STUDENT  HANDBOOK
August 13, 2009

This handbook is issued as a resource for both current and prospective majors in the College of Social Studies. We hope that it may be found helpful as well by visitors and other interested persons.

 [ Introduction]  [ Admission]  [ Sophomore Year ]
[ Junior Year]  [ Senior Year]  [ Student Life ]
[ Faculty Advisors ]  [ Class Regulations] 
[Economics Requirement]  [ GenEds]  [Transcripts]
 [GPA & Class Rank]  [ Phi Beta Kappa] 
[ Degree Requirements ]  [ Alumni/ae Life ]  [ Credits]

Introduction to the College of Social Studies

The College of Social Studies, founded in 1959, is the oldest of Wesleyan University’s extant interdisciplinary programs, along with the College of Letters. Created as a residential college, the CSS had its first quarters in Harriman Hall (the Public Affairs Center), and its student majors lived in the same building. From 1965 to 1985 the CSS had its home in what is now Butterfield A, with its students at first living overhead. Over these years CSS students, by their own choice, dispersed across the various kinds of University housing, so that the College ceased to be residential; but the adjacency of faculty offices, classrooms, and social areas continues to foster informal academic and non-academic exchange among students and between students and tutors. In January 1986 the College returned to the PAC, where it occupies most of the fourth floor of what is now wholly an academic building. In addition to the CSS office and faculty offices, today’s quarters feature a lounge and a library as well as tutorial rooms and classrooms (the latter shared with the rest of the PAC).

From the start the CSS has been a coordinated, multidisciplinary program in Government, History, Economics, and Philosophy, teaching through group tutorials, colloquia, and seminars. It was created in the belief that different forms of social studies are best pursued together, rather than in isolation, and that students understand the subject matter and nature of each discipline better by considering it in its relation to the others. The CSS curriculum stresses basic techniques of analysis in Economics, History and Government, as well as their application to the subject matters of those fields, and develops an understanding of methodological and critical issues through work in Philosophy.  All classes are participatory, and the students write constantly and receive critiques of their writing. A steady schedule of visiting speakers and social events provides a sense of community that enhances the educational mission of the College.

Unlike most Wesleyan major programs, the CSS major begins in sophomore year. Interested frosh inform themselves over the first half of the year by talking to CSS students and faculty and perhaps attending a Friday social hour or a Monday luncheon. In February all frosh are explicitly invited to these functions, while current CSS students make dorm visits to encourage interest and the House Committee stages a public panel discussion of the CSS. The entire process of admitting a new sophomore class of thirty students is usually completed before spring break.

Admission of the new class entails written applications and individual interviews, each conducted by a tutor (i.e., a faculty member) together with one or more CSS students. The College especially wants to gauge applicants’ motivation and aptitude for the course of study and pace of work they will face in the CSS. While the College is not an Honors program, it tries not to admit students who will have undue difficulty with the work.

The Economics pre-requisite for the CSS is that students must take Economics 110, with a minimum grade of C+, or Economics 101 and one other Economics class, with an average grade of at least C+.  Students are well-advised to have this required course-work behind them before entering the College. However, some students who have not completed the Economics prerequisite are admitted each year, on the understanding that they will make up the requirement during sophomore year.

A CSS student, like any major, may leave the CSS to take up a different course of study. Some of the CSS courses taken by a student who leaves are usually credited toward the major in an appropriate department. A CSS major may also major in another department simultaneously (a "double major"), though tutors frequently advise against this course of action.

Tutorials (all required; taken one at a time; 2 credits each):

Topics in the History of Economic Thought

States, Civil Society and Political Movements in the Modern Age

The Emergence of Modern Europe

Colloquium (required; 1 credit):

Modern Social Theory

Goals of Sophomore Year: Sophomore year, commonly seen as the core of the CSS program, provides a broad base of knowledge in each of the major’s disciplines: Economics, Government, History, and Philosophy. The tutorials and colloquium provide connected accounts of the emergence of modern social, economic, and political systems. Students learn to think critically from a social science perspective and to draw interdisciplinary connections among the topics of study. Weekly tutorial essays develop conceptual and analytical skills as well as precision in writing and argument. The small size of the tutorials allows students to become well acquainted with each other, thereby inspiring a social and intellectual atmosphere which, in turn, fosters group and peer learning outside the classroom. Informal group study provides a sense of community often lacking in other majors.

