Accordingly, the common introduction to the concentration in Social Studies 10 is to read closely and at length some of the thinkers who have durably shaped the way we understand society, addressing the questions of how it holds together, the obligations it imposes, the possibilities for liberty and economic development it both nurtures and constrains. The tutorial will also introduce one or more major historical case studies in light of the explanatory approaches students have worked through. Throughout the year-long sophomore tutorial the objective is to teach students to read theoretical arguments carefully and critically and to juxtapose them against historical developments and social experience. The purpose of the junior tutorials in Social Studies is to bridge the gap between the social theory of Social Studies 10 and more current historical and empirical analyses. The aim is to prepare the student for further work by immersing her or him in detailed and focused study.
Students often develop their thesis ideas within the areas of their junior tutorials.
But even when they do not, the junior tutorials provide practical examples of the kind of interdisciplinary work that Social Studies encourages. Social Studies has room for all of these, and all can communicate with one another because they share a knowledge of the core classics of social science. Social Studies is one of the concentrations with an application process. Students are admitted ordinarily but not necessarily at the end of their freshman year. 10 or two half-courses in economics for which Social Analysis 10 is a prerequisite.