General Information
Science, Technology and Society
Art, Culture and Society
Curriculum
Course Contents
Faculty
Career Opportunities






 
 

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES  PROGRAM

 

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
 

COMPULSARY  COURSES

HSS 101   History of Civilization I  (Uygarlık Tarihi I)       (3+0+0+) 3
The agricultural revolution, the rise of civilizations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Classical Greece and the Hellenistic world, Rome and its empire. The spread of civilizations and the movement of peoples. Byzantium and Europe. The rise and spread of Islam, African civilizations, Western civilization.

HSS 102   History of Civilization II  (Uygarlık Tarihi II)      (3+0+0+) 3
Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightment period,the French and the Industrial revolutions. The world economy, The rise of Russia, industrialization outside of the West, The world war I, second global conflict,  globalization: world history 1990- 2004.         

HSS 103   History of Art  (Sanat  Tarihi)        (3+0+0) 3
The concept of art. The role of the visual arts. The history of art. Visual arts from the prehistoric through the modern era. The language of the visual arts: architecture, sculpture painting. The ancient world, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, the modern world.

HSS 111     HSS Orientation Seminars     (HSS Oryantasyon Seminerleri)    (2+0+0) 2
The integration of knowledge, theories and concepts across different disciplines in Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts, Science and Technology studies.

HSS 140  Introduction to Sociology (Sosyolojiye Giriş)      (3+0+0) 3
Sociological Method. Individual as the Sociological Unit of Analysis. Groups, organizations and society. Structures of Power and Inequality. Ethnicity, aging and gender. Government and political power. Social institutions: Work and family; media and religion. Social change. Globalization.

HSS 141     Science and Nature I (Bilim ve Doğa I)      (3+0+0) 3
The workings of nature (comprising the physical universe and living organisms). Introduction of some of the basic concepts of our knowledge of nature; natural laws in their interconnectivity; the way science operates, the method of scientific thinking. Probing a scientific question in practice.  The answers that we have -or don't have as yet.

 HSS 142     Science and Nature II (Bilim ve Doğa II)      (3+0+0) 3
Newton's laws of motion. Electric and magnetic fields. The universe. Perturbation of an equilibrium system. The size and structure of an atom. Periodic table. Kinetics of a chemical reaction. Some of the important molecules in living organisms and their functions. The structure of DNA and the mechanism of heredity.  Analysis and determination of  symmetrical structures in nature,  molecular structures and crystals. Interaction and variation of living populations. Biological evolution.

HSS 204  The Rise of Modern Science (Modern Bilimin Doğuşu)         (3+0+0) 3
The main theoretical and methodological approaches to study the history of science. The central issues in the history of the physical sciences since the Renaissance; the Copernican Revolution, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.

HSS 223 Science, Technology and Society    ( Bilim, Teknoloji ve Toplum)    ( 3+0+0 ) 3     
Historical review of science and technology, science - technology relations, technology - environment relations, public understanding of science, scientific process, scientific method; scientific prediction in engineering, social sciences and medicine, statistical data evaluation. Case problems and public discussions, earthquakes and prediction, electromagnetic waves and public concern, ethics in science, risk assessment and precautionary principle.

HSS 224  Human Development and Culture    ( İnsanın Gelişimi ve Kültür )         (3+0+0) 3

Social evolution. Types of societies: hunting and gathering, agricultural, industrial, post-industrial. Technological innovation, wealth, power, and inequality; Paradoxes of progress. Agricultural Revolution, Industrial Revolution, democratic revolutions. Development and freedom. Culture and social structure. Technological determinism and its critics. Human development in today's world. Information and communication technologies in developing societies. The future as history.  

 

HSS 300  Ethics, Science and Social Responsibility      (Etik, Bilim ve Sosyal Sorumluluk)      (3+0+0) 3         
The concept of social responsibility and theories of ethics. Individual and collective responsibility. Social responsibilities of scientists. Research ethics. Science and religion. Technology and human values. Computer ethics. Unethical practices in science and technology. Science and technology for the common good. Medical experimentation; ethical dilemmas.

