Social Science and Cultural Studies

The Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies trains students to bring critical and analytical skills to bear on the social world and on their professional and artistic work. Through the perspectives of social science, history, philosophy, and cultural studies, students explore the cultural achievements of humankind and the social forces that have influenced the development of culture and human personality.

Chair
Leo Coleman

Assistant Chair
David Smucker

Assistant to the Chair
Sophia Straker-Babb
sbabb25@pratt.edu

Faculty Bios
https://www.pratt.edu/academics/liberal-arts-and-sciences/social-science-and-cultural-studies/faculty-and-staff/

Sameetah Agha
Associate Professor, History
B.A., Smith College; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University.

Dory Aghazarian
Visiting Instructor, History
B.A., Columbia University; M.A., Fordham University; Ph.D. candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Alheli Alvarado-Diaz
Visiting Assistant Professor, History
B.A., Johns Hopkins University; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Columbia University.

Robert Ausch
Adjunct Associate Professor, Psychology
B.A., New York University; M.A., City College, CUNY; Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Josh Blackwell
Visiting Instructor, Fashion and Design History
B.A., Bennington College; M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts.

Francis Bradley
Associate Professor, History
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison.

B. Ricardo Brown
Professor, Cultural Studies
B.A., Bard College at Simon’s Rock; M.A., Syracuse University; M.Phil., Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Josiah Brownell
Assistant Professor, History
B.A., Western Michigan University; M.A., London School of Economics; J.D., University of Virginia Law School; Ph.D. Political Science, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Tom Buechele
Visiting Instructor, Cultural Studies
B.A., SUNY Purchase; M.A., Queens College, CUNY; M.Phil., Ph.D. candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Caitlin Cahill
Assistant Professor, Politics and Geography
B.A., Middlebury College; M.A., Hunter College; M.Phil., Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Rosa Cho
Assistant Chair, Visiting Assistant Professor, Cultural Studies
B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.S., Columbia University; Ph.D., New York University.

Paul Dambowic
Adjunct Instructor
B.A., New York University; M.A., Yale University.

Mareena Daredia
Adjunct Instructor, Cinema Studies
B.A., New York University; M.A., Yale University.

Corey D’Augustine
Visiting Instructor, Theory and Practice
B.A. Visual Arts and Biochemistry, Oberlin College; M.A. Art History, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

Lisabeth During
Associate Professor, Philosophy
B.A., Wesleyan University; M.Th., King College, University of London; Ph.D., Trinity College, Cambridge University.

John Frangos
Adjunct Associate Professor, History
B.A., M.A., Queens College; M.A., C.W. Long Island University Post; Ph.D., New York University.

P.J. Gorre
Adjunct Instructor, Philosophy
B.A., Villanova University; M.A., Ph.D. candidate, The New School for Social Research.

Monica A. Grandy
Visiting Assistant Professor, Psychology
B.A., Sarah Lawrence College; Ph.D., CUNY.

Mitchell Harris
Adjunct Assistant Professor, History
B.F.A., SUNY Purchase; M.A., M.Phil, CUNY.

Gabriel Hernández
Adjunct Instructor, History
B.A., City College of New York; M.A., Ph.D. candidate, SUNY Stony Brook.

Ann Holder
Associate Professor, History
B.A., Hampshire College; Ph.D., Boston College.

Travis Holloway
Visiting Instructor, Philosophy
B.A., Belmont College; M.A., Boston College; M.F.A., New York University; Ph.D., SUNY Stony Brook.

Estelle Horowitz
Professor Emerita, Economics

Nurhaizatul Jamil
Assistant Professor, Global Studies
B.S., M.S., National University of Singapore; Ph.D., Northwestern University.

May Joseph.
Professor, Global Studies
B.A., M.A., Madras Christian College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara.

Svetlana Jovic
Visiting Instructor, Psychology
B.A., M.A., University of Belgrade, Serbia; M.Phil., Ph.D. candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Marina Kaneti
Visiting Instructor, History
B.A., M.S. School of Social Work, Columbia University; Ph.D. The New School for Social Research.

Josh Karant
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Philosophy and Food Studies
B.A., Pomona College, M.A., The New School for Social Research; M.A., Rutgers University; Ph.D., University of Maryland.

Kathleen C. Kelley
Adjunct Instructor, Philosophy
B.A., St. John’s College; M.A., Ph.D., The New School for Social Research.

Todd Kesselman
Visiting Instructor, Philosophy
B.A., Trinity College; M.A., The New School for Social Research.

Annie Khan
Visiting Instructor, History

Hunter Kincaid
Visiting Instructor, Psychology
B.S., University of Washington; M.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D. candidate, CUNY.

Elizabeth Knauer
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cultural Studies
Ph.D., NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University.

Gerald Levy
Visiting Instructor, Economics
B.A., New York University; M.A., The New School for Social Research.

Luka Lucic
Assistant Professor, Psychology and Diaspora Studies
B.A., City College of New York; M.Phil., Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY.

John McGuire
Adjunct Instructor, Philosophy
B.A., New York University; M.A., The New School for Social Research.

Wendy V. Muñiz
Assistant Professor, Critical Social Analysis
B.A., University of Miami; M.A., Autonomous University of Barcelona; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University.

Erum Naqvi
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Philosophy
B.Sc. (Hon.) Philosophy and Economics, London School of Economics; M.A., Ph.D., Temple University.

Darini Nicholas
Adjunct Instructor, Anthropology
B.A., University of Louisville; M.A., Goddard College; Ph.D., The New School for Social Research.

