causing harm, or are there other reasons for judging a behavior as wrong? [E, R, M, A, S]

       

      10. Where does our sense of right and wrong come from? Why do we judge some things to be morally okay, and other things as NOT morally okay? When people from different cultures disagree about moral questions, does at least one of them have to be wrong? [E, R, M, A, S, L]

       

      11. Does believing in free will make you a more moral person? Does encouraging a belief in determinism make people more likely to me immoral (e.g., cheat on an exam)? [E, M, A, S, L]

       

      12. What is gender? Is it the same thing as sex? Are there more than two genders? Is your gender a matter of having certain feelings or psychological properties? [E, R, M, A, H, Y]

       

      13. How does gender bias affect judgments about how much pain someone is in? Do stereotypes like 'boys don't cry' affect how we perceive the pain of others? [E, R, M, A, H, L, Y]

       

      14. Can your brain start processing visual information -- for example, people's faces -- prior to conscious awareness? Is there such a thing as "unconscious perception"? How can you study the unconscious mind? [E, M, A, S, L]

       

      15. What is sexual orientation? What determines the sexual orientation a person has? [E, R, M, A, L, Y]

       

      16. Is it possible to be addicted to love? [E, S, L]

       

      17. What is the reproducibility crisis in psychology? How can scientists work to make the field better? [R, J, M, A, S, I, L, K, D, Y, Z]

       

      18. What are emotions? What theories do psychologists and philosophers have for how our feelings – a cornerstone of human experience – function? What issues are there with our theories of emotions, and how can we improve them? [N, R, M, A, S, I, L, Y]

       

      19. How do we best manage our emotions? What skills can people use to regulate what they’re feeling, and how can we make these skills most efficacious? [N, M, A, S, I, L, Y]

       

      20. How do emotions change across age? When do children and adolescents start to have certain emotional experiences, and what does this mean for their well-being? [N, A, S, L, X, Z]

       

      21. How does language relate to emotion? Do people of different cultures have different emotional experiences, and what does this mean about the mind? Can changing what words we use to talk about our feelings change how we feel? [N, A, L]

       

      22. How does language relate to mental health? Can we use linguistic methods in verbal communication to learn things about how well someone is doing psychologically? Can we develop tools to intervene when people aren’t doing well? [N, A, L]

       

      23. How does the brain represent and regulate emotions? What brain regions are involved in these processes, and can we connect deregulations in brain functioning to mental health problems? [N, A, S, L, X, Y]

       

      24. How does the brain develop across childhood and adolescence, and what does this mean for the development of emotions, mental health, or social functioning? [N, S, L, X, Z]

       

      25. It has long been the understanding of social psychologists that people do not intuitively use base-rate information when they make predictions. Is it possible to increase the relevancy of base-rate information? How? [K]

       

      26. Norm development is one of the most powerful vehicles for changing people's behvaior and beliefs. How do norms influence our behavior? How can they be developed? [K, Y]

       

      27. What are the dimensions underlying our social perceptions of others? How do these relate to stereotypes of people and groups? [D, Y]

       

      28. What causes stereotypes? Can stereotypes change? How do stereotypes impact a perceiver's emotional and behavioral reactions? Can they affect a perceiver's causal attributions for another behavior? [D, Y]

    1. Ancient Greco-Roman History

      【 Micheal D. 】

      Ancient Greek and Roman polities and empires stretch thousands of years into the past, but they continue to affect and inform ideas and events in the modern world. The languages, beliefs, and societies of these Mediterranean civilizations have left a deep footprint on modern philosophy, political science, sociology, architecture, aesthetics, linguistics, and the scientific method. And yet many beliefs held among members of these polities about love, social organization, identity, gender, and spirituality would sound quite alien to a modern observer. In this course, we work to gather an accurate picture of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, not only from the perspective of political leaders and social elites, but from the perspective of the laborers, artisans, soldiers, and slaves who made up the majority of these societies.

       

      Pre-approved Topic List

       

      1. How was slavery classified in the Greco-Roman world? What alternative forms of bondage existed alongside it?

       

      2. What were the conditions of the slave systems during this time? How might we imagine the lives of those under bondage?

       

      3. To what extent were slave able to express their autonomy?

       

      4. How was love expressed among people in the Greco-Roman world? Are there any compelling cases in other eras that merit further comparisons?