 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY  OPTION

STS 301   Perspectives on Science, Technology and Society Relations     (Bilim, Teknoloji ve Toplum İlişkilerindeki Bakış Açılar)    (3+0+0) 3 
Theories of science and technology in society. Case studies of science and technology. Scientific Revolution. Positivism and post-positivism. Theories of invention and innovation. Technological Determinism. Social Constructionizm; society shaping science and technology. Interaction between science, technology and society.

STS 303   History of Science and Technology      (Bilim ve Teknoloji Tarihi)        (3+0+0) 3    
The development of science and technology from the Enlightenment to the present; the  Industrial Revolution, the emergence of engineering. Interdependency of  science and technology. The development of medical sciences and information technologies. Science and technology in the Ottoman Empire and in Turkey in the context of global developments.

STS 304  Philosophy of Science (Bilim Felsefesi)         (3+0+0) 3
Introduction to philosophy. Scientific knowledge. Scientific method. Induction and deduction. Scientific theories and observation. The problem of induction. The demarcation problem. Falsificationism. Basic statements. Paradigms and revolutions. Relativism and  Rationalism. Objectivism and Realism. 

STS 305  Sociology of Science (Bilim Sosyolojisi)        3+0+0) 3
Social structure of science. Social construction of scientific knowledge. Ethnographic studies of scientific work. Thomas Kuhn and scientific revolutions; "Big Science"; Scientific ethics. Fraud in science. Biotechnology revolution. Future of science.   

STS 306  Sociology of Technology (Teknoloji Sosyolojisi)       (3+0+0) 3
Theories of technology and society. Social construction of technology. "Autonomous technology". Technology and human development. Technologies and everyday life. Gender and technology. Information and communication technologies. Paradoxes of technological progress.    

STS 311   Science, Technology and Contemporary Arts  (Bilim, Teknoloji ve Çağdaş Sanat)       (3+0+0) 3
Questioning the distinction between science and arts. The use of science and technology in contemporary arts. Analyses of some key concepts such as democracy, freedom and objectivity/subjectivity through contemporary art works. Critically comparing the methods of science, technology and contemporary arts.

STS  312 Science and Technology in Movies    (Filmlerde Bilim ve Teknoloji)          (3+0+0) 3
How to "read" films as part of culture and general approaches to science and technology in the well known movies from the USA and Europe. Thinking critically about the content and discussing the effect of movies on their audiences to shape general public's view of science and technology.

STS  322    Communication, Technology and Society      (İletişim, Teknoloji ve Toplum)          (3+0+0) 3  
New communication technologies and the new challenges. How new methods of sending and receiving information are transforming the media and society.  Internet; the fastest-growing communications technology. Effect of internet on society in general and the media. 

STS 331  Environment, Technology and Society    (Çevre, Teknoloji ve Toplum)    (3+0+0) 3   
Basic  elements and principles of environmental quality.  Concept of ecosystem. Resources, mineral cycles in living systems. Population, food and hunger; energy and environment. Effects of human activities on health and environment. Waste and disease.  Water pollution, water pollutants and control. Air pollution, local and global problems. Solid wastes and management. Land use and misuse. Technology and environment. Industrial pollution, waste minimization, hazardous substances and wastes. Societal and ethical problems.

STS  341  Human Dimensions of Biotechnologies      (Biyoteknolojinin İnsani Boyutları)     (3+0+0) 3
Recent developments in biotechnology. Human genome project and its social, cultural, ethical, legal implications.  Cloning. Genetic testing and counseling. Embryonic stem cell research. Genetically modified foods. Gene therapy. Predicted and personalized medicine.

STS  342    Ethics and Biotechnology      (Biyoteknoloji ve Etik)        (3+0+0) 3
Principles of bioethics. Developments in biotechnology and  their ethical impacts. Effects of biotechnological developments on environment, industry, agriculture and medicine. Ethical issues regarding genetic testing and councelling, human cloning. Commercialisation and patenting.

