To accommodate students' broad interests and diverse backgrounds, course requirements are flexible.

Previous Senior Seminars

Senior seminars taught in the past have included:

Anarchism and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War, Martha Ackelsberg, Government, Smith College
State and Society in the Third World, Eqbal Ahmad, Social Science, Hampshire College
A History of African-American Social and Political Thought, Ernest Allen, Afro American Studies
Class(room) Struggles, Culture Wars, Loose Canons, Closing and Opening Minds, and Other Topics in the Theory and Practice of Education, Ernie Alleva, Cognitive Science, Hampshire College
Power and Powerlessness: Asian Women, Amrita Basu, Political Science, Amherst College
Social Movements, Parliamentary Democracy and the State, Amrita Basu, Politics, Amherst College and Mark Kesselman, Politics, Columbia University
Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity in Contemporary Perspective, Vivek Bhandari, History and South Asian Studies, Hampshire College
Indigenous Politics of Latin America, Michelle Bigenho, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
Between Satellites, Catwalks and Barrios: Political Institutions to Manage Globalization and Local Development, Ramon Borges-Mendez, Public Policy, UMass Boston
Race, Radicalism, and Culture in the 20th Century, John Bracey, Afro-American Studies
Black Workers in South Africa and the U.S., John Bracey and John Higginson, History
The Crafted City: Urban Regeneration and the New Cultural Economy, Myrna M. Breitbart, Geography and Urban Studies, Hampshire College
Reconsidering Native Presence in the “Pioneer Valley”, Margaret Bruchac, Anthropology, UMass
Local History in Global Perspective, Kerry Buckley, Historic Northampton, Inc.
Blackness in the Americas, Ginetta Candelario, Sociology and Latin American Studies, Smith College
Latina and Latin American Feminisms, Ginetta Candelario, Sociology and Latin American Studies, Smith College
The Making of American Working-Class Consciousness in the Nineteenth Century, Milton Cantor, History
The New Left and the New Right, Dan Clawson, Sociology
Dilemmas of Advanced Industrial Societies, Joan Cocks, Politics, Mount Holyoke College
Contemporary Political Theory and Politics, Barbara Cruikshank, Political Science, UMass
Democracy, Local and Imperial Variations, Barbara Cruikshank, Political Science, UMass
Capitalism and Patriarchy, Ann Ferguson, Philosophy, and Nancy Folbre, Economics
Workplace Law in the U.S.: An Exploration of the Scope of Effective Legal Remedies for Workplace Injustice, Harris Freeman, Western New England College School of Law
The Harlem Renaissance: Wellspring of Modern Black Identity, Politics, and Culture, Michael Ford, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
Political Economy of Africa, Michael Ford, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
Power, Media, and Culture, Leslie Good, Ian Angus, and Sut Jhally, Communication
The Capitalist Labor Process, Julie Graham, Geography Post-Colonial Literature, Ketu Katrak, English
Gender and International Development, Sangeeta Kamat, School of Education
A Country Made By War, Allan Krass, Physics and Science Policy, Hampshire College
Slavery in World Perspective, Bruce Laurie, History
Sex, Neglect and Stereotypes: The Politics of AIDS, Jill Lewis, School of Humanities and Arts, Hampshire College
Terrorism and Empire, Pavel Machala, Political Science, Amherst College
Christopher Columbus, the Age of Reconnaissance, and the Beginnings of Modern Colonization, Roberto Marquez, Latin American Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Comparative Caribbean Literature, Roberto Marquez, Latin American Studies, Mount Holyoke College
The Soviet Economy In Transition: Roads to Ruin?, Robert McIntyre, Economics, Smith College
Women and Work, Organization and Protest, Dale Melcher, Labor Studies
Western Social Theories and Middle Eastern Societies, Ali Mirsepassi, Near Eastern Studies, Five Colleges
Race and Representation in American and European Cinemas, Tobias Nagl
Capitalism and Culture: American Literature 1800-1860, Stephen Nissenbaum, History
Economic Development and Social Change in the Caribbean, Betsy Oakes, Anthropology
Economies of the Middle East and North Africa, Karen Pfeifer, Economics, Smith College
Latino Politics and Identity, Flavio Risech-Ozeguera, Law, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
Perspectives on the US/Mexico Border, Flavio Risech-Ozeguera, Law, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
Global Markets and Local Resistance, Anny Rivera-Ottenberger
Women and Socialism: Theory, Practice and Perestroika, Dorothy Rosenberg, German, Mount Holyoke College
Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia in Modern Europe, Dorothy Rosenberg
State-Building and Violence in  the Middle East, Sayres Rudy, Political Science, Amherst College.
Punishment, Politics, and Culture, Austin Sarat, Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought and Political Science, Amherst College
Bigotry and Brutality, History and Memory, Mitziko Sawada, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
The Spirit of Capitalism, Mitziko Sawada, School of Social Science, Hampshire College
The Body Politic: Nationalism and Sexuality in the Modern World, Robert Schwartzwald, French
Race and Urban Political Economy, Preston Smith, Politics Department, Mount Holyoke College
Critical Analysis of Health Care in the U.S., Paula Stamps, Public Health
Political Economy of Consumption, Valerie Voorheis, Economics, UMass
Transformations: Race, Gender and Sexuality, E. Frances White and Margaret Cerullo, Social Science, Hampshire College