The Sophomore Tutorials: Tutorial work is organized into three "trimesters" of eight weeks each. During each trimester the thirty sophomores are divided into three tutorial groups of ten, each studying one of three disciplines (Economics, Government and History). Students move on to a new discipline each trimester, and by the end of the year all students have had all three tutorials, though not in the same order. The work load is heavy, and each tutorial accordingly carries two course credits (for a total of six from the three tutorials). Tutorial groups meet weekly for discussion with their tutors, each student bringing a five- to seven-page essay analyzing the week’s reading assignment. The essays are not graded, but they are returned with extensive comments.

Each week the students in a tutorial meet with a preceptor prior to writing the weekly essay. The preceptor is a CSS junior or senior who helps tutorial members with their writing and their understanding of the subject matter. The preceptorial meeting is invaluable to the students, since it is the first time they can ask questions and test out ideas about the week's reading.

The Economics Tutorial focuses on the historical development of economic thought from mercantilism through Keynes and Schumpeter. Peter Kilby, Richard Adelstein, and Gilbert Skillman have taught this tutorial recently. The Government Tutorial explores the evolution of states, civil society, and political movements in the modern age, including absolutist, liberal, democratic, fascist, and communist systems. Recent tutors have been David Titus, Nancy Schwartz, and Giulio Gallarotti. The History Tutorial concentrates on modern Europe from the French Revolution of 1789 and the Industrial Revolution through the years after World War II. Recent tutors include David Morgan, Cecilia Miller, Oliver Holmes, and Philip Pomper.

The Sophomore Colloquium: All CSS sophomores together take a semester-long colloquium in Social Theory in the fall semester. The course traces the development of modern social theory from Hobbes to Freud. It meets weekly, and it is preceded by a weekly preceptorial meeting. Assignments usually include short written work each week. Recent tutors, who include Donald Moon and Cecilia Miller, have assigned two- to three-page written exercises or in-class essays.

Evaluation: No grades are given on the weekly written work of CSS sophomores, but the papers are marked up carefully, and there is a great deal of feedback. The weekly tutorial papers receive extensive comments on content and writing style from the tutor and often from the preceptor as well. In Social Theory the tutor sometimes grades the papers on an informal scale to enable students to gauge their progress.

At the end of each tutorial and the colloquium, the tutor provides each student with a written (and often an oral) evaluation of his or her performance in the class. The written evaluations are filed with the CSS office, with a copy provided to the student. These evaluations may be consulted by other tutors and the program’s Chairs when they need to know something of a student’s past academic performance, perhaps in order to write a letter of recommendation or to consider a student for an academic award.

Outside Courses: The work of the CSS sophomore year carries seven Wesleyan course credits. Normally students take one credit outside the College in the first semester and one in the second semester (beginning with the class of 2004).  The Economics requirement must be completed:   students must take either Economics 110, with a minimum grade of C+, or Economics 101 and one other Economics class, with an average grade of at least C+.  Otherwise students may choose freely among outside courses.  In fact, it is recommended that students explore areas other than the social sciences as a break from the focused sophomore curriculum; and to encourage this, the arrangement is that all outside courses taken by a CSS student in sophomore year are in effect pass/fail. After the successful completion of Comprehensive Exams, any grades from outside classes are eliminated from the transcript. The only grade shown for sophomore year on a CSS student’s transcript is the grade on the comprehensive exams taken in May (see below).

Sophomore Comprehensive Examinations: At the end of sophomore year, CSS sophomores take comprehensive exams designed to measure their proficiency in each of the subject areas -- Economics, Government, History, and Social Theory -- that make up the sophomore year program. The overall grade a student receives on the comps is the only grade that appears on a CSS student’s academic transcript for the entire sophomore year.