STS 441  Technology and Work (Teknoloji ve İş)         (3+0+0) 3
Technological revolution. Changing nature of work, personal life and the occupational structure. Digitization of work. Trends in labor markets. Globalization of work; changing nature of work time and conceptions of workspace. Feminization of work.

STS  442  Strategic Management of Technology          (Stratejik Teknoloji Yönetimi )       (3+0+0) 3
Process of technological change: Innovation and diffusion. Technological environment. Competitiveness; securing competitive advantage of firms.  Technology intelligence. Mechanisms of data collection. Technology - business connection. Putting technology into corporate planning. The key principles of technology strategy. Design and evolution of technology strategy. Technological colloborations.

STS 443  National Innovation Systems and Competitiveness       (Ulusal Yenilik Sistemleri ve Rekabetçilik)      (3+0+0) 3      
Technology, industrialisation and development. Economics of technical change. Determinants of national competitive advantage. Developing the framework for an innovation strategy; technology forecasting, technology foresight, technology assessment. Catching up in technology. Technology strategy for followers: imitation to innovation.

STS  444  Knowledge and Knowledge Management in the Information Age    (Bilişim Çağında Bilgi ve Bilgi Yönetimi)          (3+0+0) 3
Data, information, knowledge. Explicit and tacit knowledge. Social, cultural and economic definitions of knowledge society concept. Network Society. Knowledge management. Principles and processes of knowledge management. Human and technology factors in knowledge management.

STS 490  Project (Proje)     (0+0+8) 4
Research of an issue in the contemporary "Science Technology and Society" field under the supervision of an academic advisor; submission of a written report and  oral presentation.

 

  ART, CULTURE AND SOCIETY OPTION

COMPULSARY  COURSES

HSS 350   Public Speaking and Presentation    (Topluluğa Konuşma ve Sunum)          (3+0+0)3       
Basic public speaking and communication theory. Criteria related to style, form, structure, development, delivery mode, context, purpose and environment for various types of speeches. Exercises for developing delivery techniques, including breathing, articulation, vocal variety. Preparation and presentation skills through analysis of theory and through the practical experience of presenting as well as critical analysis of peer speeches and other public speaking events.

HSS 490   Project (Proje)         (0+0+8) 4
Research of an issue within the framework of the program under the supervision of an academic advisor; submission of a written report and oral presentation.

 

ART  ELECTIVES

HSS 212  Cultural Origins of Theater       ( Tiyatronun Kültürel Kökenleri )          (3+0+0)3
Theater as religion, teaching, propaganda or entertainment. "The emptyspace" as theatre. The paradox of acting: "masks or faces"?

HSS 302   Architectural History        (Mimarlık Tarihi)         (3+0+0)3
Introduction to the history of architecture, urbanism, and material culture from prehistory to the present. Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Middle Age, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical and Modern architecture. Fundamental elements of architecture. Architecture from the perspectives of form, function, interior and exterior space, technological development and landscape.

HSS 310     Contemporary Cinema  ( Çağdaş Sinema )            (3+0+0)3

Discussion of the aesthetics, critical values, techniques employed, and dynamics of foreign and American films from the 1890's to present, including American narrative, German expressionism, Russian montage, French realism, Italian neo-realism, various ‘new waves', varieties of ‘third world' cinema, and recent films of all types. Introduction to film analysis and criticism, concepts of film style and narrative film genres: documentary, avant-garde, science fiction, gangster, musical and other genres.

HSS 311    Music: History and Appreciation I      ( Müzik: Tarihi ve Değerlendirmesi )         (3+0+0)3
Survey of music history starting from antiquity to the beginning of Romantic Period, stressing the major characteristics of each era, examining the development of musical styles, forms and instruments, and studying the important composers and masterpieces. Essentials of preparing a concert program.

