Courses | Department of Comparative Human Development

This is an unofficial list of courses anticipated in coming quarters. Finalized course schedules are published on the registrar's Course Search Page. The documents of record for courses and requirements can be found at the College Catalog and the Graduate Announcement archives.

This information is subject to change without notice. The time of the courses is always tentative until the time schedule is published officially by the Registar which usually occurs around the 7th week kof the preceding quarter. Please always see the most updated version on the CHD departmental website. When possible please register for the section which corresponds to your level (i.e. grad students should enroll in 400 or 300 level courses only).

Fall 2023

Undergraduate

CHDV 20000 Introduction to Human Development (Numanbayraktaroglu)

CHDV 20001 Theories of Sexuality and Gender (Martin)

CHDV 20305 Inequality in Urban Spaces (Keels)

CHDV 20140 Qualitative Field Methods (McRoberts)

CHDV 21000 Cultural Psychology (Shweder)

CHDV 21800 Primate Behavior and Ecology (Maestripieri)

CHDV 22020 Alternative Feminisms: Gender, Agency, and Liberation in the Middle East (Numanbayraktaroglu)

CHDV 22350 Social Neuroscience (Decety)

CHDV 22580 Child Development in the Classroom (O’Doherty)

CHDV 22950 Emergence and Development of Mathematics and Language (Goldin-Meadow)

CHDV 23700 Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Language Development (Tice)

CHDV 23005 Education and Social Inequality (Rosen)

CHDV 23141 Social Reproduction; Labour, Life and World-Making (Sharma)

CHDV 23370 Bright and Dark Side of Empathy (Brentari)

CHDV 23360 Methods in Gesture and Sign Language Research (Goldin-Meadow; Brentari)

CHDV 24599 Historical and Contemporary Issues in U.S. Health Inequality (Keels)

CHDV 25750 The Psychology and Neurobiology of Stress (Norman)

CHDV 26000 Social Psychology (Leong)

CHDV 27015 Scientific and Humanistic Contributions to Knowledge (Maestripieri)

CHDV 27861 Darwinism and Literature (Maestripieri)

CHDV 27950 Evolution and Economics of Human Behavior (Maestripieri)

CHDV 29700 Undergraduate Reading and Research (Staff)

CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation (Robbins)

Graduate

CHDV 30511 Computing for the Social Science (Nardin)

CHDV 31000 Cultural Psychology (Shweder)

CHDV 32020 Alternative Feminisms: Gender, Agency, and Liberation in the Middle East (Numanbayraktaroglu)

CHDV 32401 Multilevel Modeling (Donald Hedeker)

CHDV 32702 Statistical Application (Gibbons)

CHDV 33360 Methods in Gesture and Sign Language Research (Goldin-Meadow; Brentari)

CHDV 33500 New Persectives on Language Emergence (Edwards, Brentari)

CHDV 33700 Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Language Development (Tice)

CHDV 37201 Language in Culture I (Nakassis)

CHDV 37950 Evolution and Economics of Human Behavior (Maestripieri)

CHDV 40000 HD Concepts (Raikhel)

CHDV 40192 Seminar: The Family (Waite) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 40112 Health and Society (Waite)

CHDV 40404 Computation and the Identification of Cultural Pattern (Clindaniel)

CHDV 40770 Early Childhood: Human Capital Development And Public Policy (Ariel Kalil)

CHDV 42402 Trial Research II (Tice)

CHDV 44500 Language and Environment (Edwards)

CHDV 44599 Historical and Contemporary Issues in U.S. Health Inequality (Keels)

CHDV 45601 Moral Psychology and the Anthropology of Morality (Shweder)

CHDV 47015 Scientific and Humanistic Contributions to Knowledge (Maestripieri)

CHDV 49900 Graduate Reading and Research (Staff)

Winter 2024

Undergraduate

HLTH 17000 Introduction to Health and Society (Raikhel)

CHDV 12103 Treating Trans (Martin)

CHDV 20100 Human Development Research Design (Galli)

CHDV 20102 Introduction to Causal Inference (Hong)

CHDV 25699 When Cultures Collide: The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies (Shweder)

CHDV 26700 Language and Technology (Edwards)

CHDV 28301 Disability and Design (Friedner, Iverson)

CHDV 29700 Undergraduate Reading and Research (Staff)

Graduate

CHDV 30102 Introduction to Causal Inference (Hong)

CHDV 33305 Critical Studies of Mental Health in Higher Education (Raikhel)

CHDV 38301 Disability and Design (Friedner, Iverson)

CHDV 44500 Language and Environment (Edwards)

CHDV 45699 When Cultures Collide: The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies (Shweder)

CHDV 49900 Graduate Reading and Research (Staff)

Spring 2024

Undergraduate

CHDV 23007 Language, Culture, and Education

CHDV 23305 Critical Studies of Mental Health in Higher Education (Raikhel)

CHDV 23900 Introduction to Language Acquisition (Goldin-Meadow)

CHDV 25199 Sensing Bodies, Sensing the World: Anthropology of Embodiment and Perception (Hadlock, SPRING)

CHDV 25777Aging and the Life Course: An Intersectional Perspective (Steffen, SPRING)

CHDV 27250 Psychological Anthropology (Numanbayraktaroglu) (2 sections)

CHDV 29700 Undergraduate Reading and Research (Staff)

CHDV 29800 B.A. Seminar (Robbins)

Graduate

CHDV 37250 Psychological Anthropology (Numanbayraktaroglu) (2 sections)

CHDV 42402 Trial Research I (Raikhel)

PSYC 40850 Seminar on Mathematical Development (Levine)

CHDV 49900 Graduate Reading and Research (Staff)

ALL courses 2022-23

CHDV 12103 Treating Trans (ANTH 25212, CHDV 12103, HIPS 12103, HLTH 12103, GNSE 12103)

