Requirements

Rational & Irrational Minds		Requirements
606:601 Fall 2006

Home	Course Readings	Two textbooks are required for the course. One is Reid Hastie and Robyn Dawes' Rational choice in an uncertain world, 2nd edition (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), which will provide background material for discussing rationality, from the context of decision making. The other is Elaine Showalter's Hystories (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), which is will provide background material for discussing irrationality, from the context of the psychological clinic. The textbooks will be supplemented with a packet of readings, available on reserve in the library in both an electronic reserve and a hard copy form. These readings will provide material for discussions of rationality and irrationality in a wide range of contexts.
Requirements
Outline/Notes
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Exams
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Policies


	Participation	This course is intended to provoke critical examination of our ideas about rationality and irrationality. The success of the course depends on the active engagement of the class in discussing these ideas. Thus, it is important that everyone complete the readings before class meetings and offer their views on the material.



	Paper / Presentation	The major requirement of the course is a15-20 page paper that provides a more detailed examination of a topic relevant to one or more of the issues discussed in the course. Selection of the topic should be done in consultation with me. Ideally, this paper can be considered for publication, either in a journal for graduate studies or a professional journal. At the final class session, each member of the class will present a short overview of his or her paper.
	Projects	You may be asked to complete a variety of small assignments outside of class as a means of gathering material for our discussions.
	Evaluation	Evaluation of your performance in this class will be based on your paper (65%) and on your participation in class, including the completion of projects (35%).