HSS 312  Music : History and Appreciation II       (Müzik: Tarihi ve Değerlendirmesi II )        (3+0+0)3          
Survey of music history starting from the beginning of the Romantic Period to the 21st century: major characteristics of each era; development of musical styles, forms and instruments; important composers and masterpieces. Criticism in music.

HSS 314   Dance Appreciation (Dansı Değerlendirme)       (3+0+0)3
Dance as a performing art. Historical development of dance. The way dance makes statements about humans and the environment through the use of music, art, movement, literature, and theater.

HSS 315   Interpreting Renaissance and Modern Art       (Rönesans ve Modern Sanat Yorumları)           (3+0+0)3
Major achievements in art and architecture from the Renaissance to the present. Studying art history within a social context. Interpreting meaning in individual works of art  from early Renaissance art to the twenty-first century.

HSS 316   Fundamentals of Photography        (Fotoğrafçılığın Temelleri)      (3+0+0)3    
The technical and aesthetic development of photography.
The beginnings of the medium, inventors, development of photographic equipment, styles of the creative masters, aesthetic themes, and the social impact of photography. Film exposure and development, basic enlarging, composition, darkroom technique, flash usage, and use of exposure meters and filters for black and white. Study of lighting forms, posing, ratios determination in the studio.

HSS 412   Ottoman and Turkish Art         (Türk ve Osmanlı Sanatı)        (3+0+0)3
Major genres, styles, aesthetic and themes of Turkish and Ottoman art. Creation of stylistic forms. The evolution of Turkish art through history and trace of its changes throughout the modernization process. Effects of European  lifestyle on changing tastes and culture in the Ottoman society. Social, economic
and political structures of Ottoman and Turkish Anatolia.

HSS 413   Popular Music: A Reflection of Politics and Society     (Güncel Müzik: Politika ve Toplumun Bir Yansıması)           (3+0+0)3     
Popular music as a product of the social, political, and historical context in which it is developed.
The role of popular music as a vehicle for political expression. The relationships among; music, power, and politics.

 

HUMANITIES   ELECTIVES

HSS 104   Mythology  (Mitoloji)      (3+0+0)3
History of religion in the light of science. Polytheistic religion. Comparative religion. The ancient faiths. The poetry of different early societies. Beliefs, myths, gods and goddesses. Paleolithic, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indian, Asian, Persian, Greek, Roman religions and myths.

HSS 221   Eurasian Civilization and Steppe Culture       ( Avrasya Uygarlığı ve Step Kültürü )       (3+0+0)3
The homeland(s) of the Turks. Distinctive life ways in the steppes of Eurasia. "States" in Inner Asia; the Scythic era; Eurasian invasions; Chinese historiography. Eurasian life style. Social organizations of the steppes; Uighur, Turk and Khazar empires. Religions of the steppes. The relations with the neighboring nomadic and sedentary peoples.

HSS 226  Popular Culture and the USA ( Popüler Kültür ve ABD )      (3+0+0)3
The meaning of ‘popular', a brief history of popular culture, its basic elements, characteristic features, paradigms, replication myth and the creation and influence of myths, themes and patterns. Analyses of examples from American cinema, TV shows and programs, music, art, sculpture, architecture; their language and style and presentations, their artistic and political interpretations.

HSS 240  Community Involvement : Theory and Practice      (Toplumsal Duyarlılık : Kuram ve Uygulama)        (3+0+0)3
Introduction to issues in academically based community service. Practicum focused on the use of creative methods in tutoring and mentoring youth and children in local community and different parts of Turkey. Study of the concepts of community, democratic citizenship, service, compassion, social justice, social change and leadership. Development of skills in creativity, critical thinking and research, public communication, problem solving and teamwork.

HSS  251     Creativity and Short Story Writing      (Yaratıcılık ve Kısa Öykü Yazımı)      (3+0+0)3 
Study of creativity. Short story writing in English and Turkish. Use of background gained in different fields to create new ideas. Creativity and various ideas and theories on the concept. Creativity and everyday life. Collective memory. Analyses of short stories from different countries.

