New York University Bulletin - Gallatin School of Individualized ...

GALLATIN SCHOOL OF INDIVIDUALIZED STUDYProseminar: Studying Social Life:Theories and MethodsCORE-GG 2022 Moore. 4 unitsFor students whose programs include investigations of the social world, this course providesan opportunity to grapple with a variety of theoretical approaches to the study of individuals,groups, organizations, cultures and societies, and to engage several methods for conductingresearch in those realms. Depending on students’ interests and goals, the theoreticalframeworks might include behaviorism (Watson, Skinner), interactionism (GH Mead,Blumer), constructivism (Piaget,Vygotsky, Bruner), conflict theory (Marx, the FrankfurtSchool), psychodynamics (Freud, Erikson), structuralism (Saussure, Levi-Strauss), and/orpostmodernism (Foucault, Baudrillard). The class will explore the different premises, logicsand arguments of various schools of thought. Moreover, members will conduct pilot-levelresearch using methods appropriate to their own problematics: e.g., ethnographic observations,interviews, discourse analysis, document study, visual anthropology, psychometric tests,and/or case studies. The course will be a useful preliminary for students expecting to do aresearch thesis focused on questions about the social world.Review of the LiteratureCORE-GG 2115 3 unitsIn this required independent study, the student conducts an in-depth review of the literaturesrelated to the projected thesis problem.The final critical essay identifies categories ofpertinent studies; reports on major concepts, debates, trends and gaps; and places the thesiswork in relation to these earlier investigations. Students should do the review when they (1)know the general area of the thesis and (2) have taken enough courses to have a solid backgroundin the related fields.Master’s Thesis SeminarCORE-GG 2225 4 units. Pass/fail onlyThis course engages students in the conceptual and technical processes leading to a thesis:articulating a core problem, reviewing appropriate literatures, designing effective methodsand constructing persuasive analyses. Students also learn academic writing skills; the conventionsof scholarly discourse; strategies for building arguments; and the use of writing toexplore ideas. Sections of the course focus on different thesis formats (research, artistic, project),but all take the student to the stage of preparing a thesis proposal. Students planningto enroll in this course must gain permission from the instructor.NewYork University Bulletin 2012-2013 83