Review for the Comps: Review for the comprehensive exams traditionally fills the off-hours of a CSS sophomore from shortly after spring break until the exams begin. The custom is for the sophomores to form themselves into four- or five-person study groups which share out the working-up of the year’s materials. Although studying focuses on these groups, it is by no means confined to them, and often several groups combine their efforts and share ideas. Recently, some study materials have even been put on the Web.

Format of the Comps: The comprehensive examinations consist of a week-long series of take-home exams in the four disciplines, followed by an oral examination. The order of the four exams is publicized well in advance. The first written examination usually begins at the start of the second semester reading period. Exams run from 2:00 p.m. on one day to 2:00 p.m. on the next day, with 24 hours off before the next exam starts. Students over the years have found that they prefer this schedule to any workable alternative.

On each 24-hour exam the student chooses two (usually) from among several essay topics and writes a five-page paper on each of the two. There may be more or fewer questions to answer, but there is always a choice. The essays each student submits may total no more than ten typed pages for each exam. Students may consult books or notes, but they may not discuss the essays with each other during the 24 hours of the exam. Although each exam is in a specific subject area, students are encouraged to use materials from all of their CSS tutorials and the colloquium in answering the essay questions. Specific interdisciplinary questions are sometimes asked, with advance notice.

Oral examinations are conducted a few days after the written exams ends. The four tutors meet jointly with each student, and pose questions based on the student’s examination answers. Not every tutor necessarily has questions to ask each student, although it is expected that at least two of the four tutors will. No grade is lowered as a result of the oral examination, though ambiguous provisional grades like B/B+ can go either way. Grades can be and often are raised after the oral.

Grading of the Comps: Grades for the comprehensive exams are usually made available late on the second day of orals. Each student receives a letter grade for his or her performance in each subject area (reflecting the written examination and any oral examination in that subject); these grades are reported to the student and go into his or her CSS file. In addition, there is a comprehensive grade for the exams; this is the only grade reported on the student's transcript.

Comprehensive grades are given on the CSS’s own scale: High Distinction, Distinction, Commendable, Satisfactory, Conditional Pass, and Unsatisfactory. The student’s average grade from the four exams is the greatest factor in the overall grade, but the general distribution of grades across the class also has its effect, as do any obvious break points between clusters of students. Normally High Distinction represents an exam performance near to an A; Distinction roughly represents other Honors grades (A- and B+); Commendable covers the middle and lower B range and the upper C range; and Satisfactory indicates an acceptable performance of roughly C or C-. Conditional Pass goes to students whose performance was unsatisfactory in a particular field, and who must undergo reexamination in that field. Students who receive Unsatisfactory must withdraw from the major.

The exams should not be seen as competitive in any unusual way. No set percentage (or even approximate percentage) of a class receives a particular comprehensive grade, such as Distinction. In most years the modal grade has been Commendable and only a minority of grades have been in the Distinction to High Distinction range.

It is also important to remember that the comprehensive exam grade is only one of the ways in which performance in sophomore year is assessed. The evaluations received by each student from the tutorials and the colloquium sometimes give a better account of a student's overall work and achievement. Tutors rely upon these evaluations to prepare letters of recommendation for graduate and professional school, and in nominating students for prizes and fellowships.

Colloquium (required; 1 credit):

Philosophy and Social Inquiry

Tutorials in Economics, Government and History (subject matter varies; students choose two out of three; 1 credit each)

Goals of Junior Year: The CSS junior curriculum is intended both to build on the foundation laid in sophomore year, and to broaden students' perspectives on the social sciences. Specific linkages between the sophomore and junior curricula are established by the tutors. Junior year also continues to encourage development of analytical and writing skills. Letter grades are given for junior courses in the College (unlike sophomore courses), and they appear on the transcript.

In the second semester, students take a Philosophy colloquium, studying the different modes of inquiry in the social sciences. Additionally, students choose seven-week tutorials in two of the three CSS tutorial disciplines, and take these one after the other.

The Junior/Senior Colloquium: In this Philosophy colloquium, students examine the social sciences from a critical perspective. The course introduces problems of interpretation and understanding as they occur in social studies, building on the intellectual experiences of sophomore year and using further examples from Anthropology and Sociology, among others disciplines. Several short papers are assigned.