Medical disciplines from psychiatry to surgery have all attempted to identify and to treat gendered misalignment, while queer theory and feminisms have simultaneously tried to understand if and how trans- theories should be integrated into their respective intellectual projects. This course looks at the logics of the medical treatment of transgender (and trans- more broadly) in order to consider the mutual entanglement of clinical processes with theoretical ones. Over the quarter we will read ethnographic accounts and theoretical essays, listen to oral histories, discuss the intersections of race and ability with gender, and interrogate concepts like "material bodies" and "objective science". Primary course questions include: (1) How is “trans-” conceptualized, experienced, and lived? How has trans-studies distinguished itself from feminisms and queer theories? (2) What are the objects, processes, and problematics trans-medicine identifies and treats? How is “trans-” understood and operationalized through medical practices? (3) What meanings of health, power, knowledge, gender, and the body are utilized or defined by our authors? What relations can we draw between them? (Martin, Autumn)

CHDV 20000 Introduction to Human Development (HLTH 20000, PSYC 20850)

This course introduces the study of lives in context. The nature of human development from infancy through old age is explored through theory and empirical findings from various disciplines. Readings and discussions emphasize the interrelations of biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces at different points of the life cycle. (Numanbayraktaroglu, Autumn)

CHDV 20001 Theories of Sexuality and Gender (GNSE 20001, LLSO 20001)

This is a one-quarter, seminar-style course for undergraduates. Its aim is triple: to engage scenes and concepts central to the interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality; to provide familiarity with key theoretical anchors for that study; and to provide skills for deriving the theoretical bases of any kind of method. Students will produce descriptive, argumentative, and experimental engagements with theory and its scenes as the quarter progresses. (Martin, AUTUMN).

CHDV 20100 Human Development Research Design (EDSO 20100, HLTH 20100, PSYC 21100, SOCI 20549)

The purpose of this course is to expose CHD majors in college to a broad range of methods in social sciences with a focus on human development research. The faculty in Comparative Human Development is engaged in interdisciplinary research encompassing anthropology, biology, psychology, sociology, and applied statistics. The types of data and methods used by faculty span the gamut of possible methodologies for addressing novel and important research questions. In this course, students will study how appropriate research methods are chosen and employed in influential research and will gain hands-on experience with data collection and data analysis. In general, the class will meet as a whole on Mondays and will have lab/discussion sections on Wednesdays. The lab/discussion sections are designed to review the key concepts, practice through applying some of the methods, and prepare students for the assignments. Students in each section will be assigned to small groups. Some of the assignments are group-based while others are individual-based. (Galli, WINTER)

CHDV 20140 Qualitative Field Methods (CRES 20140, SOCI 20140)

This course introduces techniques of, and approaches to, ethnographic field research. We emphasize quality of attention and awareness of perspective as foundational aspects of the craft. Students conduct research at a site, compose and share field notes, and produce a final paper distilling sociological insight from the fieldwork. (McRoberts, AUTUMN)

CHDV 21800 Primate Behavior and Ecology BIOS 29265, CHDV 37950, ECON 14810, PSYC 27950, PSYC 37950)

This course explores the behavior and ecology of human and nonhuman primates from an evolutionary perspective. Specific Topics include primate ecology and life history, social evolution, reproduction, development, affiliation, aggression, mating, parenting, communication, emotions, cognition, and language.

CHDV 20299 Ethnographic Research Methods

This course offers a theoretical and practical introduction to the ethnographic research methods that anthropologists, sociologists, and other social scientists use to examine, analyze, and represent social phenomena. Our course will be guided by several key questions, including: What is ethnography, and what kinds of inquiries is it best suited for? How do ethnographic researchers formulate research questions, carry out their studies, and communicate their findings? What are their ethical responsibilities? And what criteria should we use to evaluate the theoretical and empirical significance of researchers’ claims? We will address these questions by (1) critically considering a range of approaches to ethnographic research and by (2) practicing ethnographic methods of data collection, including participant observation, interviewing, fieldnotes, and working with images, videos, texts, and material objects. Through readings, in-class discussion, hands-on exercises, and conversations with guest ethnographers in academia and industry, students will deepen their understanding of ethnographic research and gain familiarity with a variety of methodological tools and approaches that can support their own or others’ research. (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 20305 Inequality in Urban Spaces (CHDV 40315, CRES 20305, EDSO 20305, EDSO 40315, PBPL 20305)

The problems confronting urban schools are bound to the social, economic, and political conditions of the urban environments in which schools reside. Thus, this course will explore social, economic, and political issues, with an emphasis on issues of race and class as they have affected the distribution of equal educational opportunities in urban schools. We will focus on the ways in which family, school, and neighborhood characteristics intersect to shape the divergent outcomes of low- and middle-income children residing with any given neighborhood. Students will tackle an important issue affecting the residents and schools in one Chicago neighborhood. This course is part of the College Course Cluster: Urban Design.

CHDV 20550 From Data to Manuscript in R (MACS 30550, MAPS 30550, PSYC 30550)

This course tackles the basic skills needed to build an integrated research report with the R programming language. We will cover every step from data to manuscript including: Using R's libraries to clean up and re-format messy datasTER)) etc., preparing data sets for analysis, running statistical tools, generating clear and attractive figures and tables, and knitting those bits of code together with your manuscript writing. The result will be a reproducible, open-science friendly report that you can easily update after finishing data collection or receiving comments from readers. Never copy-paste your way through a table again! The R universe is large, so this course will focus specifically on: The core R libraries, the tidyverse library, and R Markdown. Students will also learn about the use of GitHub for version control. (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 20774 , 30774 Multilingualism in Mind and Social Interaction: Language, Self, and Thought in the Multilingual Context

(EDSO 20774, EDSO 30774)

This course provides an overview of theory and research on bilingualism. Through a critical examination of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches to bilingualism, we will aim to arrive at a comprehensive account of bilingual experience and its practical implications for education and mental health in a globalizing world. In the course, we will address the following topics:

1. Theoretical and methodological foundations of bilingualism and multilingualism.

2. Bilingual and multilingual society, super-diversity, and translanguaging.

3. The relationship between bilingualism and cognition, emotion, and self.

4. Code-switching and identity.

5. Implications of bilingualism for education.

It is expected that, by the end of the course, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of bilingualism and multilingualism and apply this knowledge to your academic and professional context. (Numanbayraktaroglu) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 21000, 31000 Cultural Psychology (AMER 33000, ANTH 24320, ANTH 35110, CHDV 31000, CRES 21100, EDSO 21100, GNSE 21001, GNSE 31000, PSYC 23000, PSYC 33000)