       

      5. What components were used to help develop a shared ethnic identity? Against whom was this ethnic identity juxtaposed?

       

      6. What were some of the accepted gender roles in the Greco-Roman world? In what ways did people push against or defend these societal norms?

       

      7. In what ways did religion influence the decisions and lives of the people of the Greco-Roman world?

       

      8. How was the Greco-Roman family and household organized? What roles were available to the various members?

       

      9. What was the culture of militaristic nations, such as Sparta and Rome, like? How did warfare shape their lives on and off the battlefield?

       

      10. What were the opportunities available to women in the Greco-Roman world? How might we imagine their lives and treatment?

       

      11. How can one utilize ancient literary sources as a means to better understand the history of the Greco-Roman world?

       

      12. What messages can we gather from the mythology of this era to better understand the religious and personal beliefs of the Greco-Roman world?

      Games, Networks, and Politics

      【 Jack 】|【 John Anagnost 】

      Please note that topics offered by Mr. Jack are marked with "J" next to them. Those offered by Mr. John Anagnost are marked as "A".

       

      The decisions we make are always affected by the decisions of others. This course will study the different circumstances in which humans interact on a pair, community, and national scale. We will cover a wide range of topics, starting with popular models in game theory such as the Prisoners Dilemma and different versions of auctions. We will then progress to understanding how information and preferences can spread through different networks, focussing on how these networks are formed and taking examples from social influence and epidemic spreading. Finally, we explore decision making in the context of politics, and consider topics such as how to count votes, whether voting should be mandatory, and how to prevent voters from gaming the system.

       

      Pre-approved Topic List

       

      1. Games in our everyday lives- studying players, actions and strategies. What is a Nash equilibrium? Two player games studied include the Chicken game, Prisoners’ Dilemma and Battle of the Friends. The Cuban Missile Crisis is taken as a case study. [J, A]

       

      2. Mixing and switching- mixed Nash and sub game perfect Nash equilibria with examples including Matching Pennies and Rubinstein Bargaining. Applications to firm competition- Bertrand versus Cournot competition, and public goods games. [J, A]

       

      3. Repeated Games and reputation, a study of tit for tat and grim trigger. Is it optimal to forgive and forget? [J]

       

      4. The theory of auctions- first price auctions and platform examples. A case study of Ebay and Google. [J]

       

      5. Networks: what is a network and what are they useful for? How can networks help us understand social media and the convergence of echo chambers? [J]

       

      6. Erdos-Renyi and building networks. Modelling social influence, contagion and public goods games on networks. Exploring the Covid-19 pandemic using the SIR disease spread model. [J, A]

       

      7. The median voter theorem. Who is the median voter and how do we find them? If the median voter is the only voter that matters, then why do we have extremist candidates? The pivotal voter theorem. If the chance of having an impact is close to zero, then why do we bother voting? [J]

       

      8. Politics and social choices. What are the different ways of making votes count? Does rank choice encourage people to vote more or less strategically? Studying the plurality rule in Westminster versus rank choice in the Republic of Ireland. [J]

       

      9. Should we have mandatory voting? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Taking Australia as a case study.

      How did modern medicine emerge? When did medicine become a “profession?” [J]

    2. Organizational Behavior

      【 Karly D. 】

      This course examines the intersection of business and management studies, behavioral sciences, and psychology. Organizations, such as schools, startups, non-profits, corporations, and governments, are complex social systems that influence, and are influenced by, individual and group behavior. How do organizations make good decisions, and why do they sometimes make bad ones? In what ways can team dynamics be improved? How can businesses foster creativity and innovation, and why are they important? How can an organizational leader change the culture of a company, and how else can organizational culture change? What makes a successful leader in an organization? What is the role of personality in receiving, maintaining, and excelling at a job? What predicts different levels of worker motivation and productivity? How do individual-level perceptions, attitudes, biases, and stereotypes shape an organization? What is at stake with contemporary discourse on diversity and inclusion? We will grapple with these questions, and you will develop an understanding of the antecedents and consequences of organizational behavior.

