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.

Collaborative seminar exploring community development concepts and strategies in U.S. and other national contexts. Examines the history, structure and function of urban and virtual communities, with attention to the politics of space, civic participation and socio-economic inequality. Introduction to methods of inquiry including personal interviews, case study analysis and digital storytelling. Guest speakers provide insights from practice and professional networking opportunities. Seminar participants encouraged to build solidarity, become a community.

Students will be placed in one of a dozen State House offices—for a legislator, committee, in the governor’s office, or for an executive branch agency—to serve in a policy-focused internship. These experiences will be supplemented with a class built around discussion of shared experiences, as well as on the interplay between policy and politics. The primary goal is for 3 students to develop real world skills and a deeper understanding of how politics and policy intersect to create law, regulatory programs, and social change.

Innovative Social Enterprises is structured to provide students a highly interactive exploration of core skills vital to social entrepreneurs.  We start with awareness (self, context, relationships) and move quickly to practicing requisite disciplines (asking questions; testing and reframing assumptions; forming teams and other alliances; identifying opportunities, risks, and resources; giving and critiquing pitches; making go/no-go decisions).  We will practice an iterative rhythm of weekly information gathering, sensing, assessment, and reframing, with emphasis on creating compelling value for multiple stakeholders.  Students will engage in individual reflection and pitching as well as three team pitch-offs.

This course introduces students to the U.S. public policymaking process from our Constitution, through the three branches of government, to the press, with emphasis on food and nutrition policies and programs. Much of the course focuses on the nuts and bolts of policymaking and will utilize examples from current policy debates. Case studies, developed for the diverse interests of Friedman School students, are used to underscore policy lessons, facilitate small group discussion, and introduce students to several policy initiatives (e.g., food labeling) with which all Friedman students need to be familiar. Priority enrollment for MS/DI students. NOTE: For students in degree programs with NUTR 0203: Fundamentals of Nutrition Policy & Programming: How Science & Practice Interact as a course requirement, NUTR 0234 cannot serve as a substitute for the required course.

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.