Undergraduate Programs

General Education

Social Science Curriculum

General Education Requirements
 

You'll first study the social, intellectual, political, and economic history of the modern era in Western Civilization and then explore the nature of American political culture in American Government. After taking these two courses as a base, you'll then take three additional courses from the Social Science
Department. 

Social Science Requirements for all Undergraduate Programs

  • SS-1211 Western Civilization
  • SS-2121 American Government
  • One course from Social Science Group I
  • One course (as required by major) from Social Science Group II
  • One course from Social Science Group III

A survey of Western civilization from the early modern period through the industrial revolution to the present. Changes in the social, intellectual, and political structure of Western civilization are stressed.

  • Credits: 3
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

Teaches American governmental organization: local, State, and Federal offices; United States democratic processes; political organizations; and State and Federal constitutions.

  • Credits: 3
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

Social Science Group I

The underlying principles of our economic system, the dynamics of capitalism, and the fundamentals of the international economy are studied in Group I courses, where you'll choose either Microeconomics or Macroeconomics.

An examination of the structure of the market is presented, including product and factor pricing, allocation of resources and distribution of income, market equilibrium, and analysis of domestic and international problems and policies.

  • Credits: 3
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

A survey of economic theory with an emphasis on the dynamics of the capitalist system, the role of the government, the banking structure, and international economics. Note: Credit will not be given for both IM-1212 and SS-2231.

  • Credits: 3
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

Social Science Group II

To acquire a clear understanding of the legal regulations and legal dynamics of the fields you are entering, you'll take one course from Group II.

This three-hour introductory law course will familiarize students with the statutes, government regulations, and agreements that protect natural resources; human health; and the local, domestic, and international transboundary environment. Students will study the role of the American legal system as it functions to control and remediate environment problems; evaluate opportunities to use judicial, administrative, legislative, and economic political processes to address these problems; analyze a number of U. S. environments statutes; and examine international laws and organizations that target environmental issues of the global commons.

  • Credits: 3
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

An introductory, one-semester, elective course that provides students with a foundation on the legal system of the United States both on a State and Federal level, in addition to comparing briefly the civil and common law systems of jurisprudence.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

The single largest purchase the average consumer will make is a home. This course will enable students to identify potential problems relating to the purchase and rental of real estate. The course will cover real estate contracts, transfer of title, title examination, security for real estate transactions, problems with co-ownership of property, and landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

An introductory course examining the legal structure and development of the European Union, the world’s largest market. Students will examine the institutional law of the European Union, the interaction of this law with the national law of the 25 member states, the protection of fundamental rights, the interaction of the European Convention on Human Rights with the European Union, and the proposed European Constitution.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

This course introduces students to the legal aspects of international business transactions. Students examine the legal considerations with respect to doing business abroad and the laws dealing with the settlement of disputes, the organization and jurisdiction of international tribunals, the international sale of goods, the European Union, the transportation of goods in international trade and accompanying documents, and the general Agreement on Tariffs and Trade along with topics illustrating the legal relationship between business ventures and the international community.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

In addition to examining the history and origins of maritime law and medieval sea codes, the course will cover the jurisdiction elements of present day federal admiralty practice. Additional areas to be covered include the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, Salvage, Rights of Seamen, Limitation of Liability, and international aspects of maritime law such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Oil Pollution Liability.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

Covers the nature and sources of international law, sovereign states and their diplomatic representatives, the legal regime of the high seas, territorial belts, internal waters, the legal regime of ships and persons within these areas, conflicting claims to ocean usage and resources, and international conventions governing the same.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

This course explores the basic foundations of International Law: its nature, history, theoretical underpinnings, and the players that make it all happen, such as states, international organizations, non-governmental groups, and corporations. In addition, because the Law of the Sea is a specialized area of International Law, much of this course will be devoted to the laws and regulations as they apply to the merchant mariner, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); International Safety Management (ISM) Code; Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Finally, this course will explore the basic requirements in training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers on an international level.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-2121
  • Offered: Fall and Spring
  • STCW: Knowledge