       

      1. Should organizations use personality tests to decide which job applicants to hire?

       

      2. How does personality affect job satisfaction and performance?

       

      3. What motivates workers? How can workers be motivated to perform better?

       

      4. How do cognitive biases influence decision making, such as who is hired?

       

      5. What is emotional intelligence? Why is it important?

       

      6. What causes ‘burn out’? How can well-being be improved at work?

       

      7. How do group norms develop at workplaces?

       

      8. Why do individuals conform to group norms?

       

      9. How can group work and group decisions be improved?

       

      10. Do groups make better decisions than individuals? What influences decision-making?

       

      11. Are diverse teams or cohesive teams more effective?

       

      12. Why do organizations have diversity statements and equal opportunity policies? Are they effective?

       

      13. What makes a good leader?

       

      14. Do men and women have different leadership styles?

       

      15. Why are there more men than women in leadership positions?

       

      16. What does creativity and innovation look like in organizations?

       

      17. What is the difference between creativity and innovation? Which is more important?

       

      18. How does organizational culture develop?

       

      19. How and why do different organizations have different work cultures?

       

      20. How and why do organizational cultures change?

       

      21. Does our work environment influence us and how we work? How?

       

      22. How and why is AI (Artificial Intelligence) biased against gender, race, and other social identities?

      Medical Sociology: Psychotherapy in the Modern Era

      【 Nick Rekenthaler 】

      In recent decades, psychotherapy has become increasingly popular and diverse. Views on what constitutes a “mental illness” and what constitutes humane treatments have evolved with social norms. Psychopathology has also become increasingly amenable to the discussion of “public issues” that fall outside of an individual’s private life. This course takes a sociological lens to the study of psychotherapy, grounding itself in the emergence of a modern “therapeutic society.” We focus on the practice of psychotherapy itself and the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy, as well as how those topics are discussed in society. In so doing, we consider both the role of “the medical expert”—the therapist—and the role of “the patient”—the individual attending therapy. Students taking this course will thus learn about the broad field of study that is “medical sociology,” along with the critical perspective through which it operates.

       

      Pre-approved Topic List

       

      1. How did modern medicine emerge? When did medicine become a “profession?”

       

      2. How did psychotherapy emerge? What role did Sigmund Freud play in its emergence?

       

      3. How does psychotherapy work? What are its goals?

       

      4. What does it mean that some psychotherapists work in a “public” setting, while others work in a “private” setting?

       

      5. In what ways has psychotherapy changed over the past twenty years? What about over the past fifty years?

       

      6. How do the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy compare to the topics of old?

       

      7. How do the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy compare across demographic groups?

       

      8. What are some of the core demographic variables with which sociologists are concerned? Why?

       

      9. How does one’s social context affect their health? What are the “social determinants of health”?

       

      10. Name a few branches of psychotherapy and describe how their approaches differ. Why are these differences important?

       

      11. What is “therapeutic society?” How does this differ from “religious society?”

       

      12. What does it mean to “psychologize” a problem? What are the consequences of psychologization?

       

      13. C. Wright Mills famously wrote of the “sociological imagination”? What is the sociological imagination?

       

      14. How does a sociological approach differ from a psychological one? How might their methodologies differ?

       

      15. Why might we consider psychotherapy a form of “social control”?

       

      16. Why might we describe mental illness as being “socially constructed?” Does this mean to say mental illness is not real?

       

      17. How might we understand the various forms of expertise that a psychotherapist possesses?

       

      18. In what ways do psychotherapists exercise “moral authority”? How might we define moral authority?

       

      19. How does the doctor-patient interaction influence health? To what extent is a psychotherapist a “doctor?”

       

      20. What are the barriers to access to psychotherapy? How are these barriers differentially spread across demographic groups? What explains differing levels of social stigma in seeking psychotherapy?

       

      21. In the not-so-distant past, many psychotherapists viewed homosexuality as a mental illness. Why and how did this change? How should we understand the persistence of “conversion therapy” for LGBTQIA people?

       

      22. Anxiety, high libido, irritability, or simply having an assertive personality among women was once considered a psychopathology called “female hysteria”. Why and how did this view change?

    3. Critical History

      【 Anh N. 】

      In this research track, we are going to investigate the concepts central to the writing and understanding of history. These include, on the one hand, theoretical concepts like objectivity, historical fact, causality, agency, determinism, and morality; on the other, more empirical concepts like nation, empire, revolution, global, race, culture, and identity. Reading selected writings by distinguished historians, we will analyze how these concepts shape the way historical events and processes are interpreted. This class is best suited to students with a broad interest in philosophy and history, who are eager to devote themselves to asking and challenging how we have come to think the way we think, how modernity came with a different temporality that determined us as historical beings in the world. Although this course requires no prior knowledge of philosophy and history, it demands and hopes to nourish in students an uncompromising inquisitiveness and the courage to push their thinking to the limit.