The Junior Tutorials: The tutorials offered in the second semester focus on the years since the Second World War, often extending the area under study beyond the West. While the topics covered vary from year to year, major themes include the increasing globalization of cultural, economic, and political processes; the retreat of European colonial empires; changing strategies of development among less-developed countries; the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe; and the emergence of growing challenges to the welfare and regulatory state in advanced industrial societies. Essays in the tutorials tend to be less frequent and longer than in sophomore year, and they may incorporate some library research. Recent tutors (in addition to those mentioned under the sophomore tutorials) have included John Bonin, John Finn, Joyce Jacobsen, William Johnston, Peter Rutland, and Ronald Schatz.

Study Abroad: Members of the College have the option of taking time away from Wesleyan in the first semester of their junior year. Typically half or more of the CSS junior class chooses to study abroad for the semester, in all corners of the world. CSS students going abroad are subject to the usual Wesleyan requirements; there are no special CSS requirements. CSS students abroad are not working for major credit, and they can follow their interests to the limits of what their international study program offers.

Seminar (subject matter varies; required; 1 credit):

Honors Thesis or Senior Essay (students must do one or the other; 2 credits or 1 credit, respectively)

Goals of Senior Year: Senior year in the CSS builds on the academic experience gained in sophomore and junior years by directing the student’s major efforts toward a substantial writing project (a thesis or senior essay). In addition to this project, all seniors take a seminar in the first semester that brings the class back to issues from the sophomore and junior tutorials and colloquia. Those seniors who were abroad in the fall of junior year also take the junior Philosophy colloquium (see above under Junior Year).

The Senior Seminar: The senior seminar, the second and last time that the entire class meets together in a course, re-examines some themes of the CSS education following two years of intensive study. It allows students to look back on their CSS academic experience, re-evaluate some important lessons and concepts from sophomore and junior years, and apply their understanding to new subject matter. The seminar is also an opportunity for the senior class to reacquaint themselves with one another. Following junior year, which sees many students travel abroad, the senior seminar provides an academic forum where students can restore and strengthen the intellectual community of their class.

The subject matter varies with the professor. In recent years the course has examined subjects from "Democratization in East Asia" to "Order and Planning in Industrial America". Students are asked to take theoretical material with which they are familiar and apply it to other areas or periods. The seminar concentrates less on writing and more on reflecting on concepts and themes from sophomore and junior years.

The Senior Research Project: The other major component of senior year is the research project, which may be either an Honors thesis (two semesters) or a senior essay (one semester). Both options provide an opportunity for the student to apply the skills learned in sophomore and junior years to an extended research project. Seniors choose their topics from the social studies disciplines, subject to the approval of the Senior Tutor (normally one of the Co-Chairs). Different types of project are possible, but all theses and projects must be in written form (that is, they cannot be performances or exhibitions). The production of a substantial piece of writing is seen as the culmination of the senior's studies.

Honors Thesis: An Honors thesis in Social Studies is subject to the rules and procedures that apply to all Honors theses. Work on a thesis spans senior year; it earns a student two credits for the fall and spring thesis tutorials which the student arranges with a faculty member who agrees to advise the thesis. It is up to the student to find a thesis adviser, who need not be a regular CSS tutor; there is no default CSS thesis adviser. At the end of senior year the adviser assigns the tutorials a grade that is separate from the award of Honors (explained below).

The CSS does not require a minimum GPA for undertaking an Honors thesis, but it has other special expectations of Honors candidates. In the middle of the fall semester the CSS holds "thesis workshops" where thesis writers present their ideas to the rest of the senior class and assorted faculty members. Students submit short papers for other students to read in advance of the workshops, and they make brief oral presentations. A workshop session is meant to inform interested members of the community about the proposed study, to stimulate an interdisciplinary critique and defense of the proposal, and to provide the thesis writer with a wide range of advice at an early stage in the inquiry.

