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Historical and current concepts of mental illness in women. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMS), postpartum depression, menopausal mood disorders, and eating disorders. Historical biopsychosocial approach. Readings include women's diaries and advice books, physicians' casebooks, and 19th- and 20th-century medical texts. Guest speakers from art and literature departments. Literary and artistic images, and the social and cultural contexts of these disorders during the last 300 years.

Do you ever look around and see ways that the world could be a better place, especially if people behaved a little differently? Do you wonder what prevents better outcomes? nnIn this seminar, we will examine social-psychological processes that lie behind diverse social problems, especially how people make sense of themselves, other people, or important situations, sometimes in pejorative ways that undermine outcomes. Then we will examine interventions that address critical processes to promote human flourishing. You¿ll have the opportunity to read and discuss classic and contemporary ¿wise¿ psychological interventions such as: how a change in the sign on a hospital soap dispenser can increase soap use; how a change in survey items can raise voter turnout; how a change in a single question can improve dating relationships; and how reading-and-writing exercises that address students¿ beliefs about intelligence and belonging in school can improve achievement years into the future. In learning about this research, you will discover more about psychological processes, how basic research helps clarify these processes, how they contribute in complex field settings to social problems, and how they can be altered.nnAs you learn from past research, you¿ll have the opportunity to design your very own ¿wise intervention¿ and to workshop others¿ efforts. You will identify a social problem on campus of interest to you, say: How can you reduce waste in the cafeteria? How can you get more people to take the stairs? How can you get people to hold more inclusive attitudes? Then you will identify a psychological process you think contributes to this problem, implement an intervention in the field and track the results. nnWhen you have completed this seminar, you will more fully understand the psychological aspect of social problems and how this can be addressed through rigorous research.

It's hard to pick up a newspaper without seeing a story that involves brain imaging, from research on psychological disorders to its use for lie detection or "neuromarketing". The methods are indeed very powerful, but many of the claims seen in the press are results of overly strong interpretations. In this course, you will learn to evaluate claims based on brain imaging research. We will also explore the deeper ethical and philosophical issues that arise from our ability to peer into our own brains in action. The course will start by discussing how to understand and interpret the findings of brain imaging research. We will discuss how new statistical methods provide the ability to accurately predict thoughts and behaviors from brain images. We will explore how this research has the potential to change our concepts of the self, personal responsibility and free will. We will also discuss the ethics of brain imaging, such as how the ability to detect thoughts relates to personal privacy and mental illness. Finally, we will discuss the legal implications of these techniques, such as their use in lie detection or as evidence against legal culpability.

Preference to freshmen. The impact of people's belief in a growing versus fixed self on their motivation and performance in school, business, sports, and relationships. How such theories develop and can be changed.

This seminar will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring how subjective aspects of the mind (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, and expectations) can fundamentally change objective reality. Over the course of the semester, students will be challenged to think critically about research from psychology, sociology, and medicine, which suggests that what we think, believe and expect plays a significant role in determining our physical health, performance and well-being. Students will explore research on how mindsets about nutrition, exercise, and stress can alter the body¿s response to those phenomena. Students will also uncover how social interactions with friends, family, colleagues and the media influence the perceived quality and impact of cultural products such as art, music, and fashion. And students will learn about the neurological and physiological underpinnings of the placebo effect, a powerful demonstration of expectation that produces real, healing changes in the body. Finally, students will have the opportunity to consider real world applications in disciplines including policy, business, medicine, academics, athletics and public health and consider the ethical implications of those applications. Throughout the class active participation and an open mind will be critical to success. The final weeks of class will be dedicated to student designed studies or interventions aimed to further explore the power of self-fulfilling prophecies, placebo effects, and the social-psychological creation of reality.

Spending by federal, state, and local governments accounts for about one-third of U.S. GDP and governments employ more than one-in-seven workers in the U.S. For most U.S. residents, government is represented by a complicated web of federal, state, and local policies. There is an increasingly contentious debate about the proper role of the government and regarding the impact of specific government policies. This debate is rarely grounded in a common set of facts.nIn this seminar, we will explore how each level of government interacts with U.S. residents through government services, public programs, taxes, and regulations. We will examine financial results for different levels of government while considering the net effects of government intervention on the health and economic well-being of individuals and families. Particular attention will be paid to certain sectors (e.g. education, health care, etc.) and to certain groups (e.g. those in poverty, the elderly, etc.). Along the way we will accumulate a set of metrics to assess the performance of each level of government while highlighting the formidable challenges of such an exercise.

In nearly all polls, American voters rank the economy as one of their most important concerns. In the presidential election, much of the debate for voters will be on questions of economic policy. In this course, we will delve deeply into economic policy issues to understand options for government intervention and possible outcomes. We will combine economic analysis with political science methodology to understand efficient and implementable policy proposals.nnSpecific areas of interest will be taxation, budget, entitlement programs, economic regulation and competition policy, trade, demography, income inequality, and monetary policy. The course will incorporate other timely and salient policy issues as they arise during the course of the campaign. n nStudents will be expected to write a short paper and make an oral presentation to the class. A wide range of topics will be acceptable, including those directly related to campaign issues as well as other long-term economic issues facing the country.

Religious themes and topoi are ubiquitous in Japanese anime and manga. In this course, we will examine how religions are represented in these new media and study the role of religions in contemporary Japan. By doing this, students will also learn fundamental concepts of Buddhism and Shint¿.

Raise ultimate questions about life. Yes, the unexamined life is not worth living, but also the unlived life is not worth examining. Students and professor examine their own lives in the light of questions that the readings and lectures bring up: 1. The big picture: Is there such a thing as "the" meaning of life? 2. What is entailed in making personal-existential sense of one's own life? 3. What constitutes the good life, lived in society? 4. How can a university education bear upon the search for a meaningful life? 5. What "methods" for or approches to life can one learn from studies in the humanities? After introductory lectures, the seminar studies a series of artworks, poems, diverse texts, and a film, all of which bear on the questions mentioned above -- works such: 1. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from "The Republic" 2. Manet's "A bar at the Folies Bergere" 3. A comparison/contrast of Monet's early (1862) "Still Life" and van Gogh's late (1889) "Irises" 4. Lyric poetry T.S. Eliot: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land," and "East Coker"; Edwin Muir: "The Heart Could Never Speak"; Philip Larkin: "Days" 5. Martin Heidegger's "What Is Metaphysics?" 6. Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "Nausea" 7. Marx's Paris Manuscripts of 1844 8. Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"