The Social Inquiry program helps you understand the world around you. The news is filled with stories about political, economic, and human strife in Africa, about democratic renaissance and abuse of power in Eastern Europe, about the impact of new economies on developing countries, and of course, about the social and political realities at home. In the age of the global community, educated citizens need to understand these and other issues.
Drawing upon our institutional connection to The New School for Social Research (NSSR), Lang offers access to some of the best social science professors in the country. Faculty from the NSSR Departments of Anthropology, Economics, Politics, and Sociology teach our social and historical inquiry courses. The program helps you understand the development of different social, economic and political problems; the major theories put forward to explain social reality; and how different societies respond—or don't—to historical and contemporary social issues. And it helps you answer questions such as: Why is HIV/AIDS rampant in Africa and why has so little been done to address it; how does massive immigration from Mexico affect U.S. communities; and what is the Electoral College anyway?
Social inquiry graduates often go on to advanced study in one of the social science disciplines or in an interdisciplinary social science field. Students also go on to work in community activism, advocacy, nonprofits, and community organizations.
Find out about our Democracy and Diversity Institutes in Cape Town, South Africa and Krakow, Poland.