Interdisciplinary Studies Field

This course provides an introduction to the works of foundational social theorists of the nineteenth century, including Karl Marx and Max Weber. Writing in what might be called the “pre disciplinary” period of the modern social sciences, their works cross the boundaries of anthropology, economics, history, political science, sociology, and are today claimed by these and other disciplines as essential texts. We will read intensively and critically from their respective works, situating their intellectual contributions in the history of social transformations wrought by industrialization and urbanization, political revolution, and the development of modern consumer society.

Each GSI will be responsible for 2 sections per week. If interested, please send an email to bhandari@berkeley.edu with your resume and CV. In the application, please be sure to describe your teaching experiences, especially here at Berkeley. If the candidate is an international student, they must meet the language proficiency requirement.

Day & Time: MWF 10-11am
Location: Lewis 9
Instructor: Fang Xu
Units: 4

Following Weber, Veblen, and Bourdieu, social scientists often emphasize consumers’
motivations to establish or display their status. In many ways, consumption defines our lives – our identities as consumers are even more important, some would argue, than our identities as workers or producers. But what are the implications of a society in which “you are what you consume?”

We require one reader for this course, preferably a graduate student from sociology, anthropology, public policy, political science, or related fields. The reader will be expected to complete course readings (2hrs/week), attend class meetings (3hrs/week), hold weekly one-hour office hour, grade weekly readings reflections (ten per student throughout the semester), one empirical research-based report (750-800words), and a final project (1500 words). The class’s maximum capacity is 65 and will likely be fully enrolled.

If this might be of interest, please send an email to fangxu@berkeley.edu with your CV. In the CV, please be sure to describe your teaching experiences, especially here at Berkeley.

ISF 100J: The Social Life of Computing
Day & Time: MWF 1-2 pm

Location: Physics 1

Instructor: Shreeharsh Kelkar

Units: 4
2 readers

We live in a time which some characterize as the “second machine age” of automation, artificial intelligence, and big data.  This course introduces students to the technical, social, business, and political entanglements of computing from its late 19th century origins to the 21st century software industry.  The topics covered include the intersections of computing with: calculation, capitalism, intelligence, gender, work, automation, and expertise.  It satisfies the social and behavioral sciences breadth requirement as well as the Human Contexts and Ethics requirement of Berkeley’s Data Science major.

I require two readers for this course, preferably PhD or Master’s students familiar with the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the social studies of computing/information.  The reader will be expected to attend lectures and help the instructor manage the classroom (including supervising the active learning activities by walking around the classroom), grade three essay assignments (1000-2500 words each), and make sure that the weekly forum posts are submitted and score them for participation.  The class is expected to have roughly 100 students.  Graduate students interested in STS, information studies, as well as history, anthropology, and sociology will find the topics to be useful in their own work as well.  The reader position is expected to require 10 hours a week (25%) and comes with a tuition waiver. You can find the lectures for this course here: https://soundcloud.com/user-118533348/sets/the-social-life-of-computing.

If this might be of interest, please send an email to skelkar@berkeley.edu with your CV. In the email, please write a few sentences on your background, your familiarity with the topic based on your research or the courses you have taken, as well as your teaching experiences, especially here at Berkeley.