There is a substantial portion of the psychological nature of human beings that is neither homogeneous nor fixed across time and space. At the heart of the discipline of cultural psychology is the tenet of psychological pluralism, which states that the study of "normal" psychology is the study of multiple psychologies and not just the study of a single or uniform fundamental psychology for all peoples of the world. Research findings in cultural psychology thus raise provocative questions about the integrity and value of alternative forms of subjectivity across cultural groups. In this course we analyze the concept of "culture" and examine ethnic and cross-cultural variations in mental functioning with special attention to the cultural psychology of emotions, self, moral judgment, categorization, and reasoning. (Shweder, Autumn)

CHDV 21800 Primate Behavior Biology (BIOS 29265, CHDV 37950, ECON 14810, PSYC 27950, PSYC 37950)

CHDV 21899 The Politics of International Migration

This course examines the legal and political dimensions of the phenomenon of international migration: when migrants cross territorial borders and enter a state to whose citizenry they do not belong. During the first half of the course, we will ask why and how migrants move – studying theoretical explanations for population flows – and why and how receiving states try either to attract them or to keep them out. We will reflect on the intersection of inequality and migration by critically examining how different groups of people on the move are categorized in different ways (e.g., as high or low-skilled workers, refugees, “illegal” immigrants, asylum-seekers) and, as a consequence, are granted different levels of territorial access and rights. We will also reflect on the human costs of policies of migration control and engage with normative debates on the ethics of borders. During the second half of the course, we will examine what happens to immigrants once they have arrived in the country of reception. Focusing on the cases of undocumented immigrants, asylum-seekers, unaccompanied children, humanitarian claimants, and families, we will ask how different groups claim rights and legal status in the host country and what challenges they encounter in the process. The class readings and lectures will mainly focus on migration to the US and Europe, but we will also briefly touch on immigration to developing countries in the Global South, which host 85% of the world’s refugees. (Galli) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 22350 Social Neuroscience (BIOS 24137, CHDV 22350, ECON 21830, HLTH 22350, NSCI 21000, PSYC 22350)

Social species, by definition, create emergent organizations beyond the individual—structures ranging from dyads and families to groups and cultures. Social neuroscience is the interdisciplinary field devoted to the study of neural, hormonal, cellular, and genetic mechanisms, and to the study of the associations and influences between social and biological levels of organization. The course provides a valuable interdisciplinary framework for students in psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and comparative human development. Many aspects of social cognition will be examined, including but not limited to attachment, attraction, altruism, contagion, cooperation, competition, dominance, empathy, isolation, morality, and social decision-making. (Decety, AUTUMN)

CHDV 22580 Child Development in the Classroom (EDSO 22580, PSYC 22580)

This discussion-based, advanced seminar is designed to investigate how preschool and elementary students think, act, and learn, as well as examine developmentally appropriate practices and culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. This course emphasizes the application of theory and research from the field of psychology to the realm of teaching and learning in contemporary classrooms. Course concepts will be grounded in empirical research and activities geared towards understanding the nuances and complexities of topics such as cognitive development (memory, attention, language), early assessment systems, standardized testing, "mindset", "grit", exercise/nutrition, emotion regulation, and more. (O’Doherty, AUTUMN)

CHDV 23005 Education and Social Inequality (PSYC 22350, BIOS 24137, CHDV 22350, ECON 21830, HLTH 22350, NSCI 21000)

How and why do educational outcomes and experiences vary across student populations? What role do schools play in a society’s system of stratification? How do schools both contribute to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order? This course examines these questions through the lens of social and cultural theory, engaging current academic debates on the causes and consequences of social inequality in educational outcomes. We will engage these debates by studying foundational and emerging theories and examining empirical research on how social inequalities are reproduced or ameliorated through schools. Through close readings of historical, anthropological and sociological case studies of schooling in the U.S, students will develop an understanding of the structural forces and cultural processes that produce inequality in neighborhoods and schools, how they contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status, and how students themselves navigate and interpret this unequal terrain. We will cover such topics as neighborhood and school segregation; peer culture; social networks; elite schooling; the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; and dynamics of assimilation for students from immigrant communities. (Rosen, AUTUMN)

CHDV 23007 Language, Culture, and Education

In this course, we will examine current theories and research about differential educational achievement in U.S. schools, including: (1) theories that focus on the characteristics of people(e.g., their biological makeup, their psychological characteristics, their human nature, their essential qualities), (2) theories that focus on the characteristics of groups and settings, (e.g., ethnic group culture, school culture), and (3) theories that examine how cultural processes mediate political-economic constraints and human action. Course discussion will focus on understanding the ways in which langauge and/or culture are conceptualized in these positions and their educational consequences, especially for low income and ethnic and linguistic minority students in the US. (staff, SPRING)

CHDV 23010 , 33510 Blooming Buzzing Confusion

In just a few short years, children are able to master the basics of their home language(s), despite the fact that they are not directly taught by their caregivers. How do they manage to extract relevant language information from their environments? This course considers the diverse contexts and sources of language use children encounter, linking them to major theories about the mechanisms underlying early language learning. We will consider findings from both observational and experimental research on first language development to better understand the potential and limits of different kinds of early language experience. (Casillas) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 23100 Human Language and Interaction (EDSO 2310, LING 21150, PSYC 23120)

Language may be learned by individuals, but we most often use it for communication between groups. How is it that we manage to transmit our internal thoughts to others' minds? How is it that we can understand what others mean to express to us? Whether we are greeting a passerby, ordering a meal, or debating politics, there are a number of invisible processes that bring language to life in the space between individuals. This course investigates the social and cognitive processes that enable us to successfully communicate with others. The theories we cover are built on observations of adult language use and child development in multiple cultural settings, taking inspiration also from non-human animal communication.

