Junior Colloquium: Cooperation, Coordination, and Conflict
CSS 371
Spring 2026
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01
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This is a course in positive and normative social theory featuring analytical approaches developed in the post-WWII period. It is primarily concerned with studying the logic of social interactions affecting the prospects for cooperative responses to social dilemmas (also called collective action problems or social traps); salient examples are the growing climate change crisis and ongoing threats to the rule of law. Key contributors to the literature on this and related issues include Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Mancur Olson, Elinor Ostrom, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, William Darity, Kaushik Basu, Robert Putnam, and John Roemer. Students will learn how to construct and assess tentative explanations of empirical outcomes in given social settings. Learning activities will include interactive online engagement in social scenarios, "opportunity for focused thought" exercises, group presentations, and a final paper. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS PHIL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (College of Social Studies)(Social, Cultural and Critical Theory Certificate) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Most readings will consist of articles and book chapters, often featuring these required texts:
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, WHY NATIONS FAIL
Bo Rothstein, SOCIAL TRAPS AND THE PROBLEM OF TRUST
Kaushik Basu, PRELUDE TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
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Examinations and Assignments:
Interactive exercises
Group presentations
Final paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Course open to CSS juniors only.
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| Instructor(s): Skillman,Gilbert Times: .M..... 10:45AM-11:55AM; ...W... 10:45AM-12:15PM; Location: FRANK301; FRANK301; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 30 | Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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