Tisch College Courses

Civic Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on critical reflection, ethical thinking, and action for social change. People who think and act together to improve society must address problems of collective action (how to get members to work together) and deliberation (how to reason together about contested values). They must understand how power is organized and how it operates within and between societies. They must grapple with social conflict, violence, and other obstacles to peaceful cooperation. When tensions arise within a group, people face questions of justice and fairness, and they must confront questions about appropriate relationships to outsiders of all types. This introductory course explores ethical, political, and theological frameworks for understanding how people can and should organize themselves to improve societies. Readings are drawn from philosophy and political theory, economics, the history of social movements, and other disciplines. This course provides theoretical grounding for Civic Studies majors and for other students interested in social change.

This course is designed to prepare students with tools to empower middle and high schoolers in civic engagement. Civic engagement can happen in formal school settings, in out-of-school time activities, and in online forums; this course will provide opportunities to develop ways of leveraging both government and community resources to create social change. Throughout the term, students will discuss American government and public policy in general, while focusing on specific issues of local concern. Students will examine and apply a model of civic engagement in policy formation that has been implemented throughout the United States and overseas in middle and high schools, as well as after- school programs. The course will prepare students to be active and engaged university and community members, to understand the civic mission of schools and teaching as a civic act, and to implement Project Citizen in classrooms and beyond.

This course addresses the impact of public opinion in the United States on the political process and vice versa. Emphasis is on the linkage between U.S. citizens and the democratic process. Examines what public opinion is and debates about how it can be measured. Topics include the nature of attitude formation, stability and change; the role of the media in opinion-formation; the link between attitudes and behavior; group differences in opinions; how elites influence mass opinions; political inequality; polarization; and the relationship between public opinion and policy outcomes

This course will trace community organizing to some of its early roots in the United States, as well as drawing connections between community organizing and other movements, including the labor, civil rights, and environmental movements. Presentations and discussions with other Boston area community organizers will be included as will be opportunities to visit with and observe local community-based organizations.

This course examines how to create, develop and scale high-performing social sector organizations — be they for-profit, nonprofit, or hybrid organizations. In this course, student will learn how to: a) design an organization’s mission, theory of change, and strategy in order to deliver social results; b) develop performance management systems useful for internal learning, while managing complex demands for accountability from diverse stakeholders; c) understand how to scale impact through multiple strategies including growth, collaboration, and policy influence; and, d) examine capital markets and the challenges of obtaining resources.  Taken together, students will acquire the understanding, skills and knowledge necessary to lead and sustain high performance in enterprises dedicated to addressing some of the most challenging problems facing the world today.

Civic Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on critical reflection, ethical thinking, and action for social change. People who think and act together to improve society must address problems of collective action (how to get members to work together) and deliberation (how to reason together about contested values). They must understand how power is organized and how it operates within and between societies. They must grapple with social conflict, violence, and other obstacles to peaceful cooperation. When tensions arise within a group, people face questions of justice and fairness, and they must confront questions about appropriate relationships to outsiders of all types. This introductory course explores ethical, political, and theological frameworks for understanding how people can and should organize themselves to improve societies. Readings are drawn from philosophy and political theory, economics, the history of social movements, and other disciplines. This course provides theoretical grounding for Civic Studies majors and for other students interested in social change.

The course will study and analyze several currently active self-determination movements through the dual lenses of international law on self-determination and global politics. It will assess whether these movements can rely on international law to support their independence claim—or whether it is all politics. Students will also become acquainted with conflict resolution, mediation, and negotiation methods and skills, as well as international court proceedings through in-class negotiations, simulations and mock court litigations.

Like it or not, we live in an era where the media’s role is often questioned by those who may claim it’s all fake anyway. But that’s not the central issue that we should question. Is it ethical for a journalist who has a vested interest in a subject to report on that subject? Should a music director of a radio station not play a particular artist because they disagree with a political stance taken by that artist? Should movie channels ban the work of any actor accused of sexual misconduct? Should social media be responsible for unsocial behavior? Is reality TV really reality? And, are there really any rules when it comes to media and ethical behavior? The central theme of the Media Ethics seminar is an exploration of the many kinds of decisions, or more accurately, choices media professionals face every day, and perhaps of greatest significance, the slippery slope that diminishing standards and the absence of gatekeepers has created. With an appreciation of the historical foundation of mass media to be a national town hall of civic discourse, we will explore the ways that modern media has been challenged by a slippage in ethics. But media is much more than just news, so this course will also explore editorial decisions made by music stations, and other forms of media, to compare how their choices have consequences.

This is an advanced research seminar with two aims: to present and discuss scholarship on several aspects of U.S. national elections and to accommodate research papers on U.S. national elections. The course’s readings offer analyses of U.S. elections by social scientists. There will be ample discussion of the 2018 election underway during the term. The primary goal of the course is to help students compose exemplary, quantitative original research papers, and we will spend time every class meeting developing these papers.

What is girlhood, and how do social and cultural ideas about it influence the life chances of people who are classified as “girls”? Are we living in an age of “girl power” where stereotypes about girls’ capabilities are fading away, or are girls more vulnerable than ever because of contemporary social problems like the hook-up culture, sexting, sexual assault, suicide, and media sexualization? In this course, you will explore answers to these questions through the lens of gender and age in ways that illuminate girls’ intersectional identities in terms of race, ethnicity, place, ability, nationality, religion, sexuality, and socioeconomic status and illustrate whose stories are foregrounded and whose are forgotten. Topics include educational justice, sex trafficking and unpaid labor, rape culture and gender-based violence, health and embodiment, gender and sexual politics, and media consumption and production. You will gain a strong understanding of current “girls’ empowerment” activism by applying the concepts we learn throughout the course to specific programs to assess their political, social, and civic impact and ethical standards.

This course offers students in-depth training in dialogue facilitation to develop skills needed to take civic action for positive social change. Students will facilitate the creation of spaces to communicate openly about contentious or divisive issues and will work towards breaking down destructive communication habits like avoidance, silence, or reactive responses, by enabling participants to feel truly listened to. Students will design conversations and facilitate dialogues that build deep listening and mutual understanding and will be trained to conduct dialogues when there is a need to intervene to support difficult conversations on campus and in their communities.

Through this course, Tisch Scholars will explore the connections between identity and systems of privilege, power, and oppression, and will apply their learning directly to their fieldwork. Students will learn to apply an asset-based approach to community work, and will gain skills in dialogue and deliberation. The coursework will allow students to critically reflect on the service learning work they are engaging with at their partner sites, and share ideas on how to address social issues in the community. Each semester that they participate in the program, Tisch Scholars will work eight hours per week at a community-based placement. Scholars will continue learning about Tufts partner communities and forge meaningful, reciprocal partnerships with community members through service and collaboration.

Students will study and practice approaches to change, both personal and social, through a variety of communication methods. This course is designed to develop writing, close-reading, and critical thinking skills for students on a bridge-year experience. In a blended learning format and through related readings, investigative data collection, guided exploration of social issues, and experiences with service placements and host communities, students will practice reflection, analysis, and effective communication. Students will create a learning community and consider how their bridge-year experience connects to their future academic interests and possible impact on campus life once they return to campus.