People in all societies encounter and manage sickness. Yet, there are diverse and unique approaches to understanding and managing health and disease. The human experience of sickness entails a complex interplay between biological, socio-economic and cultural factors. This course offers an introduction to medical anthropology, and draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand those factors which influence health and well-being (broadly defined), the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of sickness, healing processes, the social relations of therapy management, and the cultural importance and use of pluralistic medical systems. Topics covered include how beliefs about health, disease and the body are constructed and transmitted, how healers are chosen and trained, social disparities in health and illness, and the importance of narrative and performance in the effectiveness of healing practices. Finally, we will consider the ways in which medical anthropology can shed light upon important contemporary medical and social concerns.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core
Fall 2027 Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

Explore how different societies regulate, discipline, and shape the human body. In the first part, we examine social theories and explore the strengths and limitations of different approaches to the study of the body. In the second part, we look at several ethnographic cases and compare diverse cultural practices that range from seemingly traditional practices (such as circumcision and foot binding) to what is currently fashionable (including weight lifting, dieting, aesthetic surgery, piercing, and tattooing). When comparing body modifications through time and space, we seek to understand their socio-economic contexts and relate them to broader cultural meanings and social inequalities. We also investigate how embodiment shapes personal and collective identities (especially gender identities) and vice versa.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2027. Ghannam.
Spring 2028 Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

In this seminar we explore biomedicine from an anthropological perspective, exploring the entanglement of bodies with history, environment, culture, and power. We begin the course with a focus on the historical emergence of biomedical technologies and their related discourses and practices and then move into contemporary contexts of their use and circulation. Throughout, we focus on the ways in which the development, use, and distribution of biomedical technologies and discourses are influenced by prevailing medical systems, political interests, and cultural norms. Topics to be covered include biomedicine as technology, medical categorization and ideas of the normal, ethics and moral boundaries, the space of the clinic, the circulation of pharmaceuticals, and health and inequality.
Prerequisite: ANTH 043E or permission of the Instructor
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2028 Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

This course focuses on government expenditure, tax, and debt policy. A major part of the course is devoted to an analysis of current policy issues in their institutional and theoretical contexts. The course will be of most interest to students having a concern for economic policy and its interaction with politics.

Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics

The family plays a key role in economic systems, as a consumer of goods and services and as a supplier of inputs, particularly labor.   Microeconomics can help us understand a range of topics about the family and household, including decisions about fertility, child-rearing, household management, marriage and divorce, immigration, and labor supply.  Our focus will be on the contemporary American family, but we will also consider international and historical perspectives and the influence of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Spring 2027. Magenheim.
Catalog chapter: Economics 
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics

This course applies microeconomic theory, including models from behavioral economics, to analyze consumers’, producers’, and the government’s behavior with respect to health and health care. Special attention will be paid to the role of socioeconomic and demographic factors in explaining patterns of health and access to health care. Other topics include environmental health, international comparisons of health and health care systems, and ongoing state and federal health care policy reform.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2028 Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics

English 2M is a Writing (W) course that introduces students to the fields of medical rhetoric and medical humanities as well as to typical genres of writing within contemporary medicine. By analyzing texts and narratives by physicians and other health professionals, we will identify and assess rhetorical strategies they use to address specialist and non-specialist audiences. By composing your own patient or witness narrative, you will develop effective techniques to engage both scholarly and public readers while dissecting sociopolitical contexts that inform healthcare communication globally. We will also explore pop-culture representations of medical practitioners and (mal)practice to interrogate some of the dominant myths perpetuated through visual, digital, and written media—that influence the rhetoric of health and medicine today.
Humanities.
Writing.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

How have Black healers and communities conceived of health and healing throughout history? How has healing exceeded notions of individual physical well-being to include political action, collective care, spirituality, and social cohesion? Notions of health and healing and healing practices in the “Black Atlantic” (inclusive of Africa and the Americas) from the era of slavery to the present are the focus of this course.
Concentrations: Gender and Sexuality; Science, Medicine, and Environment
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST, LALS. Concentrations: Gender and Sexuality; Science, Medicine, and Environment
Catalog chapter: History 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history