It is expected that, by the end of the course, students will be able to explain the limitations of language for communication and will be able to elaborate on a number of social and other cognitive processes that critically support communicative language use. (Casillas) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 23141 Social Reproduction; Labour, Life and World-Making (ANTH 23141, CHDV 23141, CRES 23141, GLST 23141, SOCI 20565, GNSE 23141)

Marxist feminists have defined social reproduction as the labor, with its attendant spaces and institutions, that is required for making and maintaining life in a capitalist world - from marriage to sex work, schooling to childcare, housing to healthcare, the affective to the intimate. This course explores theories, practices, histories and infrastructures of social reproduction in a transnational context, offering analytics for how life is constrained and sustained at different scales. It begins with an overview of early debates in social reproduction theory, and goes on to examine interventions from anthropology, geography, literature, history and political science that, both, focus on particular nodes that social reproduction feminists identify (such as domestic, education, service industry and healthcare spaces), as well as add other dimensions to the question of what sustains life in a capitalist world (such as fantasy and desire). Throughout our reading we will pay attention to how intersections of gender, sexuality, race, caste, class, and disability become integral to mobilizations of labor. The labor of social reproduction is often devalued and invisibilized, yet its life and world-making capacities can also offer contradictory and liberatory potentials for an everyday beyond capitalism. Thus, the course also critically engages material that centers concepts of social reproduction to radically reimagine economies, bodies, the state, social relations, and futures. (Sharma, AUTUMN)

CHDV 23249 Animal Behavior (PSYC 23249, BIOS 2324)

This course introduces the mechanism, ecology, and evolution of behavior, primarily in nonhuman species, at the individual and group level. Topics include the genetic basis of behavior, developmental pathways, communication, physiology and behavior, foraging behavior, kin selection, mating systems and sexual selection, and the ecological and social context of behavior. A major emphasis is placed on understanding and evaluating scientific studies and their field and lab techniques. (Mateo) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 23305 , 33305 Critical Studies of Mental Health in Higher Education (ANTH 24333, ANTH 35133, CHDV 33305, HLTH 23305)

This course draws on a range of perspectives from across the interpretive, critical, and humanistic social sciences to examine the issues of mental health, illness, and distress in higher education. (Raikhel, SPRING)

CHDV 23360 , 33360 Methods in Gesture and Sign Language Research (PSYC 23360, LING 23360, LING 33360, PSYC 33360)

In this course we will explore methods of research used in the disciplines of linguistics and psychology to investigate sign language and gesture. We will choose a set of canonical topics from the gesture and sign literature such as pointing, use of the body in quotation, and the use of non-manuals, in order to understand the value of various effective methods in current use and the types of research questions they are best equipped to handle. (Goldin-Meadow; Brentari, AUTUMN)

CHDV 23370 Bright and Dark Side of Empathy (PSYC 23370)

This course invites students to critically explore the science of empathy by examining its scope and its limits. It delves into cutting-edge research from evolutionary theory, neurobiology, developmental and social psychology, social neuroscience, clinical neuroscience, and behavioral economics to illuminate the mechanisms behind feeling for and with others. Questions explored in this course include: What are the evolutionary roots of empathy? What are the neural and neuro-endocrinological mechanisms that facilitate empathy? How does empathy develop in young children? Is empathy a limited-capacity resource? How is empathy modulated by unconscious processing and implicit attitudes (e.g., group dynamics, social status)? Is empathy necessarily a good thing for social decision-making? Why empathy can make us act unfairly? Why do some individuals (i.e., psychopaths) lack empathy and concern for the well-being of others? How does empathy improve the overall effectiveness of medical care? This course introduces undergraduate students to current research and theories of empathy. The study of empathy serves as the basis for integrating a variety of perspectives including evolutionary biology, behavioral economics, affective neuroscience, developmental psychology, social psychology, behavioral neurology and psychiatry. (Decety, AUTUMN)

CHDV 23700 Crosslingustic Perspectives on Language Development (CHDV 33700, LING 23701, LING 33700, PSYC 23720, PSYC 33720)

This course addresses the major issues involved in first-language acquisition. We deal with the child's production and perception of speech sounds (phonology), the acquisition of the lexicon (semantics), the comprehension and production of structured word combinations (syntax), and the ability to use language to communicate (pragmatics).

CHDV 23900 Introduction to Language Acquisition (CHDV 23900, PSYC 23200, CHDV 31600, EDSO 23200, LING 21600, LING 31600, PSYC 23200, PSYC 33200)

CHDV 24599 , 44599 Historical and Contemporary Issues in U.S. Health Inequality (CHST 24599, CRES 24599, HLTH 24599, PBPL 24599)

This course explores persistent health inequality in the U.S. from the 1900s to the present day. The focus will be on racial gaps in urban health inequality with some discussion of rural communities. Readings will largely cover the research on Black and White gaps in health inequality, with the understanding that most of the issues discussed extend to health inequalities across many racial and ethnic groups. Readings cover the broad range of social determinants of health (socioeconomic status, education, access to health care, homelessness) and how these social determinants are rooted in longstanding legacies of American inequality. A major component of class assignments will be identifying emerging research and innovative policies and programs that point to promising pathways to eliminating health disparities. (Keels, AUTUMN)

CHDV 25199 Sensing Bodies, Sensing the World: Anthropology of Embodiment and Perception

In this seminar, we will learn about anthropological understandings of embodiment and perception while engaging in activities that encourage us to attune to our bodies and sensory worlds. Drawing on literature and theoretical approaches from scholars including anthropologists, philosophers, and historians, we will consider questions such as: How do we use our senses to make sense of our bodies and the world around us? How do cultural and historical beliefs and practices shape sensory experiences and conceptions of the body? The readings, which will focus primarily on phenomenological, biopolitical, and posthuman approaches, will challenge divides between biology and culture, body and mind, human and nature, and self and other. As we explore these themes, we will discuss methods of sensory ethnography and work toward our own sensory ethnographies or creative projects. Throughout the course, we will relate the readings to our own embodied experiences, gaining a greater appreciation of the role of the senses (and the body) in shaping our understanding of the world and our place within it. We will use theory to think through our own embodiment and sensory perception of the world and vice versa, prioritizing creative practices and challenging assumptions at methodological as well as theoretical levels. (Hadlock, Spring)

