The Social and Behavioral Sciences Program is the study of human beings and societies across time and around the globe. Social and behavioral scientists study how human societies and cultures comprise, and are shaped by, natural and human-made environments, systems of social groupings and status relationships, material exchanges, and language-based capacities for symbolic expression and communication.
At the American University of Kuwait, Social and Behavioral Sciences offers a concentration in Anthropology. Social and Behavioral scientists, with a concentration in Anthropology, focus on the comparative study of "culture" - the past and present conditions and evolution of human environments, institutions, systems of thought, and their dynamic interconnections. Social and Behavioral scientists with a concentration in Anthropology use qualitative ("ethnographic") and quantitative methods, and investigate such contemporary issues as class formation, gender relationships, ethnicity and ethnic revitalization, religious movements, poverty and economic development, violence, visual culture and mass media, and migration.
Graduates of Social and Behavioral Sciences, with a concentration in Anthropology, find employment in government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international aid and development agencies, and in the private sector in management positions, community service, social service, and in media and research organizations. With knowledge of the quantitative and qualitative methods of social and behavioral sciences research, graduates can also be employed by research and consulting agencies, polling organizations, and print and electronic media institutions. Graduates in SBSA can also go on to graduate programs in Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Social Work and Media Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBSA)
Program Lead: Dr. Pellegrino Luciano
Program E-mail: SBSA@auk.edu.kw
Social and Behavioral Sciences Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the AUK Major in Social and Behavioral Sciences, the student will be able to:
- Recognize the fundamental concepts in social and behavioral sciences with regard to different societies and cultures
- Examine how categories of difference are socially constructed
- Examine how culture constructs behaviors of everyday life
- Demonstrate sensitivity to diverse cultural perspectives, critical in today�s global society
- Apply appropriate ethical standards in the study and research of other cultures
- Assess the impact of global media, telecommunication, travel, migration and immigration on societies and cultures
Admission to the Program:
- High school Graduates of Scientific Section: 70% for Thanawiya Amma and British System (2.5 for Muqararat and American School)
- High school Graduates of Literary Section: 74% for Thanawiya Amma and British System (2.7 for Muqararat and American School)
University Degree Requirements (120 credit hours)
To receive a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences, students must complete at least 120 credit hours. Students should be mindful of the College requirement that a minimum of 36 hours of upper-level (300-level and above) courses must be completed at AUK. Eighteen (18) of these upper-level hours need to be taken in the INST major.
- General Education Requirements (45)
- Major Requirements (45), composed of:
- Core Courses (9)
- Concentration Courses (36)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (12)
- Free Electives (18)
Major Requirements (36 credit hours)
The Major in Social and Behavioral Sciences has a core of 3 required courses (9 credit hours):
| Core Courses (9 credit hours) |
| |
SBSA 101 |
Introduction to Social and Behavioral Sciences, concentration in Anthropology |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 200 |
Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Methods |
(3) [S] |
| Capstone Course in the senior year (3 credit hours): |
| |
SBSA 485 |
Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences, concentration in Anthropology
|
(3) |
| Concentration Courses (36 credit hours) |
| Students must complete, in consultation with their Academic Advisors, at least 4 courses (12 credit hours) in each of the three categories (total 36 credit hours). 12 of these total credit hours must be upper-division (300-level or above). |
| Category 1: Social and Cultural Formations |
| |
| |
SBSA 205 |
Fundamentals of Arab Society |
(3) [K, S] |
| |
SBSA 210 |
Arab Society and Culture |
(3) [K, S] |
| |
SBSA 235 |
Identity, Difference and Deviance |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 270 |
The Indigenous Americas |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 275 |
Secrecy and Secret Societies in Cross-Cultural Perspective
|
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 280 |
Kinship and Family in the Global Era |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 341 |
Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 342 |
Gender Relations in the Arab World |
(3) |
| Category 2: Visual and Material Culture |
| |
| |
SBSA 214 |
Lost Worlds |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 220 |
Culture and Visual Arts |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 224 |
Shopping and Consumerism |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 226 |
The Material Culture of Clothing |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 249 |
Images of Women in the Media |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 260 |
Ethnographic Film |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 265 |
South Asian Film: A Global Perspective |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 366 |
Popular Culture in South Asia: Film and Beyond |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 368 |
Technology and Culture |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 370 |
Music of the Arabian Peninsula |
(3) [K, S] |
| Category 3: Applied SBSA |
| |
| |
SBSA 218 |
Museums as Artifacts |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 222 |
Global Media and Spaces of Identity |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 230 |
Genocide and Refugees |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 239 |
Nation and Migration |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 255 |
Health, Medicine and Curing |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 344 |
Tourism and Culture Change |
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 345 |
Globalization: In its Defense and its Discontents
|
(3) [S] |
| |
SBSA 372 |
Anthropology of Business |
(3) [S] |
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (12 credit hours)
Students must choose 4 courses (12 credit hours) of which 1 (3 credit hours) must be upper-division (300-level or above), in consultation with their Academic Advisor, from the following disciplines (fields of study): AMST, HIST, PLSC, INST, PSYC, SBSA.
Free Electives (18 credit hours)
Majors are expected to take 18 credit hours of their choice from among courses in Arts and Sciences.
|
