Social Sciences, B.A.

The Social Sciences major is grounded on the principle that specialized knowledge is of limited value without a complementary breadth of knowledge. The curriculum does not, for example, focus on sociology and its expected applications in economics, demographic analysis and social psychology alone, but rather encompasses the wide range of thought on society, culture and the individual. At the Shimer Great Books School at North Central College, the Social Sciences addresses the disciplines of political philosophy, psychology, anthropology and linguistics. Students explore the work of original thinkers responsible for the development and application of social science methods and ideas. Collaborative inquiry addresses such questions as what it means to be human, the social, psychological, economic and political behaviors and structures which shape differing cultures and competing understandings of validity and critique.

For additional programs and courses in this school, see Shimer Great Books School .