Join the CSS

September 3, 2009

Dear First-year Student:

If you have an interest in the social sciences, we would like to invite you to consider the College of Social Studies.  We are now accepting applications to the College, so this is a good time to find out more about the program.

The CSS offers a distinct approach to the social sciences.  First, and most obviously, it is a multidisciplinary program of study in government, history, economics, and philosophy.  Because social reality does not come carved up into neat compartments corresponding to academic disciplines, we believe that students will develop a better understanding of the subject matter and the nature of each discipline by considering it in relation to the others.

Perhaps more important, the College also offers a distinctive pedagogy that centers on the weekly tutorial.  We place great emphasis on writing and discussion, so our classes are very small.  During your sophomore year, your work in the College would consist of three small (no more than 10 students), intensive tutorials in government, history, and economics, and one larger (30 students) colloquium in modern social theory.  You probably know how hard it is to find classes of this size in the social sciences at Wesleyan.  We keep our classes small to make it possible for you to work closely with each other and with your professors, and to develop your writing and analytical skills.

Our pedagogy is also distinctive in its emphasis on students' responsibility for their own education.  In the CSS, you will write papers on a subject before you have heard your professor discuss it, so you will be given the opportunity to develop your own approach to it, your own synthesis of the materials you have read.  You will receive ample support from participating in small, informal groups with other students, from the teaching assistants assigned to each class, and from your professors.  But the final product will be yours.

There's a lot more to learn about the College, and if any of this is of interest to you, please come to the information session on Monday, November 17th at 7:00 PM.  In addition to talking about the College we will be serving refreshments.  Applications can be picked up at the CSS office, 408 PAC, or at http://www.wesleyan.edu/css/recruiting/cssapplication.html. They are due by Friday, March 27, 2009.  You are welcome to come to our social hour on Friday afternoons at 4:00, to chat informally with students and faculty in the College.  If you would like to talk with us, feel free to contact us. 

• Information Cession TBA:  CSS Common Room (4th floor, PAC) -- a panel information session conducted by current CSS students. 
   
• Application Deadline TBA:  CSS applications due (2:00 p.m.), PAC 408.
   
• Mondays at noon:  CSS Monday Lunch in the Woodhead Lounge.
   
• Fridays at 4:00:  CSS Social Hour in the CSS Common Room (4th floor, PAC).

Co-Chairs

 Cecilia Miller
cmiller@wesleyan.edu

Peter Rutland
prutland@wesleyan.edu

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