The American University of Paris | History and Social Sciences

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree with a

Introduction to the Social Sciences (3 credits)

Cultivates an understanding of the scientific spirit applied to social structures and relations. Enables students to confront the dynamics of social change in the global environment. Considers the boundaries of civic society and private life, the concept of social justice, race and ethnicity, social stratification and class structure, division of labor and economic organization, political liberty and the state.

Psychology and Gender (3 credits)

Surveys major issues concerning gender and the science of psychology in an attempt to answer the question: why is there such a gender gap when women and men share more psychological similarities than differences? Topics include: developmental processes and gender; gender-roles and stereotypes, biology and gender; cross-cultural perspectives of gender; social–cultural theories of gender; language and gender, emotions and gender, health and gender.

Social Anthropology (3 credits)

Encourages students to think critically about social difference from a comparative perspective and to analyze notions like the "family" or "ethnic groups," which often appear self-evident. Provides them with a basic introduction to the research methods used to investigate social organization. Class projects include interactive and ethnographic projects designed to develop students' research skills and critical thinking.

Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)

Encourages critical thinking about human variety and the definition of "culture." Introduces facts about specific ethnic and national groups and the ways that anthropologists have studied their cultural practices. Class projects help clarify students' perceptions of their own cultural experiences and the role culture plays in their lives. These projects develop research and critical thinking skills.

Plus two of the following courses:

History of Western Civilization up to 1500 (3 credits)

Surveys the development of Western civilization and culture, from the ancient civilizations of the Levant, Greece, and Rome, through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

History of Western Civilization from 1500 (3 credits)

Continues History 101, from the Renaissance and the Reformation through commercialism, Absolutism, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the industrial and social revolutions of the 19th Century to nationalism and socialism in the contemporary Western world.

The Contemporary World (3 credits)

Beginning with the bipolar world of the Cold War, focuses on the ideological struggles of the West, East, and Third World and the reactions of nations to the politics of the superpowers. Topics range from decolonization to the rise of the new Asia, African independence, the reemergence of the Muslim world, the collapse of communism, globalization and the clash of world cultures.

Eight courses total from Gender Studies: Identity and Difference and from Social Cultures: Individual and Society

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GENDER STUDIES : Identity and Difference

GS_CL206	Contemporary Feminist Theory
GS_PY208	Gender-Identity, Homosexuality, and the Cinema: A Psychosocial Approach
GS_PY245	Social Psychology
CM_GS304	Communicating Fashion
GS_HI314	Art, Culture, and Gender in the Italian Renaissance
CL_GS318	Sex, Politics, and Culture I
HI_GS319	Sex, Politics, and Culture II: Women Artists in European History
GS_HI326	Women in the French Renaissance: From Joan of Arc to Catherine de' Medici
CM_GS353	Media and Gender
CL_GS357	19th Century Women Writers
CL_GS363	Writing Women: Feminism, Freud, and Literary Inscriptions of Femininity
PO_GS205	The Political Economy of Developing Countries
PO_GS386	Women and Politics

SOCIAL CULTURES : Individual and Society

GS_HI332	The Power of Images in Western History
CL_GS384	Writing from the Margins: Women Writers, Postcolonial Identities
PY100	Introduction to Psychology
PY207	Madness, Mania, and the Cinema: A Psychoanalytic Approach
PY221	Psychoanalytic Theories of Personality
PY242	The Neuroses: A Psychodynamic Approach
GS_PY251	Sexuality, Aggression, and Guilt
GS_PY261	Love, Sexuality, and the Cinema: A Psychodynamic Approach
AN203	Political Anthropology
AN_CM349	Media and Ethnography
AN_GL362	Science in Archeology
PO_GS324	Politics of Human Rights
HI324	Nietzsche's Philosophy: Genealogy, History, and the Individual
GS_HI328	Existentialism: Choice, Sex, and Will
HI355	Social Theory and Political Utopias: From Marx to Marcuse

Plus HI490 Senior Seminar (3 credits)

General electives to total 120 credits can be chosen from any other degree program in the university. See AUP Catalog for details.