PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

 This course is designed to give students a basic overview of the traditional approaches to the study of culture in the social sciences as a background to the introduction of an “equilibrium” approach to culture as has been developed in the past few years in political science and economics. The equilibrium approach seeks to account for the influence of culture on economic and political behavior, yet seeks as well to account for shifts in culture. It should also show the different role of culture in institutional life in preindustrial and modern societies. The course will assess the pay-off for this approach, in examining whether it can shed new light on old questions such as the sources of democracy, inter-group violence, nationalism, and economic growth.

SYLLABUS

Download draft syllabus in MS Word or pdf format.

MEETING TIME

Class meets Tuesdays from 2-5PM, meeting in 420-048, first class January 8.