CHDV 25750 The Psychology and Neurobiology of Stress (PSYC 25750, BIOS 29271, CHDV 25750, NSCI 22535)

This course explores the topic of stress and its influence on behavior and neurobiology. Specifically, the course will discuss how factors such as age, gender, and social context interact to influence how we respond to stressors both physiologically and behaviorally. The course will also explore how stress influences mental and physical health. (Norman, AUTUMN)

CHDV 25777 Aging and the Life Course: An Intersectional Perspective

Societies across the world are ordered by age. In this course, we will examine how age is imagined and constructed according to biological, historical, and cultural perspectives. Drawing upon a life course model, we will study how different cultures and social groups seek to structure the individual’s life in relation to the wider society by creating socially constructed stages, age

cohorts, and generations. We will consider how different social factors including gender, sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status may disrupt an individual’s ability to follow an idealized life course. An examination of the cultural assumptions surrounding aging in the United States will illustrate how ageism and age-stratification affect social relations across society and make certain lives more “successful” than others. The course will focus on older age and later life as a method for exploring how individuals make sense of their life experiences through narrative construction, the accumulation of disadvantage over the life course, and how historical and cultural shifts are disrupting established roles and relationships for the elderly across the world. The course will draw heavily on texts from gender and sexuality studies as a means for illustrating and understanding concepts. Students will have the opportunity to learn basic ethnographic and interviewing research techniques by conducting a life course narrative interview. (Steffen, Spring)

CHDV 26000 Social Psychology (PSYC 26000)

This course introduces students to the field of social psychology – the scientific study of how people think about, feel about, interact with, influence, and relate to one another. Topics covered include self and social perception, social influence, beliefs and attitudes, altruism, and intergroup processes. Where relevant, we will discuss if and how findings in social psychology can be applied in real-world contexts such as health, work, and relationships. (Leong, AUTUMN)

CHDV 26200 , 36200 Signs of Crisis: Ethnographies of Self and Society in Turbulent Times

Societies” and “selves” make each other up. Under ordinary circumstances, we know intuitively what it means to live in the world. We don’t think much about it, though, until things start falling apart. Maybe you suffer a trauma or an environmental disaster hit. Maybe the political system you took for granted all these years collapses, or from one day to the next, your money loses all of its value. In moments like these, and only in retrospect, your “life” and “the world” become coherent things you can talk about, as in, “My life is falling apart,” or, “This must be the end of the world as we know it.” Going further, you might wonder, “What is a world, exactly? What is it composed of? And now, as it is falling apart, how do we begin to imagine, and plan for, a new kind of future?”

Taking person/self and society/social field/world as categories to be interrogated, this seminar is concerned with the modes of reflection and reflexivity that open up new possibilities for life as older, more familiar paths, are closing off. We begin by establishing a common conceptual vocabulary, asking how constructs like self, person, world, structure, field, environment, and system generate different analytic possibilities for understanding how people manage, and are shaped by, turbulent circumstances. We then read a series of relevant ethnographic works where such dynamics play out in disparate times and places—from post-socialist Ukraine to post-Tsunami Sri Lanka. (Cole; Edwards) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 26700 , 36700 Language and Technology (ANTH 26700)

This course is concerned with the complex cultural dynamics we are immersed in as users of language and technology. Exploring those dynamics, we will ask questions fundamental to the field of linguistic anthropology, like: Who am I, and how do I know for sure? How do I glean information from my environment, and how do my information-seeking activities generate information for others? What is “context”? How are competing contexts generated, activated, or contested, and by whom? How is the rapid and ongoing substitution of channels (e.g., visual, auditory, proprioceptive) consequential for how we live and what we do? How are the messages we send out transmitted, diverted, twisted, or missed entirely, and to what end? Each week, an over-arching question like this will be introduced in readings and a short lecture, along with a set of key concepts, which students will apply in thinking about the environments with which they are most familiar. Students will have opportunities to explore connections that interest them through a range of discussion-based activities in class and in a final project, which may take one of many forms. (Edwards, Autumn)

CHDV 27250 Psychological Anthropology (ANTH 24321, CHDV 37250, HIPS 27250, HLTH 27250)

This course traces the development of the field of psychological anthropology and critically reviews the various paradigms adopted by psychological anthropologists. In our discussions, we will draw examples from different cultural contexts to critically examine the relationship between culture and psychological functioning. By the end of the quarter, you will develop an insightful understanding of the cultural sources of the self, mind, behavior, and mental health as well as a substantial knowledge of the field of psychological anthropology. (Numanbayraktaroglu, SPRING)

CHDV 27015 , 47015 Scientific and Humanistic Contributions to Knowledge Formation (CHSS 47015, HIPS 27515, KNOW 47015, SCTH 47015)

In this course, we will explore whether the sciences and the humanities can make complementary contributions to the formation of knowledge, thus leading to the integration and unification of human knowledge. In the first part of the course we will take a historical approach to the issue; we will discuss how art and science were considered complementary for much of the 18th and 19th century (for example, in the views and work of Wolfgang Goethe), how they became separate (‘the two cultures’) in the middle of the 20th century with the compartmentalization of academic disciplines, and how some attempts have recently been made at a reunification under the concept of ‘consilience’.

In the second part of the course, we will focus on conceptual issues such as the cognitive value of literature, the role of ideas in knowledge formation in science and literature, the role of creativity in scientific and literary production, and how scientific and philosophical ideas have been incorporated into literary fiction in the genre known as ‘the novel of ideas.’ As an example of the latter, we will read the novel ‘One, No One, and 100,000’ (1926) by Luigi Pirandello and discuss how this author elaborated and articulated a view of the human persona (including issues of identity and personality) from French philosophers and psychologists such as Henri Bergson and Alfred Binet. (Maestripieri, AUTUMN)

CHDV 27861 Darwinism and Literature (CHSS 34921, HIPS 24921, HIST 24921, HIST 34921, KNOW 21418, KNOW 31418)

