Definition
Courses bearing the Institutional and Cultural Systems (S) designation focus on human society and its attempts to attain goals valued collectively. Special emphasis is placed on developing a better and more critical understanding of the institutions and cultural systems that play an increasingly significant role in contemporary life.
Goals
- To explore different ways of defining society, including learning to recognize various types of social phenomena and distinguishing different types of social organization.
- To examine different types of social goals, their sources, and the institutions and processes which implement them.
- To understand and apply different analytical perspectives, including learning to integrate perspectives from diverse fields of inquiry in the analysis of society and social institutions.