Cheol-Soo Park
Visiting Instructor, Economics
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Seoul National University; Ph.D., The New School for Social Research.

Irving Perlman
Professor Emeritus, History
B.A., Brooklyn College; M.B.A., J.D., New York University.

Robert Richardson
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Philosophy
B.A., Wheaton College; M.A., A.B.D., Pennsylvania State University.

Uzma Z. Rizvi
Associate Professor, Anthropology and Urban Studies
B.A., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.

John Santore
Professor Emeritus, History
B.A., M.A., Temple University; Ph.D., Columbia University.

Zachary Sapolsky
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Psychology
B.A., University of Rochester; M.A., Ph.D., Long Island University.

Ritchie Savage
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Sociology
B.S., Bradley University; M.A., Ph.D., The New School for Social Research.

Paul Schweigert
Visiting Instructor, History
B.S., North Carolina State University; M.Phil., Ph.D. candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Noah Simmons
Visiting Instructor, History
Licence Histoire de l’Art et d’Archéologie, Maîtrise Histoire de l’Art et d’Archéologie, Sorbonne Paris IV-Université de Paris; M.A., Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs; Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Michelle Standley
Adjunct Assistant Professor, History
B.A., Brigham Young University; Ph.D., New York University.

Jeff Surovell
Adjunct Assistant Professor, History
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University.

Jennifer Telesca
Assistant Professor, Environmental Justice
B.A., University of Richmond; M.A., University of Connecticut at Storrs; M.A., Ph.D., New York University.

Kumru Toktamis
Associate Professor, Sociology
B.A., Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; M.A., Ph.D. The New School for Social Research.

Basil Tsiokos
Visiting Instructor, Theory and Practice
B.A., Stanford University; M.A., New York University.

Murtaza Vali
Visiting Instructor, Art Theory
B.S., Johns Hopkins University; M.A., Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

Zhivka Valiavicharska
Assistant Professor, Social and Political Theory
B.A., M.A., National Academy of Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

Ron Van Cleef
Visiting Instructor, History
A.B., Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship; M.A., City College of New York; Ph.D. candidate, Stony Brook University.

PHIL-604 Aesthetics - (3 Credits)

Presents the main studies in the philosophy of art and criticism through both a historical and an analytic lens. It looks at the classical arguments of Plato, Kant, Hegel, and Dewey, as well as current conceptual frameworks for identifying what makes for a work of art. Emphasis is placed on the significance of these theories to the art of the twentieth century.

PHIL-656 Beyond Aesthetics: Performativity and Embodiment - (3 Credits)

Philosophical aesthetics traditionally asks about the experience of aesthetic pleasure and the place of beauty, truth, taste, meaning and he sensuous in art. Beyond Aesthetics shifts the ground to some more contemporary concerns: performativity, embodiment and bodily life, sex, gender and desire, horror, violence, abjection and disfiguration. As well as philosophical writings, material will be drawn from art and architecture criticism, drama and performance studies, queer theory, psychoanalysis, and social theory.

SS-508 Capitalism And Socialism - (3 Credits)

Various types of modern socioeconomic systems are reviewed, including an examination of general questions such as goals and values of different systems, degree of popular control over socioeconomic decisions and extent of economic inequality. U.S, Russia, and other societies are compared with respect to institutional arrangements, economic performance, and consistency to ideology.

SS-510 Controversies in Cultural Theory - (3 Credits)

This is an interdisciplinary seminar that explores theoretical and conceptual issues of common concern to both architecture and liberal arts. It focuses on bodies of twentieth century cultural and social theory that can be said to have developed an ideology of space, viewed both as a notion of habitat and as a vision of urban utopianism.

SS-512 Art Culture and Community Development - (3 Credits)

This course will provide students with the historical, conceptual, and analytical background as well as the interdisciplinary perspective that they would need to work in the field of arts-based community development. The first part of the class will be devoted to reviewing the historical role of arts in social movements and urban planning efforts. Then the focus will be on evaluating and analyzing the divergent roles of arts and design in contemporary urban and community development using case studies.

SS-537 Globalization: The Contemporary World Economy - (3 Credits)

Examines the current processes and features of global integration and division. It focuses on the emergence over the past decade of what has been called the \"new world order.\" Particular attention is paid to the differential impact across regions and nations of international, political,and economic institutions and arrangements; and on work, governments, social movements, and public life.

SS-560 Space and Power - (3 Credits)

Concentrates on some of the most important contemporary writings on space, new social movements, identity, and the body. The readings are drawn from sociology, geography, architecture, cultural studies, and feminism. It uses these perspectives to understand how the present can be conceptualized, with particular attention to the question of power - how it is to be thought of, questioned, desired, and resisted.

SS-601 Art Worlds - (3 Credits)

Students examine the social dimension of art, architecture, and design. The course addresses both the historical contextualization of art in society and traces the political, economic and cultural forces that bear upon the organization of creative activity. Various instances of art, monuments and urban design are studied for the insights they provide into the broader dynamics of society.

SS-611 Concepts of Materiality - (3 Credits)

Drawing on distinct but overlapping art historical and archaeological methodologies, intersecting with philosophy, anthropology, and the history of science, this seminar examines the many ways that objects, things and matter are thought to hold meaning, memory and history. Tracing the evolution of the concept of materialism through time and across various, the course will focus on the idea of the immanent and nonlinear nature of materialisms as well as the ways in which embodied subjectivities can be conceptualized and materialized. This course will hesitate in the space between the formations of these theories, particularly in light of new materialisms and matter itself, never inert or static but always in the process of becoming.

Academic Catalog 2024-2025

Social Science and Cultural Studies

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