At Harvard University, the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies is a committee that runs the honors-only, interdisciplinary concentration in social science subjects for undergraduate students. Founded in 1960, it reflects the belief that the study of the social world requires an integration of the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, and philosophy. All students are required to complete a senior thesis.Social Studies
Founders Stanley Hoffmann, an authority on international relations; Alexander Gerschenkron, an eminent economic historian; H. Stuart Hughes, a specialist in European intellectual history; Barrington Moore Jr., a political sociologist writing about Soviet society and revolutions; Robert Paul Wolff, a student of political and social theory, who became head tutor for the first year of the programOrigins and Early Years
Chairs Stanley Hoffman 1960s Michael Walzer 1970s David S. Landes 1981–1993 Charles Maier 1993–1997 Seyla Benhabib 1997–2001 Grzegorz Ekiert 2001–2006 Richard Tuck 2006–2015 James Kloppenberg 2015–2018 Eric Beerbohm 2018–2023 David Armitage 2023–present
Notable alumni Charles Sabel, MacArthur Fellow and political economist at Columbia University, 1969 Chuck Schumer, senior U.S. Senator from New York and current Senate Majority Leader, 1971 E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist, 1973 Mickey Kaus, journalist, blogger, and 2010 Senate candidate, 1973 Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States, 1974 Mark Whitaker, former Editor of Newsweek, 1979 Adam Cohen, journalist and author, 1984 Michael Kremer, developmental economist, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, 1985 Dean Norris, actor, 1985 Dean Wareham, musician (Galaxie 500, Luna), 1985 Tom Morello, musician (Rage Against the Machine, The Nightwatchman, Audioslave) and The E Street Band, 1986 Bill Ackman, American investor and hedge fund manager, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, 1988 Diana Paulus, artistic director of the American Repertory Theater, 1988 Lucy H. Koh, federal judge, 1990 Ben Mezrich, author, 1991 Joshua Redman, jazz musician, 1991 Jason Furman, Chairman of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), 1992 Ajit Pai, Chairman of the FCC, 1994 Emily Chang, the anchor and executive producer of Bloomberg Technology, 2002 Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of GiveWell and Open Philanthropy, 2003 Nithya Raman, Indian-born US politician, 2003.Raman, Nithya Varsha (2003). Political party choice in Tamil Nadu [Unpublished undergraduate honors thesis in Social Studies]. Harvard University.
Footnotes
External links Committee on Degrees in Social Studies Social Studies and ‘The Harvard Problem’ Social Studies -- It's Just Like Grade School!