Thematic Inquiry
The thematic inquiry will consist of a four-credit course taught by a single faculty member. It will introduce students to the concepts of discipline, power, knowledge, subjectification, and normalization, as developed by Michel Foucault and his interlocutors. The course will consist of a carefully selected portion of Foucault’s theoretical writings paired with “case studies” so that students can see how the theoretical concepts infuse practices in social and cultural life, and then ask whether they correspond well and whether the theory has actual explanatory merit. The Thematic Inquiry is also designed to allow for some flexibility so that any core member of the Pathway could potentially teach it by adjusting the pairings of theory and practice to their individual areas of expertise.
Required Course
Curricular Itinerary Courses
Course List
Suggested Global-Local Engagement
Through close advising, our students will be encouraged to work with the office of Study Away and the Global Commons to identify opportunities to further their understanding of the concepts raised in their courses. For example, what are the ways in which knowledge is produced in specific contexts, how is knowledge production encoded by its location in a hierarchy of places (developed versus developing world for example), how does language and mediation function to confer authority, and how is globality a product of unequal encounters.
Students may pursue internships that expose them to the problems raised in their courses. For example, it would be particularly useful for students to find internships that force them to struggle with the problems of inequality, racism, subjectification, discipline and control, punishment, or the limitations of the law.
Required Course
Senior Reflection
We will provide a one-credit seminar that will meet four times in the semester to bring all the students together. In this seminar, we will reflect on and revisit the various methodologies of knowledge production the students have encountered in their itinerary courses. We will use our four meetings to identify the questions, connections, and implications of student’s reflections on methodology in various disciplines. The instructor will identify theoretical readings for students to revisit that will enhance the conversation on methodologies and ask the students to reflect on the relationship between power and knowledge in at least one discipline. This will prepare students for the All-College Symposium.
Required Course