In this course we will explore the notion that literary fiction can contribute to the generation of new knowledge of the human mind, human behavior, and human societies. Some novelists in the late 19th and early 20th century provided fictional portrayals of human nature that were grounded into Darwinian theory. These novelists operated within the conceptual framework of the complementarity of science and literature advanced by Goethe and the other romantics. At a time when novels became highly introspective and psychological, these writers used their literary craftsmanship to explore and illustrate universals aspects of human nature. In this course we read the work of several novelists such as George Eliot, HG Wells, Joseph Conrad, Jack London, Yuvgeny Zamyatin, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Italo Svevo, and Elias Canetti, and discuss how these authors anticipated the discoveries made decades later by cognitive, social, and evolutionary psychology. (Maestripieri, AUTUMN)

CHDV 27950 ; 37950 Evolution and Economics of Human Behavior (BIOS 29265, ECON 14810, PSYC 27950, PSYC 37950)

This course explores how evolutionary biology and behavioral economics explain many different aspects of human behavior. Specific topics include evolutionary theory, natural and sexual selection, game theory, cost-benefit analyses of behavior from an evolutionary and a behavioral economics perspective, aggression, power and dominance, cooperation and competition, biological markets, parental investment, life history and risk-taking, love and mating, physical attractiveness and the market, emotion and motivation, sex and consumer behavior, cognitive biases in decision-making, and personality and psychopathology. (Maestripieri, AUTUMN)

CHDV 28301 , 38301 Disability and Design (BPRO 28300, CHDV 28301, CHDV 38301, HLTH 28301, MAAD 28300, MUSI 25719, MUSI 35719)

Disability is often an afterthought, an unexpected tragedy to be mitigated, accommodated, or overcome. In cultural, political, and educational spheres, disabilities are non-normative, marginal, even invisible. This runs counter to many of our lived experiences of difference where, in fact, disabilities of all kinds are the "new normal." In this interdisciplinary course, we center both the category and experience of disability. Moreover, we consider the stakes of explicitly designing for different kinds of bodies and minds. Rather than approaching disability as a problem to be accommodated, we consider the affordances that disability offers for design.

This course begins by situating us in the growing discipline of Disability Studies and the activist (and intersectional) Disability Justice movement. We then move to four two-week units in specific areas where disability meets design: architecture, infrastructure, and public space; education and the classroom; economics, employment, and public policy; and aesthetics. Traversing from architecture to art, and from education to economic policy, this course asks how we can design for access. (Friedner; Iverson, WINTER)

CHDV 29700 Undergraduate Reading and Research

Independent Study with individual faculty by consent only (Staff, A, W, S)

CHDV 29800 B.A. Seminar

Required for students seeking departmental honors, this seminar is designed to help develop an honors paper project that will be approved and supervised by a HD faculty member. A course preceptor will guide students through the process of research design and proposal writing. (Robbins, SPRING)

CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation

This CHDV course helps students successfully complete work on their BA honors paper. In order to complete honors, students who successfully took CHDV 29800 in Spring Quarter of their third year must register for CHDV 29900 Honors Paper Preparation during Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, as a 13th required course. Students are encouraged to collect their data over the summer; then this course scaffolds the process of analyzing data (such as transcription and coding) and writing up BA papers (such as tips on describing methods and peer review). The grade assigned by their thesis supervisor on the final BA paper is retroactively assigned as the grade for this course. (Robbins, AUTUMN)

CHDV 30102 Introduction to Causal Inference (MACS 51000, PBHS 43201, PLSC 30102, SOCI 30315, STAT 31900)

This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from the social sciences, education, public health science, public policy, social service administration, and statistics who are involved in quantitative research and are interested in studying causality. The goal of this course is to equip students with basic knowledge of and analytic skills in causal inference. Topics for the course will include the potential outcomes framework for causal inference; experimental and observational studies; identification assumptions for causal parameters; potential pitfalls of using ANCOVA to estimate a causal effect; propensity score based methods including matching, stratification, inverse-probability-of-treatment-weighting (IPTW), marginal mean weighting through stratification (MMWS), and doubly robust estimation; the instrumental variable (IV) method; regression discontinuity design (RDD) including sharp RDD and fuzzy RDD; difference in difference (DID) and generalized DID methods for cross-section and panel data, and fixed effects model. Intermediate Statistics or equivalent such as STAT 224/PBHS 324, PP 31301, BUS 41100, or SOC 30005 is a prerequisite. This course is a prerequisite for "Advanced Topics in Causal Inference" and "Mediation, moderation, and spillover effects." (Hong, WINTER)

CHDV 30511 Computing for the Social Science (ENST 20550, MACS 20500, MACS 30500, MAPS 30500, PLSC 30235, PSYC 30510, SOCI 20278, SOCI 40176, SOSC 26032)

This is an applied course for social scientists with little-to-no programming experience who wish to harness growing digital and computational resources. The focus of the course is on generating reproducible research through the use of programming languages and version control software. Major emphasis is placed on a pragmatic understanding of core principles of programming and packaged implementations of methods. Students will leave the course with basic computational skills implemented through many computational methods and approaches to social science; while students will not become expert programmers, they will gain the knowledge of how to adapt and expand these skills as they are presented with new questions, methods, and data. More information can be found at https://cfss.uchicago.edu. (Nardin, AUTUMN)

CHDV 30550 From Data to Manuscript in R (MACS 30550, MAPS 30550, PSYC 30550)

This course tackles the basic skills needed to build an integrated research report with the R programming language. We will cover every step from data to manuscript including: Using R's libraries to clean up and re-format messy datasets, preparing data sets for analysis, running statistical tools, generating clear and attractive figures and tables, and knitting those bits of code together with your manuscript writing. The result will be a reproducible, open-science friendly report that you can easily update after finishing data collection or receiving comments from readers. Never copy-paste your way through a table again! The R universe is large, so this course will focus specifically on: The core R libraries, the tidyverse library, and R Markdown. Students will also learn about the use of GitHub for version control. (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 32020 Alternative Feminisms: Gender, Agency, and Liberation in the Middle East