Concentrations: Gender and Sexuality; Science, Medicine, and Environment
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for Concentrations: Gender and Sexuality; Science, Medicine, and Environment
Spring 2027. Mitchell.
Catalog chapter: History 
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history

We will discuss the language needs of deaf children as they pertain to daily life and cognitive health.  Then we will focus on language as a foundation for developing literacy skills, where promoting shared reading between hearing adults and deaf children is our major goal.  We will work with deaf organizations around the world to produce bimodal-bilingual videobooks that will be offered free on the RISE website (risevideobooks.org). The course will be organized like an independent study, but with weekly meetings.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics 
Department website: https://www. swarthmore.edu/linguistics

(Cross-listed at THEA 033)
In this course, we will consider ways to promote literacy among young deaf children, including introducing them to sign language literature and the visual vernacular and encouraging shared reading activities with their care-takers. This course is jointly offered at Gallaudet University. The GALLY students will re-envision beloved picture books in a way that reflects deaf culture and video-record themselves telling those stories. The SWAT students will give (remote) feedback on those videos and then produce the revised versions in the form of YouTube videos and ebooks for the RISE Ebook project website. These bimodal-bilingual stories will be designed so that adults can share them with deaf children regardless of their knowledge of a sign language (or lack thereof).
Prerequisite: A background in linguistics, theater, film, early childhood development, or education would be helpful.
Co-requisite: Students taking the course remotely must have access to an Apple computer or iPad with iBooksAuthor and must have access to film-editing programs. Students also need to have a rudimentary knowledge of a sign language (such as ASL) or concurrently take an attachment in ASL language.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Linguistics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics

(Cross-listed as ANTH 114)
This honors seminar will explore the intersection between peace and conflict studies and medical anthropology. We will examine the impact of conflict on health (mental and physical) as well as health interventions in conflict settings around the world. Sub-themes include international aid, health infrastructures, global health interventions, public health emergency policymaking, the role of doctors and medical professionals amidst political violence, psychosocial humanitarianism, gender-based violence programs, responses to migration flows, economic development, disability and caregiving, and healing and ecoanxiety after natural disasters.
Social sciences.
2 Credits.
Eligible for ANTH
Fall 2027 Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies 
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies

This seminar will explore the intersection of public health, politics, and mass incarceration. Among the questions we will examine are: How is incarceration a social determinant of health? Why do women who are incarcerated face a greater burden of disease than men who are entangled in the criminal legal system? What is the role of politics? How are the health and well-being of those who are incarcerated supported while confined in jail or prison? And what specific public policies might help to improve the health and well-being of those who are incarcerated? Note that the seminar is an Inside-Out course and is taught in partnership with the Philadelphia Correctional Industrial Center for Women and Temple Medical School.
Social Sciences.
1 Credit.
Eligible for PPE.
Spring 2027. Reeves.
Spring 2028 Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science 
Department website: swarthmore.edu/political-science

The course examines individual, interpersonal, and social factors that contribute to social and emotional well-being, as well as interventions designed to promote well-being. Although the course focuses on psychological well-being across a variety of contexts and life stages, a heavy emphasis will be placed on well-being during the college years.
PSYC 018 does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
1 credit.
Fall 2026. Gillham.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

Senior Field Placement in Clinical Psychology provides field experience for students who are considering careers in clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, and counseling. Students undertake field placements in varied settings to gain direct clinical experience. In past years, students have completed placements in organizations providing psychological and educational services to children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental difficulties, outpatient and in-patient therapy programs for children and adults with anxiety and depression, and non-profits providing clinical and psychosocial support to survivors of violence, immigrants and other underserved populations, Enrollment is limited to seniors and requires at least a B+ Average in Psychology as well as appropriate course preparation. PSYC 090 is a Community-Based Learning Course.
To apply for a spot in PSYC 090, please complete the application available at this link. Enrollment is limited to seniors. This is only offered in the spring. If the course over-enrolls, priority is given to students who are completing majors and special majors involving psychology.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038  
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL
Spring 2027. Krause.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

An introduction to the basic processes underlying human and animal behavior—studied in experimental, social, and clinical contexts. Analysis centers on the extent to which typical and atypical behaviors are determined by learning, motivation, neural, cognitive, and social processes.
PSYC 001 is a prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2026. Staff.
Spring 2027. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