A draft of a substantial part of the thesis (typically a full chapter) should be ready for initial evaluation by the adviser in the middle of December. Another substantial piece should be ready by late January, as well as an outline of the remainder of the body of the thesis. At this time an evaluation is made of whether the thesis is progressing satisfactorily. If the progress made to this point does not point to success, the student is expected (1) to drop the thesis tutorial in the second semester and replace it with an appropriate course, and (2) to work up the unfinished thesis into an acceptable senior essay, with no additional credit.

Honors theses are due in early to mid-April, on a date set each year by the faculty’s Honors Committee.

Evaluation of the Thesis: Each thesis is evaluated by the adviser and two additional readers, one chosen from within the CSS and one from outside. A CSS Tutors’ meeting appoints the readers after consultation with the adviser.

The adviser and readers write critiques of the thesis and make recommendations of High Honors, Honors, or No Honors. Normally an award of Honors corresponds to a grade of B+ or A-, and High Honors corresponds to a grade of A. An additional reader is sometimes called in to resolve differences. The CSS tutors then meet and confirm the results. Each thesis writer receives written notification of the results, along with a copy of the written critiques.

Senior Essay: Students who do not undertake an Honors thesis must design a senior project with a coherent theme, approved by the senior tutor (normally one of the Co-Chairs). Such a project includes both course work and independent study. It should involve a senior essay, that is, a substantial piece of critical writing which brings out the scope and coherence of the project; this normally happens during an individual writing tutorial during the second semester, but it might take other forms. The essay is due the last day of classes in the semester. A student who opts to write a senior essay is not eligible to receive a degree with Honors. A senior essay normally earns one credit, with a grade awarded by the tutor.

Social Activities: General interaction of CSS students is facilitated by the CSS lounge and library, both on the fourth floor of the Public Affairs Center. The College also holds many scheduled events to further the social interaction of students and professors.

All students and professors of CSS are expected to attend the weekly Monday luncheons, held in recent years in the Woodhead Lounge in the Science Tower. Lunch is usually followed by a speaker, often a visitor from off-campus or a professor from another department who presents his or her current work. Every member of the College pays a charge (currently about $60 a semester) to cover these luncheons. Exemptions from the charge are granted to those who have classes that meet during the Monday lunch hour, but CSS students are strongly discouraged from taking courses scheduled at this time.

The CSS tutorials on Friday afternoon are followed at 4:00 p.m. by the weekly social hour in the CSS lounge. This is another chance for students and professors to interact outside the classroom. Soda and snacks are served, supported by CSS dues (currently $40 a semester). The CSS also sponsors two banquets a year for CSS students, tutors and guests. Dinner is held at Downey House or another special venue, and the evening ends with a prominent speaker. In December, at a Holiday party held during reading week, students and tutors meet in the CSS lounge and students present skits about the College. Finally, there is an annual CSS picnic, usually just after the sophomore comprehensive exams in early May.

Student Participation in Governance: The CSS House Committee, composed of three representatives from each class, works as a liaison between the CSS faculty and students. The members, elected by their peers each year, address concerns and help implement changes, as well as assisting with the organization of social activities for the college. On occasion an all-College meeting of tutors and students is summoned to deal with larger issues of policy and curriculum. Through the years both the House Committee and all-College meetings have been instrumental in bringing productive innovation to the CSS.

Students in Recruiting and Admissions: CSS students are important participants in the yearly admission process. They facilitate recruiting by participating in dormitory visits and panel discussions. Students join tutors in interviewing the applicants and recording their evaluations. Other students are invited to contribute their knowledge of any of the applicants on the posted list. The information gathered in this way is important to the admission decisions made by the tutors.

Faculty Advisers: A CSS sophomore’s faculty adviser for the year is the tutor of the student’s first-trimester tutorial. In later years the tutor who served as a student’s faculty adviser in sophomore year continues in the role if he or she is still available. Otherwise, the student chooses a faculty advisor from among available CSS tutors.

.Tutorial Conduct and Late Paper Policy: Regular class attendance and keeping up with one's work are even more crucial in the CSS than in other major programs. Because sophomore tutorials are multiple-credit classes which meet for only two hours a week, missing a single tutorial is like missing weeks of a regular 50-minute class. This is a collegial program; classes are for the exchange of ideas and insights, so missing class affects not only the absent student, but the other participants as well. Moreover, because papers are due every week, it is very difficult to catch up once one has fallen behind. The College has adopted a set of procedures for dealing with late work, of which the main points are:

1. Attendance at class is mandatory. A student who cannot come to class for any reason should contact the tutor ahead of time and explain the circumstances. A student who must miss class frequently, for any reason, may be asked to resign from the program.

