RC Social Theory and Practice Concentration

The RC Social Theory and Practice Concentration (formerly the RC Social Science Concentration) supports students in developing the analytical and practical skills necessary for active engagement in the world and for building careers that promote equality and responsible citizenship. Faculty whose work encompasses sociology, political science, history, anthropology, economics, education, geography, and psychology provide students with multi-disciplinary approaches to current issues in U.S. society and the global environment. Students learn theories, methods, and strategies that enable them to understand and critique social structures and processes and to become effective actors in struggles for justice. They take core courses together, and create individual concentration plans tailored to their specific interests. Recent STP concentrators have pursued such topics as “Health Policy in the United States,” “Tracking Globalization in Detroit,” “Juvenile Justice in the U.S. and Senegal,” “Urban Youth Empowerment,” “Sustainable Agriculture in Michigan and Cuba,” “Peace, Policy, and Public Health,” and “Community Dialogues.”

The STP Concentration Advisor, Frank Thompson fthom@umich.edu, advises students about requirements and course options, tracks their progress through the concentration, and signs release forms.

The student’s faculty mentor is an intellectual guide and companion who shares the student’s academic interests. A faculty mentor is assigned to each STP student during the semester s/he submits a concentration proposal (See “c” below).

Concentration Prerequisites

Before declaring the RC Social Theory and Practice Concentration (typically at the end of the sophomore or early junior year), students complete the following prerequisites:
  1. RCSSCI 260 “Understanding Power/Theorizing Knowledge” and RCSSCI 290, a one credit course taken in the same semester that helps them prepare their Individual Concentration Proposal (see 3 below)
  2. One other RCSSCI “gateway” course at the 200 or low 300 level chosen in consultation with the STP Concentration Advisor. The aim of the gateway courses is to introduce students to issues and approaches in the social sciences as well as to the ways questions are framed from different disciplinary perspectives.
  3. An Individual Concentration Proposal, which outlines the student’s own plan of study and is written in consultation with a faculty mentor assigned by the 290 instructor. The proposal should specify the intellectual rationale for the concentration, lay out the courses that the student might take, and indicate the kind of senior project or thesis the student may complete in the final semester or year. Students may continue to meet informally with their mentors throughout their years in the STP program, or they may choose another faculty mentor as their interests change.

Concentration Requirements

All concentrators must complete the following requirements in addition to the prerequisites:

  1. Two courses devoted to social theory. One of these must be RCSSCI 301, “The Origins of Social Science Thinking.” This course focuses on the early development of political economy, sociology, and psychology in both Europe and the U.S. The other course may be RCSSCI 302, “Contemporary Social Theory,” or an alternative theory course more suitable to the student’s particular plan of study. Any substitutions for 302 must be made in consultation with the STP Concentration Advisor, Frank Thompson.
  2. At least one research methods course in social science inquiry that has a quantitative component, usually SOC 310, STATS 350, or ECON 404.
  3. A minimum of four upper-level courses (at least one of these outside the RC) that are integral to the plan the student outlined in the Individual Concentration Proposal.
  4. RCSSCI 460 and a Senior Project, Senior Thesis, or Honors Thesis. This requirement, typically done in the final semester (or, in case of the Honors Thesis, the final year) of the concentration, is intended as a culmination of the major in which the student brings previous work to bear on a final project. This project or thesis is shared with other concentrators in a capstone seminar, RCSSCI 460. The options for the Senior project or thesis are described below:
    1. The RC Senior Project is usually the result of an internship or field study in the U.S. or abroad which combines on-going involvement in a “real world” setting with critical analysis and personal reflection. Typically, the project is documented in a written report of about 15-20 pages. Students work closely with their respective faculty mentors, meeting regularly to discuss the projects and their writing.
    2. The RC Senior Thesis is a semester-long research and writing project that typically brings together several of the themes of the student’s individual plan of study in the Social Theory and Practice Concentration, but may instead pursue a particular interest the student has developed in taking a course, interning with a community organization, or studying abroad. The thesis is typically 30-50 pages in length, and either is organized around a series of analytical questions or makes an argument for a particular point of view or practical application. Students work closely with their respective faculty mentors, meeting regularly to discuss the projects and their writing.
    3. The RC Honors Thesis is a year-long research and writing project of about 60 pages that pursues a particular set of research questions developed by the student in consultation with his or her faculty mentor or other instructor (generally within the RC) who agrees to be the “first reader” of the finished work. During the first semester, which is devoted to the research portion of the project, student and mentor meet fairly regularly to discuss appropriate resources and preliminary findings. They continue these meetings during the writing of the thesis, which takes place in the second semester, for review of the manuscript drafts as they take shape. The student takes the initiative to find a “second reader” (often outside the RC), who agrees to read and evaluate the final draft of the student’s work. First and second readers agree on a level of Honors (Honors; High Honors; or Highest Honors) that the work merits on completion of the project.

Social Theory and Practice Faculty