This course critically examines gender, agency, and liberation in the Middle East. The course will begin with a discussion of human agency, its relation to sociocultural context, and the feminist literature on the issues of agency, resistance, and liberation. Then, we will explore these relationships in non-Western contexts by drawing examples from Turkey, Iran, and Northern Syria. In the cases of Turkey and Iran, we will focus on the feminist movements and women’s collective actions for the right to wear and take off the headscarf. In the case of Northern Syria, we will explore the agencies of Kurdish female guerrillas and their conceptions of empowerment. In each case, we will focus on the moral and ethical principles that guide women’s choices and trace their sociohistorical foundations. (Numanbayraktaroglu, SPRING)

CHDV 32411 Mediations, Moderation, and Spillover Effects (CCTS 32411, EDSO 32411, PSYC 32411, SOCI 30318, STAT 33211)

This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from social sciences, statistics, health studies, public policy, and social services administration who will be or are currently involved in quantitative research. Research questions about why an intervention works, for whom, under what conditions, and whether one individual’s treatment could affect other individuals’ outcomes are often key to the advancement of scientific knowledge yet pose major analytic challenges. This course introduces cutting-edge theoretical concepts and methodological approaches with regard to mediation of intervention effects, moderated intervention effects, and spillover effects in a variety of settings. The course content is organized around six case studies. In each case, students will be involved in critical examinations of a working paper currently under review. Background readings will reflect the latest developments and controversies. Weekly labs will provide supplementary tutorials and hands-on experiences with mediation and moderation analyses. All students are expected to contribute to the knowledge building in class through participation in discussions. Students are encouraged to form study groups, while the two written assignments are to be finished and graded on an individual basis. (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 32702 Statistical Application (STAT 35800, PBHS 33500)

This course provides a transition between statistical theory and practice.  The course will cover statistical applications in medicine, mental health, environmental science, analytical chemistry, and public policy.  Lectures are oriented around specific examples from a variety of content areas.  Opportunities for the class to work on interesting applied problems presented by U of C faculty will be provided.  Although an overview of relevant statistical theory will be presented, emphasis is on the development of statistical solutions to interesting applied problems. (Gibbons, AUTUMN)

CHDV 33150 Methods in Child Development Research

This course engages with one current topic (the topic differs each year) from research on child social and/or language development. We will read and discuss a collection of research studies related to this topic to gain familiarity with its primary questions, theories, and methods. We will also, together as a class, conduct a replication of an experiment- or recording-based research study related to the topic. Students should be prepared to read and discuss scientific research articles and to do hands-on research activities. Students will complete the class with expertise on the topic of focus, including experience with its associated methods. (Casillas, WINTER)

CHDV 33500 New Perspectives on Language Emergence (ANTH 23501, ANTH 33501, CDIN 23500, CHDV 23500, CHDV 33500, LING 23501, LING 33500)

In this course we will investigate anthropological and linguistic perspectives on language emergence, as well the social, demographic, environmental, linguistic, and modality (vision, speech, touch) factors that contribute to the formation of new languages. Emerging languages in communities around the world offer unprecedented scientific opportunities to address important questions previously deemed intractable, such as: Where does language come from? How do our experiences of the world influence the way our languages are structured? At what level of abstraction can language be studied as an autonomous object of analysis? The topic of language emergence has tended to focus on the interaction of linguistic, psychological, and demographic factors. We will bring the important anthropological dimension to the topic of language emergence, which addresses the way that users of emerging languages inhabit the world. The readings, lectures, and discussions will address new implications for our understanding of language creation. (Edwards, AUTUMN)

CHDV 34800 Kinship and Social Systems (EVOL 34800)

This course will use a biological approach to understanding how groups form and how cooperation and competition modulate group size and reproductive success. We will explore social systems from evolutionary and ecological perspectives, focusing on how the biotic and social environments favor cooperation among kin as well as how these environmental features influence mating systems and inclusive fitness. While a strong background in evolutionary theory is not required, students should have a basic understanding of biology and natural selection. Course will use combination of lectures and discussion. (Mateo) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 35201 Communication in humans and non-humans (PSYC 35201)

The seminar will compare communication in humans and non-humans. Topics to be covered include the reliance of communication on more general cognitive processes, the learnability of communicative systems, referential intent, honest signaling, and deception. These issues will be explored through readings that cover recent work at the intersection of human and animal communication. (Mateo) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 25599, 35599 Qualitative Analysis with MAXQDA: Interpretive Frameworks, Coding Techniques, and Quality Criteria

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to work with and analyze qualitative data from a variety of data collection methods and approaches to analysis. Following a brief overview of the interpretive frameworks, analytic strategies, and ethics in qualitative inquiry, the course focuses on coding, content and thematic analysis, discourse analysis and mixed methods with MAXQDA. (Numanbayraktaroglu) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 37201 Language in Culture I (LING 31100, PSYC 47001, ANTH 37201)

The first quarter of the two-quarter Language in Culture sequence introduces a number of analytic concepts developed out of the study of “language” and its limits. We begin with the study of “interaction order” in its multifunctional complexity, teasing out its constitution through the real-time unfolding of indexical (pragmatic) and reflexive (metapragmatic) signs/functions as coherent “text.” We use this attention to the dialectics of indexicality and its various implications to investigate various problematics in the philosophy of language (reference, performativity), linguistics (poetics, grammatical sense, variation, register), and sociocultural anthropology (racialization, relativity, subjectivity/identity, temporality, institutionality. (Nakassis, AUTUMN)

CHDV 40000 HD Concepts

Our assumptions about the processes underlying development shape how we read the literature, design studies, and interpret results. The purpose of this course is two-fold in that, first, it makes explicit both our own assumptions as well as commonly held philosophical perspectives that impact the ways in which human development is understood. Second, the course provides an overview of theories and domain-specific perspectives related to individual development across the life-course. The emphasis is on issues and questions that have dominated the field over time and, which continue to provide impetus for research, its interpretation, and the character of policy decisions and their implementation. Stated differently, theories have utility and are powerful tools. Accordingly, the course provides a broad basis for appreciating theoretical approaches to the study of development and for understanding the use of theory in the design of research and its application. Most significant, theories represent heuristic devices for "real time" interpretations of daily experiences and broad media disseminated messages. (Raikhel, AUTUMN)

CHDV 40192 Seminar: The Family (SOCI 40192, GNSE 40192)