2. Papers must be finished before class and brought to class. Occasionally, students may not be able to print papers before class; in that case, they should come with notes and plan to give the paper to the tutor within an hour or two of the end of class. If for any reason a student cannot bring a paper to class, he or she should contact the tutor ahead of time and explain the circumstances.

3. A student who falls two papers behind must meet with the Chair and the tutor(s) involved to get back on track. In general, someone who falls behind is asked to put the late papers to one side and stay current with on-going work, and to make up the missing papers during breaks in the semester or between semesters.

Economics Requirements: By the end of sophomore year, students must have completed either Economics 110, with a minimum grade of C+, or Economics 101 and one other Economics class, with an average grade of at least C+.  Students who have taken BOTH AP micro and macro, and have passed both with a grade of 4 or 5, are not required to take Econ 101, and may satisfy the economics requirement by taking any other economics course.  Students who have taken only one AP economics course must still take Econ 101 and another economics course, or take Econ 110.
 

General Education: CSS students are not pressed to fulfill Stage I of the General Education Expectations by the end of sophomore year, because of their heavy schedule; but should Stage I remain unmet at that point, they must still submit a proposal for the successful completion of the Expectations to the Deans' Office. The fulfillment of the General Education Expectations, including Stage II, is a requirement for graduating with a CSS major. Exceptions are made only under most unusual circumstances.

Transcripts: Transcripts for CSS students, maintained by the Registrar's Office, list all courses that a student has taken at, or transferred to, Wesleyan (including Wesleyan-sponsored programs). For sophomore year, the transcript shows no course grades, even when a course was taken for a grade. The only grade displayed for the year is the grade from the sophomore comprehensive exam, expressed on the CSS’s idiosyncratic scale. (See above under "Sophomore Year".) The transcript goes out with a sheet explaining the nature of the program and interpreting the comprehensive examination grades.

Grade Point Average and Class Rank: The transcripts of CSS students show neither a GPA nor a class rank; the lack of sophomore grades would make rankings misleading at best. Be warned, though, that some testing services and universities will calculate a GPA from graded courses on the transcript.

Phi Beta Kappa: Phi Beta Kappa is an independent honor society, not officially part of the University, and members are elected by vote of the local chapter. The CSS nominates students for membership, like other departments; no more than 12% of the graduating class may be elected members of Phi Beta Kappa. Only those students whose academic work is excellent and who have completed Stage I and II general education expectations are elected. Only students who originally matriculated at Wesleyan are eligible for fall election, when a distinguished handful of seniors are chosen (usually fewer than 15). In the spring election, transfer students are also eligible for election.

Degree Requirements: To complete the CSS major and graduate with a degree in Social Studies a student must successfully complete all the required CSS tutorials, colloquia and seminars; finish a satisfactory senior writing project; and meet other specified requirements, like those in Economics and General Education. A student who fails a CSS course will normally be asked to leave the College, as will a student who falls too far behind in the fulfillment of other requirements.

CSS graduates have gone on to do many things, from carpentry to prominent government service, from the arts even to (in one known case) medicine. Many have gone into law or business, careers which obviously relate to a training in social studies. Many have gone on to graduate school in academic disciplines and then on to academic careers, while others have studied public management and gone into government. Some teach school.

Many CSS graduates are outstandingly loyal, to the College itself and to Wesleyan. In recent years there have typically been four or five members of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees whose degrees were in Social Studies. The tutors get pleasure from seeing these and other graduates on campus whenever they can come.

Sophomore Social Theory Colloquium: 1 credit

Sophomore Tutorials (three): 2 credits each

Junior Colloquium: 1 credit

Junior Tutorials (two): 1 credit each

Senior Seminar: 1 credit

Honors Thesis or Senior Essay: 1 or 2 credits

[ return to top ]