An introductory examination of the many legal issues involved in Emergency Management, the agencies which supervise them, and the programs and policies which are in place. Topics include the American  political system with respect to disasters; American hazards and disaster agents; the fundamentals of emergency management; disaster laws; disaster budgeting; the federal and state organization and policy issues; intergovernmental relations; hazard mitigation within the cycle of emergency management; federal disaster assistance programs and policies; and international experience.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisites: EM-2212, SS-2121
  • Offered: Fall only
  • STCW: None

Social Science Group III

To develop a well-rounded education, you will select one additional course from the Social Science Department’s Group III electives, which provide a wide range of offerings in history, geography, sociology, psychology, anthropology, behavioral science, economics and economic policy, and military affairs.

This course focuses on the location and distribution of production, marketing, and consumption activities to a region, through an analysis of population characteristics, technological innovation, transportation systems, urban/rural interaction, and energy production and consumption.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-2131 or SS-2231
  • STCW: None

This course is designed to examine the geographical basis of political conflict and international relations. Emphasis will be on power and conflict in the regional framework. Topics include governing bodies from NATO to local government; terrorism, conflict and succession movements non-governmental organizations; geopolitics; power, territory, and the nation state; policy and governance.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211 or SS-2121
  • STCW: None

This course is an introduction to human behavior with a concentration on groups and the behavior of groups under the leadership of a tyrant. Topics include the brain; localization of functions in the brain; sensory psychology; taste, smell, and hearing; vision; sensory depravation; introduction to motivation; sexual motivation; stress; conditioning and desensitization; memory; hypnosis and pain; genetic psychology; personality; abnormal psychology/group psychology; persuasion, propaganda, and attitude change.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

A study of the development of American maritime enterprise from colonial times to the era of the container ship, and its relationship to American political, economic, and cultural history.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

A study of United States foreign policy, since World War II. Emphasis is placed on current foreign policy issues in their historical context.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

Power in connection with maritime states and peoples is traced as a thread in world history. An analysis of various components in seapower, such as agriculture, commerce, geopolitics, industry, political organization, population, natural resources, technology, and military and naval science are made.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This seminar course covers the period from the contraction of the Roman Empire to the first stirrings of the Renaissance, circa 1450. Political events such as the consolidation and growth of national monarchies in France and England are discussed, but emphasis is placed on the intellectual, economic, and social currents of the age.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This course covers the development of western civilization from the Paleolithic era through the contraction of the Roman Empire to approximately 450 A.D. Although the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt are covered in some detail, emphasis is placed on the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman civilizations.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

An analysis of the Vietnam conflict as an instrument of United States foreign policy to contain and turn back the communist insurgency. To examine the roots of the conflict, this course begins with a study of communism as a social and political philosophy. Analysis of the United States involvement in Vietnam will begin with the post World War II period (1945) and continue to the fall of Saigon (1975).

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

An in-depth look at the events leading up to the Civil War, analysis of the war itself, and a study of the Reconstruction period.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This survey of American History from exploration through the Civil War will focus on the political, social, economic, religious and legal aspects of American life. Topics explored will be the motives and means of exploration in the New World, early English settlement, colonial conflicts and the eventual move toward the American Revolution, the Constitution period and Early Republic, the Era of Good Feelings, the Age of Jackson and the antebellum years of America. The course will culminate in the Civil War which immeasurably changed America.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This survey of American history from the Civil War to the Present will focus on the political, social, economic, religious, and legal aspects of American life after the Civil War. Topics explored will be Reconstruction, Indian Wars, Urbanization, Immigration and American Imperialism, and the Reform of the Progressive Era. The course will examine America's entry into World War I and the economic boom and bust of the 1920's and 1930's. One of the main foci of the course will be the experience of the Second World War and how it has shaped American and world history since. The Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam wars and the momentous year of 1989 will be used to demonstrate how the events of World War II have changed America. The course will end by examining the 1990's and America's future.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This course deals with the historical and transitional development of Chinese economy, focusing on the economic growth of China after 1978, when China adopted open-door policy and economic reforms. Since 2010, China has become the second-largest trading country in the world, next to the U.S., and also the second-largest economy in the world, next to the U.S. The purpose of the course is to provide an analytical framework that will enable students to make sense of the economic miracle of China's development from a "low-incom" to a "middle-income" country in three decades. The course will also help students understand the measures taken and unique features that enable China to go from a GDP per capita of $1,700 in 2005 to a GDP per capita of $9,055 in 2012.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

