Social Foundations Courses (SOCFOUND)

SOCFOUND 2015. Perspectives on Education — 3 hrs.

This course explores foundational topics in education from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives at an introductory level. A major goal of the course is to help students deepen their understanding of and appreciation for education as a fundamental human endeavor that includes, but ultimately transcends formal schooling. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 2274. Democracy and Education in the 21st Century — 3 hrs.

This course will explore the complex relationship between education and democracy. This will involve drawing on concepts and theories from the social foundations of education (history, philosophy, and sociology of education) in order to apply interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on democracy and education, their historical and contemporary relationship, and the possibilities for future entanglements. (Fall and Spring)

SOCFOUND 3119. Schools and American Society — 3 hrs.

This course analyzes the history, sociology, political economy, and philosophical foundations of K-12 education. Its focus is on the societal issues that impact student learning and classroom practice and the political processes that impact public education and the teaching profession. It is designed to cultivate critical thinking about themes pertaining to public schooling through an interdisciplinary lens. Prerequisite(s): junior standing. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

SOCFOUND 3219. Critical Perspectives on Technology and Education — 3 hrs.

We live in an increasingly digitally connected, globalized society. As such, "educational technology" has become a common feature of the American school system, both in P-12 schools and higher education. Drawing on the interdisciplinary field of Social Foundations of Education, this course critically analyzes the role of educational technology in a digital world. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 3319. Education and the Value Gap — 3 hrs.

This course examines education as a practice of world-making that involves ways of configuring politics, communities, cultures, economies, and subjective figures. It provides students with a historical foundation to understand how education has been associated with projects of world-making (settler colonial, capitalist, white supremacist, heteropatriarchal, and ableist) that assume some lives to be more valuable than others. Drawing on theoretical tools to understand the projects of world-making inherent in the very concept and practice of education, students will examine the continuity of world-making projects from the 1530s to our present moment in order to consider the structures and processes that constitute a political economy of life in contemporary schools. The course utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach to study the emergence, rationale, and operations of world-making inherent in education. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 3419. Special Topics in Cultural Studies of Education — 3 hrs.

This course employs the interdisciplinary lens of cultural studies to explore specific topics in such fields as popular culture, political economy, social identities, or globalization as educational issues and problems. The course will work to build contexts around specific topics, connect them to the practices of teaching and schooling, and encourage students to make connections to their own educational experiences. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 4134/5134. History of Education — 3 hrs.

This course explores the historical development of the American public education system. Emphasis is placed on the shifting societal and political aims of public education over time; their relationship to broader shifts in American society and politics; and the controversial issues and social movements that have driven educational change. Prerequisite(s): junior standing. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 4234/5234. Philosophy of Education — 3 hrs.

This course will survey various approaches and theories of educational philosophy. This will entail questioning common sense assumptions about education, schooling, knowledge, teaching and learning. Through a careful reading of foundational and contemporary texts, students will consider a number of critical issues related to education broadly and the establishment of schooling more specifically Prerequisite(s): junior standing. (Variable)

SOCFOUND 6299. Research.

Prerequisite(s): consent of department. (Variable)