Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences

Chair: Professor Truss (History).

Professors Barone (History), Day (History), Fallin (History), Gilbert (Psychology), Hultquist (History), McDonald (Anthropology), Parker (Sociology), Turner (Political Science); Associate Professors Bawden (History), Doerfler (Political Science), Lowry (Sociology), Newell (Social Work); Assistant Professors Bare (Psychology), Beal (Social Work), Bounds (Sociology), Caplow (Environmental Studies), Eckelman (Political Science), Longo (Psychology), Shepherd (Psychology), Tetloff (Social Work); Senior Clinical Instructor Duke (Social Work).

Department Office Contact Information

Mission

The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences explores the human condition in all of its richness and complexity. While focusing on the development of the essential skills of critical analysis in the disciplines of geography, history, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology, the department fosters a commitment and capacity for informed citizenship. As active citizens, students gain an understanding of diverse social perspectives and evaluate culturally-based values and beliefs. Finally, the department instills in its graduates the ability and desire to recognize and appreciate learning as a life-long process.

General Education

Several courses in Behavioral and Social Sciences fulfill the Social and Behavioral Sciences component of the UM General Education requirements: GEOG 231 ; HIST 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 ; POS 200 , 250 ; PSYC 201 ; SOC 101 ; 102 ; SWK 203 , 260 , 322 . ES 100  fulfills a Science requirement, and ES 200  fulfills the Personal Development requirement.

Students majoring in History, Political Science, Psychology, Social Science, Social Work, or Sociology must complete two semesters of World Civilizations (HIST 101  and 102  or 103  and 104 ).

Majors

The department offers the bachelor’s degree (either the B.A. or the B.S.) in the following disciplines:

Internships

Faculty in Behavioral and Social Sciences encourage participation in internships. The history, political science, and sociology programs regularly offer internships, especially in the summer terms. Social Work majors complete a practicum as part of their course curriculum. Contact faculty in the pertinent programs for additional information.

Courses in Behavioral and Social Sciences

Note: 400-level courses may be cross-listed with 500-level (graduate) courses.

• Courses of Instruction  

Programs

• •  African American Studies Minor
• •  Environmental Studies Minor
• •  Environmental Studies, B.A.
• •  Environmental Studies, B.S.
• •  History Minor
• •  History, B.A.
• •  History, B.S.
• •  Human Rights and Public Service Minor
• •  Human Services Minor
• •  Political Science Minor
• •  Political Science, B.A.
• •  Political Science, B.S.
• •  Pre-Law Minor
• •  Psychology Minor
• •  Psychology, B.A.
• •  Psychology, B.S.
• •  Social Science, B.A.
• •  Social Science, B.S.
• •  Social Work, B.A.
• •  Social Work, B.S.
• •  Sociology Minor
• •  Sociology, B.A.
• •  Sociology, B.S.
• •  Sociology, Criminology, B.A.
• •  Sociology, Criminology, B.S.