This course is an introduction to religions and politics and the background rationale for terrorism. Topics include: Social Inequality (Marxist Perspective, Ethnicity and Inequality, Social Class and Gender Stratification); Education and Training (The Role of Education, The Hidden Curriculum, Differential Achievement); Religion (Religious Organizations, Functionalist Theories, Marxist Theories, Interactionist Theories, Secularism); Deviance and Social Control (Basic Concepts, Non-Sociological Theories, Functionalist Theories, Interactionist Theories); and Power and Politics (Basic Concepts, Theories of the State, Theories of Power, Voting Behavior).

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

The ancient Greeks are among the most fascinating people of history. An understanding of our own present civilization and culture requires a solid comprehension of the Greeks' role in shaping Western philosophy, institutions, and our basic beliefs about ourselves, society, and the universe. This course will cover the beginnings of ancient Greek civilization with the Mycenaeans and explore its evolution through the death of Alexander the Great in the early 4th century B.C. Recent archeological discoveries will be incorporated into the course presentation. Along with the main events of Greek history and society, this class will discuss Greek contributions in the areas of politics, drama, philosophy, war, science, and more. The course will conclude with Alexander the Great's conquests and the remarkable scientific contributions of Hellenism to the West.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This course is designed to give the student a solid understanding of the history, people, and contributions to the West of ancient Rome. Covering the period from Rome's founding and concluding with the collapse of the western Roman Empire during the 6th century A.D., this class will examine the history and character of the Roman people, their wars and adversaries, such as Hannibal, society, politics, ideas, the rise of Christianity, and how these affected the later development of our society. The course will conclude with an exploration of one of the great questions of history: Why did Rome ultimately collapse and does this hold any lessons for the present?

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This course focuses on the history, economics, and politics,both domestic and foreign, of US energy policy over the last half-century. The course explores each sector of the energy industry; coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, hydro, and renewables.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

This course focuses primarily from the 17th and 18th centuries into the 20th century. Key periods in Ireland's history will be examined, including the emergence of modern nationalism during the 1700s, culminating in the 1798 rebellion and the Act of Union 1801, the 1803 rebellion, Catholic Emancipation, the Great Famine, Fenianism, Charles Stewart Parnell and Home Rule, the Dublin Lockout 1913, the Easter Rising 1916, the War of Independence 1919-1921, Partition and the Irish Civil War 1922, the Republic of Ireland, and the "Troubles" 1968-1998. The various forms of Irish nationalism, violent and non-violent, will be explored. The course will focus on the above Irish movements while considering their European and Western historical contexts.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

For nearly four centuries, this region has managed to maintain an identity broadly American and distinctly New England. This course examines the New England region's social, cultural, political, and maritime history, with particular attention to the Boston area in periods of momentous change. Topics explored include witchcraft in Salem; the Minutemen and the American Revolution; nineteenth-century industrialization and immigration from Ireland; Boston's Civil War; urban and suburban growth, and the social crises of the twentieth century. Analysis of local historical sites serves to deepen understanding of New Englanders' enduring attachment to their past.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None

This survey course traces the major social, economic, and political developments in American society. Special attention is given to the reform movements associated with the Progressive Era and the New Deal, and to America's development as a world power.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: SS-1211
  • STCW: None

This course assists students in understanding the national intelligence collection process and the use of the finished intelligence product by the policy makers. Students will examine the organization and management of the U.S. intelligence process from the generation of policy information requirements through collection, analysis, and reporting to the end user. Key concepts and lessons to be learned will be explored through case studies from the American Revolution to the current policy requirements for combating the international terrorist threat. An examination of the role of clandestine intelligence activities in a constitutional society will also be examined.

  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisite: None
  • STCW: None