Dietrich College Spring Preview: Social Sciences Edition

As spring registration week approaches, the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences has a host of social sciences courses to offer. Here is a short list of exciting courses to consider for spring 2024.

For a full list of spring 2024 courses, visit the Undergraduate Catalog.

Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology

84-323: War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East, 9 units
MW 11:00–12:20 | Dan Silverman
Fulfills a General Education requirement: Intercultural and Global Inquiry
This course examines the drivers and dynamics of war and peace in the contemporary Middle East. It is structured around a series of key debates about different facets of conflict and violence in the region.

84-387: Remote Systems and the Cyber Domain in Conflict, 9 units
TR 11:00–12:20 | Joshua Schwartz
This course analyzes the impact of remote systems and the cyber domain on national security. Students will study the development of these technologies, how and why they have been used by state and non-state actors in conflict, their impact on the battlefield and potential future developments.

Information Systems

67-250: The Information Systems Milieux, 9 units
MW several options (9:30–10:50; 11:00–12:20; 2:00–3:20; 3:30–4:50) | Jeria Quesenberry, Divakaran Liginlal, Naama Ilany-Tzur
Information systems are changing work practices, reshaping organizations, transforming cultures and giving new meaning to the ways we see the world. This course is designed to help students understand the role of IS in the enterprise and the means by which these systems are created, utilized and maintained.

67-285: Across the Universe from Intelligent Agents to Users, 9 units
MW 2:00–3:20 | Sara Moussawi
This course introduces students to how intelligent agents and similar systems impact and are perceived by users. In this course, students explore different dimensions relating to intelligent agents, design, usability and user perceptions such as humanness, trust, privacy, bias, human values and emotions.

Department of Psychology

85-106: Animal Minds, 9 units
TR 9:30–10:50 | Jessica Cantlon
Fulfills a General Education requirement: Scientific Inquiry
Some animals have cognitive abilities far beyond the capacities of humans. In this course, students will learn to understand the diversity of cognitive abilities on Earth, learn basic brain functions and organization, learn the many levels at which the brain and cognition can be shaped by evolutionary adaptation, phylogeny, experience and development.

85-221: Principles of Child Development, 9 units
TR 3:30–4:50 | Sharon Carver
Fulfills a General Education requirement: Contextual Thinking
This course aims to provide an introduction to the study of developmental psychology from conception through the onset of adolescence in both a cultural and historical context. The emphasis is on basic concepts and theories of child growth and development as these apply to the psychological processes of perception, cognitions, emotion, social interactions and brain and body development.

Department of Social and Decision Sciences

88-290: Confessions, Lies and Gossip, 9 units
TR 12:30–1:50 | Erin Carbone
Human beings are social creatures, and sharing thoughts, feelings and information with others is fundamental to the human experience. This course aims to cast this ubiquitous act in a new light, investigating many of the behaviors we take for granted, and explaining common counter-normative and suboptimal phenomena, through different theoretical lenses.

88-308: Human and Machine Decisions from Experience, 9 units
MW 11:00–12:20 | Tyler Malloy
This course investigates the similarities and differences between human and machine cognition in the context of decisions from experience. Students will attain first-hand experience implementing psychological models of human cognition, as well as computational methods that have applications in cognitive science and machine learning.

Department of Statistics and Data Science

36-303: Sampling, Surveying and Society, 9 units
TR 3:30–4:50 | Robin Mejia
This course will revolve around the role of sampling and sample surveys in the context of U.S. society and its institutions. Students will examine the evolution of survey taking in the United States and the accuracy and relevance of survey responses. Students will be required to design, implement and analyze a survey sample.

36-460: Special Topics: Sports Analytics, 9 units
MW 02:00–3:20 | Ron Yurko
This course introduces students to fundamental topics in sports analytics and the relevant statistical methods for tackling problems in this growing area. Students will develop their own sports analytics project using techniques covered in the course for their final assessment.