Social Sciences and Policy

The Social Sciences and the Humanities constitute the twin pillars of what is collectively known as the Liberal Arts. The major Social Sciences disciplines include Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, and Sociology,

The Social Sciences concern themselves with the study of how human beings interact with one another and how they structure and organize themselves socially, politically, economically, and culturally both in the present and in the past.

LAIS has structured its Social Sciences curriculum with the future engineering and applied science professionals in mind so that they are well prepared to address the societal and global challenges that will inform the scope and direction of engineering and applied science projects and work in the 21st century.

In particular, the following Social Science subfields are emphasized in the LAIS curriculum:

International Political Economy
IPE is the study of the interplay among politics, the economy, and culture on an international and world regional scale. The LAIS IPE program emphasizes natural resource-producing regions of the world: Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Sample courses include:
LAIS 335 IPE of Latin America
LAIS 337 IPE of Asia
LAIS 339 IPE of the Middle East
LAIS 341 IPE of Africa
LAIS 446 Globalization
LAIS 442 Natural Resources and War in Africa
LAIS 452 Corruption and Development

Policy Studies
Policy-related studies in LAIS are primarily focused on examining current issues relating to science and technology policy in the United States, especially as they relate to:

• environmental, water, energy, and natural resources politics, policies, and governmental processes that produce them; and
• ethical considerations in science- and engineering-related public policies.

Sample courses include:
LAIS 486 Science and Technology Policy
LAIS 487 Environmental Politics and Policy
LAIS 488 Water Politics and Policy