HSS  313   The Road in American Film       (Amerikan Sinemasında Yol)           (3+0+0)3
The hero's journey. The Call, Departure, Initiation, Return. Mythic elements and other various facets of the pattern (suffering or the purgative way, wounds received, tragic grandeur, apotheosis, arriving/restoration of home etc.); a remaking of history and collective memory. The concept of the frontier and of the West in American culture. The rules and cliches of Hollywood. Discourse analysis of American movies. References to tales, mythology and popular myths, epics like The Iliad, archetypal stories in sacred books and others, and American culture and literature.

HSS 322 Textual Analysis and Argumentation          ( Metin Çözümlemeleri ve Tartışma )              (3+0+0)3
Definition of ‘text'. Study and analyses of texts from literature, fine, visual and performative arts, architecture, commercials, TV, politics, and also body language. Argumentation techniques and methods.

HSS 325   Formations of Modernity     (Çağdaşlığın  Oluşumu)       (3+0+0)3
Europe: a source of innovation and stability, conquest and freedom, war and peacemaking, capitalism and socialism, the rule of law and terror, and of modernity and its critics since the Reformation, the French, and the Industrial revolutions. Differences between East and West. The production of Modern Europe: the three core concepts (capital, coercion and contention). "Traveling Modernism". The human dislocation and alienation in the modern world.

HSS 341   Introduction to Philosophy (Felsefeye Giriş)         (3+0+0)3
Exploration of enduring philosophical questions regarding the nature of reality, the existence of the external world, the extent of human freedom, the definition of the good, its relevance to the moral life. The principles of social and political organization. Traditional problems in philosophy (reality, knowledge, existence of God, morality, aesthetic experience)
. Works by the great philosophers. Basic philosophizing skills; critical reasoning, conceptual analysis, writing skills, argument strategy and tactics.

HSS  351   Highlights of American Literature           (Genel Hatlarıyla Amerikan Edebiyatı)          (3+0+0)3
Highlights of American literature in chronological order. A brief look at the colonial times and first narratives. Transcendentalism and romanticism, American Renaissance, ideas of Emerson, Thoreau; study of sample works by Hawthorne, Edgar Alan Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson; realism and naturalism and Mark Twain and T.Dreiser. Expressionism and E.O. Neill; modernism, Frost and others; post-modernism and Paul Auster.

HSS 423   Cultural Memory (Kültürel Bellek)        (3+0+0)3
The construction of collective and national memories. Commemoration and ritual. Approaches to the individual, social and national construction of the past. How societies construct cultural continuity through rituals and commemorative activities such as national holidays. Historical consciousness and the creation of a shared past. Monuments as sites of memory. The role of oral history in constructing alternative interpretations of the past.

HSS 425   Globalization and Cultural Identity     (Küreselleşme ve Kültürel Kimlik)     (3+0+0)3
The debates about the cultural consequences of globalization. The homogenizing versus crystallization of cultures in the face of global forces. The role of national cultural policies, international organizations and local communities in the protection of cultural heritage. Debates about authenticity, tradition, and hybridization as the consequences of cultural mingling.

HSS 450   Approaches to Narratives      (Anlatıya Yaklaşımlar)              (3+0+0)3
Development of interdisciplinary approaches to narrative as a tool to understand human experience.  Structuralism, performance theory and experience-centered methods in interpreting artistic expression in daily life. Narrative-based medicine, traditional storytelling and the use of storytelling in business. Narrative-based strategies for enhancing human experience. Narrative as a therapeutic tool.

 

SOCIAL SCIENCE  ELECTIVES

HSS 100 Professional Ethics ( Profesyonel Etik)           (1+0+0)1 
The origins of ethical thought; ethical principles and basic theories; personal, academic and professional ethics for engineers; environmental ethics; ethical implications of technology, computer ethics; ethics in research and experimentation.

