The Critical Social Thought Major and Minor

The Critical Social Thought Major

A student majoring in critical social thought should meet with the program chair and the director of advising during the first semester of her sophomore year to discuss her intellectual interests and to select two advisors from the critical social thought faculty who will help her sculpt her curriculum around a central question of her choice.

To declare her major, the student must submit to the chair a title describing her question, a list of the courses she proposes to take for credit in her major, and the signatures of her two advisors. Later, she must compose a two-to-three-page proposal that identifies the focus of her program, explains its genesis and significance, and lists the courses she has taken and intends to take to satisfy the requirements of the major. A final draft of this proposal with the signatures of her two advisors should be submitted to the program chair by the end of the first semester of the student’s junior year, or by the end of the second semester of her sophomore year if she plans to be away in the fall of her junior year.

First-year students interested in majoring in critical social thought are encouraged to select courses, in addition to CST 100, with a critical or philosophical slant at the 100 and 200 level in the traditional disciplines and in other interdisciplinary programs (including, but not limited to, area studies programs, environmental studies, gender studies, and film studies).

The Critical Social Thought chapter of the catalogue offers specific information on the credits and courses required for the major.

The Critical Social Thought Minor

A student who wishes to minor in critical social thought should meet with the program chair, preferably by the end of the second semester of her sophomore year, to discuss her minor interest and to select an advisor from the program faculty. In consultation with her advisor, the student will shape her minor program around a question of her own design. By the end of her junior year, she should submit to the program chair a two-page proposal that explains the substantive focus of her minor and lists the courses that count toward it.

For requirements, see the Critical Social Thought chapter of the catalogue.