This seminar will focus on classic and current readings on the family, including the family as an institution, changes in family structure and function, new family forms, cohabitation, marriage, union dissolution, fertility, sexuality, working families, intergenerational relations, and family policy. We will discuss the readings for the week, with a focus on evaluating both the research and the ideas. Students will develop a research project on the family and prepare a paper outlining the project, providing a theoretical framework, background, hypotheses and approach. This might serve as the basis for a qualifying paper. (Waite, AUTUMN)

CHDV 40404 Computation and the Identification of Cultural Pattern (MAC 40404, MACS 20400, MAPS 40401, PSYC 40460)

Culture is increasingly becoming digital, making it more and more necessary for those in both academia and industry to use computational strategies to effectively identify, understand, and (in the case of industry) capitalize on emerging cultural patterns. In this course, students will explore interdisciplinary approaches for defining and mobilizing the concept of “culture” in their computational analyses, drawing on relevant literature from the fields of Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology. Additionally, they will receive hands-on experience applying computational approaches to identify and analyze a wide range of cultural patterns using the Python programming language. For instance, students will learn to identify emerging social movements using social media data, predict the next fashion trends, and even decipher ancient symbols using archaeological databases. (Clindaniel, AUTUMN)

CHDV 42402 Trial Research I

This course is taken in the Spring quarter of the first year, followed by part II in the Autumn quarter of the second year. The purpose of this seminar is to help students formulate and complete their trial research projects. (Raikhel, SPRING)

CHDV 42401 Trial Research II

Second course in required Trial Research Seminar sequence. This course is taken in the Autumn quarter of the second year. The purpose of this seminar is to help students formulate and complete their trial research projects. (Tice, AUTUMN)

CHDV 44300 Children and Youth Studies

This course is a reading intensive seminar. We will examine the social construction of childhood as a distinct stage in the life course, reflecting in particular on how understandings and experiences of childhood are both historically contingent and culturally specific. We will also consider how race, class, and gender shape children’s experiences, children’s socialization, and contemporary social problems involving children’s lives. We will engage with concepts, theories, and empirical research in the interdisciplinary field of childhood studies, with a particular focus on works in Sociology and Anthropology examining both Western and non-Western cases. As we read empirical works, we will focus not only on substantive findings but also use these studies to discuss different methodological approaches and challenges involved in conducting research with children. (Galli) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 44500 Language and Environment

This is a graduate seminar that will explore the many ways that language influences and is influenced by the environment. Appropriate for those interested in the socio-cultural foundations of language and language-use, infrastructural dimensions of communication and interaction, and existence as semiotic. (Edwards, AUTUMN)

CHDV 45401 The Anthropology of Disability

What is disability as a category and experience and how do we study it conceptually and methodologically? Disability cuts across age, gender, class, caste, occupation, religion- or does it? In this course, we critically examine both the experiences of people with disabilities in a global context as well as the politics and processes of writing about such experiences. In the beginning of the course, we will develop a foundation from which to talk about local and global contexts as well as disability. We will consider issues of development, globalization, and transnationalism. We will ask whether disability is a universal category and we will consider how experiences of health, illness, disability, and debility vary. We will engage in “concept work” by analyzing the relationships between disability and impairment and we will critically evaluate the different models employed to think about disability. We will read both foundational disability studies texts and ethnographic work. (Friedner) (not offered in 2023-24)

CHDV 45601 Moral Psychology and the Anthropology of Morality (PSYC 44000)

Three types of questions about morality can be distinguished: (1) philosophical, (2) psychological, and (3) epidemiological. The philosophical question asks, whether and in what sense (if any) "goodness" or "rightness" are real or objective properties that particular actions possess in varying degrees. The psychological question asks, what are the mental states and processes associated with the human classification of actions are moral or immoral, ethical or unethical. The epidemiological question asks, what is the actual distribution of moral judgments across time (developmental time and historical time) and across space (for example, across cultures). In this seminar we will read classic and contemporary philosophical, psychological, and anthropological texts that address those questions. (Shweder, Autumn)

CHDV 45699 When Cultures Collide: The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies (ANTH 45600, CHDV 25699, GNSE 45600, HMRT 35600, KNOW 45699, PSYC 45300)

Coming to terms with diversity in an increasingly multicultural world has become one of the most pressing public policy projects for liberal democracies in the early 21st century. One way to come to terms with diversity is to try to understand the scope and limits of toleration for variety at different national sites where immigration from foreign lands has complicated the cultural landscape. This seminar examines a series of legal and moral questions about the proper response to norm conflict between mainstream populations and cultural minority groups (including old and new immigrants), with special reference to court cases that have arisen in the recent history of the United States. (Shweder, WINTER)

CHDV 27015 , 47015 Scientific and Humanistic Contributions to Knowledge Formation (CHSS 47015, HIPS 27515, KNOW 47015, SCTH 47015)

CHDV 49900 Graduate Reading and Research

Independent Study with individual faculty by consent only. (Staff, A, W, S)

HLTH 17000 Introduction to Health and Society

Disability, experiences of illness, categories of disorder, ideals of well-being, and models of medical intervention can all vary between cultural settings and across history. Rapid changes in medicine and biotechnology create new understandings and expectations about illness, health, and well-being. At the same time, inequalities in access to care and in health outcomes across populations, in the United States and globally, have become important to conversations in policy and practice alike. This course introduces students introduces students to the social, political, and economic processes that shape individual and population health, as well as to a range of concepts and methods which social scientists use to study these processes. A requirement for students undertaking the "Health and Society" minor, the class will also serve as an introduction to the faculty researching and teaching on issues of health and society in the Social Sciences Division and beyond. (Raikhel, SPRING)

PSYC 40850 Seminar on Mathematical Development

We will examine the development of numerical and spatial skills in young children, which have been found to predict their long term mathematical outcomes. The course will examine the role of children’s early mathematical skills and concepts, domain general abilities such as executive functioning and math attitudes (e.g., math anxiety, math ability self-concepts, mindset, and math gender stereotypes) on their math learning trajectories. Finally, we will consider how key socializers – parents and teachers – contribute to children’s math learning and math attitudes. (Levine, SPRING)