Welcome to the Critical Social Studies Program

The critical social studies program is about theory, emphasizing social and cultural theories and their interrelationships. Though we hold differing interpretations of what theory is, we share an understanding of its rootedness in the lived practice of everyday lives.

About the Critical Social Studies Program

This program involves us in a common project of studying, criticizing, and, indeed, making theory, engaging faculty and students in increasingly demanding theoretical dialogues with three aims:
First, to reflect on the “common sense” assumptions, practices, and identities that inform everyday life; to reflect on the practices, assumptions, and representations that constitute the common sense of academic disciplines; and to reflect on the consequences and implications of these.
Second, to deal critically and historically, in social, political, and economic context, with those “common sense” attitudes that constitute everyday and academic life.
Third, to encourage reflection on the personal, practical, and policy implications of such critical activity, that is, to consider what might be done for public policy and for social action, and its sought and unsought personal consequences.
The critical social studies program offers an interdisciplinary major and minor.

Where We Are Located

The HWS Critical Social Studies Program is located in Stern Hall.

For more Information, Please Contact: The Critical Social Studies Program Hobart & William Smith Colleges Stern Hall Geneva, NY 14456 phone (315) 781-3420 fax (315) 781-3422