Courses

• •  AAS 200 - Introduction to African American Studies
• •  ANTH 210 - Introduction to Anthropology
• •  ANTH 211 - Introduction to Archaeology
• •  ANTH 311 - Selected Topics in Anthropology
• •  ANTH 410 - Theory and Methods in Anthropology
• •  ES 100 - Environmental Science
• •  ES 200 - Environment and Society
• •  ES 250 - Principles of Sustainability
• •  ES 300 - Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Studies
• •  ES 310 - Special Topics in Environmental Studies
• •  ES 350 - Environmental Policy
• •  ES 401 - Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Studies
• •  ES 405 - Environmental Education and Human Behavior
• •  ES 410 - Special Topics in Environmental Studies
• •  ES 415 - Policy and Practice of Sustainable Food
• •  ES 475 - Environmental Studies in Action
• •  ES 480 - Environmental Studies Independent Project
• •  GEOG 231 - World Regional Geography
• •  GEOG 303 - Selected Topics in Regional Geography
• •  GEOG 331 - Human Geography
• •  GEOG 332 - Physical Geography
• •  GEOG 375 - Geography of the United States and Canada
• •  GEOG 405 - Urbanism and Sustainability
• •  GEOG 411 - Selected Topics in Geography
• •  GEOG 466 - Political Geography
• •  HIST 101 - History of World Civilizations I
• •  HIST 102 - History of World Civilizations II
• •  HIST 103 - History of World Civilizations for Honors Students (Prehistoric to 1500 A.D.)
• •  HIST 104 - History of World Civilizations for Honors Students II (1500 A.D. to present)
• •  HIST 211 - History of the United States
• •  HIST 212 - History of the United States
• •  HIST 303 - Selected Topics in History
• •  HIST 310 - Introduction to Historical Study
• •  HIST 325 - Women’s History
• •  HIST 363 - History of Europe Since 1815
• •  HIST 380 - History of Latin America
• •  HIST 411 - Selected Topics in History
• •  HIST 423 - Civil Rights Movement
• •  HIST 424 - Colonial Latin America
• •  HIST 425 - Modern Latin America
• •  HIST 426 - U.S.-Latin American Relations: 1820 to present
• •  HIST 431 - Cold War Latin America
• •  HIST 432 - History of French Film
• •  HIST 433 - Modern Brazil
• •  HIST 435 - History of Modern Japan
• •  HIST 441 - History of England I-From the Roman Conquest to 1603
• •  HIST 442 - History of England II-1603 to the Present
• •  HIST 444 - The Islamic World
• •  HIST 447 - Medieval European History, 476-1400
• •  HIST 448 - Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1563
• •  HIST 455 - The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, 1789-1815
• •  HIST 458 - History of Germany, 1871-1945
• •  HIST 460 - History of the South
• •  HIST 461 - History of Early Modern Europe, up to 1789
• •  HIST 465 - History of France Since 1815
• •  HIST 470 - Colonial America
• •  HIST 471 - Revolutionary America
• •  HIST 472 - History of Alabama
• •  HIST 473 - African-American History
• •  HIST 474 - Jeffersonian-Jacksonian America
• •  HIST 476 - The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1850-1877
• •  HIST 477 - The Gilded Age
• •  HIST 479 - History of Alabama’s Constitutions
• •  HIST 480 - Diplomatic History of the United States
• •  HIST 481 - The United States, 1900-1945
• •  HIST 482 - The United States Since 1945
• •  HIST 483 - History of Africa
• •  HIST 484 - U.S. Wars-Korea and Vietnam
• •  HIST 490 - Directed Reading and Independent Study
• •  HIST 491 - Senior Seminar in History
• •  HIST 492 - History Capstone
• •  HIST 495 - Internship in History
• •  POS 200 - American National Government
• •  POS 250 - State and Local Government
• •  POS 303 - Selected Topics in Political Science
• •  POS 309 - Science Fiction and Politics
• •  POS 310 - National Parks and Public Lands
• •  POS 315 - African Politics
• •  POS 320 - Political Film
• •  POS 330 - Women in Politics
• •  POS 333 - Gender in World Politics
• •  POS 334 - Politics of the Workplace
• •  POS 335 - Identity Politics
• •  POS 340 - World Politics
• •  POS 350 - Model United Nations
• •  POS 355 - Model Arab League
• •  POS 360 - Citizenship and Public Service
• •  POS 370 - Research Methods in Social Sciences
• •  POS 380 - Foundations of Political Thought
• •  POS 385 - Modern Political Thought
• •  POS 405 - Great Books in Political Thought
• •  POS 411 - Selected Topics in Political Science
• •  POS 422 - American Political Thought
• •  POS 443 - Middle East
• •  POS 444 - Public Policy
• •  POS 445 - Public Administration
• •  POS 446 - The Politics of Social Policy
• •  POS 447 - The Politics of Sin (Morality Politics)
• •  POS 448 - Environmental Policy
• •  POS 455 - International Relations