       

      1. What is a historical fact? Is history basically an accumulation of hard facts? Do facts speak for themselves and by themselves constitute history? What distinguishes the facts that come to form the backbone of history from other countless facts about the past? What is the process of through which a mere fact is transformed into a fact of history? Is a historical fact for a historian necessarily a historical fact for another historian?

       

      2. Does history primarily concern with the past by itself or the historian’s judgment of the past, informed by the present? Is the work of historians to record or to evaluate? Are these two types of inquiry fundamentally different? If not, what is their relation? In other words, what is the relation between the past and the present in the production of historical knowledge?

       

      3. Is history ultimately something written by individuals about individuals? Is the historical knowledge the exclusive individual possession of the historian? To what extent are historians single, unique individuals and to what extent are they products of their society and their age? In what condition can historians transcend his own social and historical situation?

       

      4. Can history be written on the basis of “explanations in terms of human intentions”? Can historians see the thought behind the act the thought of the individual actor? What is the ultimate object of historical inquiry, “the biography of great men”—their conscious motives and actions in particular—or vast impersonal, unconscious forces? Can historians legitimately choose to dwell on one instead of the other? If not, how do these objects of inquiry inform and determine each other? How do historians account for unintended consequences of historical figures’ action, especially those that came to twist the course of history in a significant way?

       

      5. What is the relation between history and morality? Is the historian the arbiter of controversies? Is it the historian’s duty to pass moral judgment on individuals participating in historical events? Can evils be justified and condoned as the unavoidable “cost of progress” or “price of revolution”? How do historians come to terms with the fact that supposedly extra-historical absolutes like “good” and “evil” and accepted values like “equality,” “liberty,” “justice” are rooted in history, i.e., formulated in specific historical context, by certain historical actors?

       

      6. How do historians assign causes to events and how do they navigate amidst the multiplicity of causes? How do they order the causes in terms of significance to the event in question? How do they maintain, in the interpretation of the event, the dual and apparently contradictory process of advancing both the variety and complexity of causes and the determination of the ultimate cause?

       

      7. How do historians, in examining what happened, account also for what might have happened. In other words, how do they deal with the question of inevitability? How do they balance between determinism (the belief that everything that happens has a cause and could not have happened differently unless the cause had changed) and free will in interpreting historical events?

       

      8. Can history be defined as a movement, and if so, what is its ultimate purpose and meaning? Progress? Humanity? Liberty? Does progress, for example, mean progress for everyone, simultaneously? Does the movement of history have a resolute beginning and end? Can historians order and interpret facts without some sense of the direction of history?

       

      9. Is there absolute truth in history? How do historians negotiate between the two ends—dogmatism and relativism (the notion that one interpretation is as good as another and that every interpretation is true in its own time and place)?

       

      10. What distinguishes history from memory? What is the relation between them? What is the role of oblivion in the writing of history? Is there history if it is not written?

      Controversies in International Relations

      【 Miriam Hinthorn 】

      What are the causes of war and peace? This course explores the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. It critically examines controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition.

       

      Pre-approved Topic List

       

      1. Should countries (like the US or others) allow companies and individuals to hack back against foreign cyber attackers?

       

      2. Which country has the best model for fighting global pandemics?

       

      3. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with China?

       

      4. What is the greatest challenge to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and how can it be overcome?

       

      5. Should other countries be happy or worried about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?

       

      6. What is the best type of free trade agreement for Asia?

       

      7. What explains China’s remarkable economic growth?

       

      8. Is China a revisionist or status quo power?

       

      9. Was Brexit the right decision for the United Kingdom?

       

      10. What political outcome has the best chance at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

       

      11. In light of the massive flow of refugees from places like Ukraine and the Middle East to Europe, is international migration bad for host countries?

       

      12. What is the best solution to address the plight of the Rohingya?

       

      13. Should the international community prohibit Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons?

       

      14. Is global poverty better reduced through free trade or international aid?

       

      15. Does humanitarian disaster justify military intervention?

       

      16. Was it a right choice for America and its allies to have invaded Libya?

       

      17. What role should countries play in their policy toward Syria?

       

      18. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with Russia?

       

      19. Do you believe that Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine is the West’s fault?

       

      20. What carbon tax or carbon emission trading scheme do you favor to address the threat of global warming?

       

      21. In light of the similarities and differences between credit monitoring systems in different countries, what changes, if any, would you make to China’s social credit system?

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