HSS 220  Cultural Studies ( Kültür Çalışmaları )        (3+0+0)3
The development of cultural studies as an approach to communication studies; German Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, British Cultural Studies, American Cultural Studies. The recent inter-disciplinary field of studies that covers major body of thoughts of the 20th century. The analysis of the texts, television, advertising, music, literature, newspapers, magazines, fashion, architecture, film and urban space which shape and affect our understanding of everyday life and experiences.

HSS 222  Culture and Communication ( Kültür ve İletişim )           (3+0+0)3
Introduction to ethnographic methodologies for the interpretation and analysis of verbal and nonverbal communication. Linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics and folklore. Rules, aesthetics and dynamics of verbal and nonverbal behavior in both face to face and mediated communication in internet chat rooms and other contexts.

HSS 321   Technological Change, Popular Culture and Media    (Teknolojik Değişim, Popüler Kültür ve Medya)     (3+0+0)3
The relations between technological change and cultural change. Cultural relations involving new media, such as the internet and other digital information technologies. Identification of  basic patterns of social and technological changes involving 'new media'. Opportunities that are available to shape and control the new technologies. The new possibilities for personal expression and political participation.

HSS 323   History of Computing (Hesaplamanın Tarihi)         (3+0+0)3
The use of the computer as a scientific instrument. Invention of the electronic digital computer and its applications ranging from physics, mathematics, biology to humanities. The impact of computing on the practice of science. Computers and scientists' approach to notions of proof, expertise and discovery. Computer simulation and scientific experiment.

HSS 331   Introduction to Cultural Anthropology     (Kültürel Antropolojiye Giriş)      (3+0+0)3
The central ideas, methods, and debates in the anthropological study of human thought and behavior. Survey of ways of life in many different societies. The ways anthropologists have tried to understand societies. Hands-on ethnographic research. Tools and techniques for research and analysis.

HSS 332  Anthropology of Consumption ( Tüketim Antropolojisi )       (3+0+0)3
Introduction to the anthropology of consumption and the ethnographic study of objects. Material culture, gifts, value and exchange, consumption, commoditization, technology and design ethnography.

HSS 421   Information Technology and Social Life          (Bilişim Teknolojisi ve Sosyal Yaşam)          (3+0+0)3       
History of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). Concepts of Information Society, Knowledge Society, Network Society. Cultures of the internet. ICTs and economic development. Privacy issues. Computer games and self-identity. Internet and political participation. ICTs and education. Inequality and ICTs. "Digital Divide". 

HSS 422  Technology and Development ( Teknoloji ve Kalkınma )              (3+0+0)3

Concepts of technology, industrialization, development, progress. Technology from different perspectives: Technology in the neoclassical economic theory, Dependency School and technological dependence, appropriate technology approach, technology in the labour process theory. Historical Overview: Taylorism, Fordism, emergence of post- Fordist production systems and flexible specialization, Japanese production system. National Innovation Systems and technology policies.

 

HSS 441   Introductory Psychology (Giriş Psikolojisi)          (3+0+0)3
The scope of psychology as a science. Human development. Biological aspects of psychology. Motivation and emotion. Sensation and perception. Learning and memory. Thought and language. Intelligence.  Personality. Psychological disorders. Stress and health. Social behavior.

 

HSS 442   Social Psychology (Sosyal Psikoloji)          (3+0+0)3
The field
of social psychology within the discipline of psychology. An examination of the individual behavior within a variety of social contexts. Social perception, influence, attitudes, attitude change, aggression, prejudice and racism. Interactions between the individual and social systems. Focus on the areas of aggression and social protest.

 

HSS 461   Evolution of Industrial Design        (Endüstriyel  Tasarımın Evrimi)         (3+0+0)3
Historical aspect of product design. Form studies; relation to
geometry, structure, value, production, meaning, and context. Emerging technologies and design opportunities. The interrelation between architecture and product design. The creative process. Visual expression.

 
 

Işık Üniversitesi, İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Bölümü, 34980 Şile-İSTANBUL
Tel: 0 (216)
712 14 60 - Faks: 0 (216) 712 14 74 - E-Posta: itb@isikun.edu.tr