This course provides experience in conducting research related to clinical psychology, prevention, and well-being promotion. The course focuses on the development and promotion of social and emotional well-being in adolescents and young adults. Students typically work in groups and collaborate on one or more research projects. Students may work on ongoing projects in the lab and/or develop new projects. Research projects typically focus on: 1) identifying and understanding the psychosocial and contextual factors that promote social and emotional well-being and protect against the development of psychological difficulties (e.g., depression and anxiety); and/or 2) evaluating school- and community-based programs designed to promote social and emotional well-being. Students gain experience in many aspects of the research process, including reviewing research literature, developing research questions and hypotheses, implementing research projects, entering and analyzing data, and presenting on projects and findings orally and in writing (in journal article format). In addition to the class meeting time, additional time is scheduled as needed to conduct research projects.
Senior Comprehensive Credit: When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.  
​This course may not be taken as pass/fail. 
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or the equivalent and PSYC 025: Research Design and Analysis; PSYC 038: Clinical Psychology is strongly preferred. 
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2027. Gillham.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

The seminar will provide an opportunity for critical exploration of contemporary topics in social psychology, including findings from cross-cultural and social neuroscience research. Various perspectives and methods for investigating how the human mind and social behavior interact with situational and environmental factors are considered. Real world implications and applications are also discussed. And is eligible for ENVS credit.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail. 
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 035. Social Psychology or permission of the instructor. PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis is strongly preferred.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS.
Fall 2026. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

This course is an advanced study of special topics related to mental health and well-being. We will discuss mental health and well-being from a variety of perspectives, including biological, psychological, developmental, and social-contextual. We will focus a broad range of interventions from the treatment and prevention of common psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety to the promotion of well-being.

This course may not be taken as pass/fail. 
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038: Clinical Psychology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2026. Gillham.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

Do infants have concepts? How do children learn language? These questions and others are addressed in this survey course of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development during infancy and early childhood. The course asks how and why human minds and behaviors develop, examining the theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on the nature of developmental change.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2026. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

How could babies born all over the world, with roughly the same basic capacities, grow up into adults who think about the world so differently? In this seminar, we will explore how children come to understand and reason about the world and themselves in it. For example, how do children learn and think about different categories of things-from natural kinds like plants and animals, to social groups like race and gender, to human-made artifacts like robots and iPads? We will focus on the role of children’s own direct experiences in shaping how they think, as well as the inferences they make about the social interactions they have with people around them in their daily lives. 
This course may not be taken as pass/fail. 
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

Social psychology argues that social context is central to human experience and behavior. This course provides a review of the field with special attention to relevant theory and research. The dynamics of cooperation and conflict, the self, group identity, conformity, social influence, prosocial behavior, aggression, prejudice, attribution, and attitudes are discussed. And is eligible for PEAC credit.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2027. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

This course prepares students to carry out basic statistical analyses using computer software. Topics include summary statistics and graphics, design of surveys and experiments, one and two-sample t-tests and tests of proportions, and an introduction to simple linear regression. The course is intended for students who want a practical introduction to statistical methods. Students may not receive credit for both Stat 011 and AP Statistics.

Note that the material of STAT 011 overlaps with ECON 031, but these courses have different emphasis.
Prerequisite: Placement through Swarthmore’s Math/Stat Readiness Examination. 
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2026. Staff.
Spring 2027. Staff.
Fall 2027 Staff.
Spring 2028 Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics

This is a second course in applied statistics that extends methods taught in STAT 011. Topics include multiple linear regression, analysis of variance, and logistic regression.
Prerequisite: Credit for AP Statistics; or a grade of C- or better in STAT 011 or ECON 031; or a grade of B or better in STAT 001 with departmental approval.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2026. Staff.
Spring 2027. Staff.
Fall 2027 Staff.
Spring 2028 Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics

Topics vary by year. Previous topics have included statistics and public policy projects, Bayesian statistics, data science, and quantitative paleontology.

Prerequisite: Varies according to the topic.
Natural science and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics 
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics