POL SCI W135
4 Units
Game Theory in the Social Sciences
Catalog Course Description
This course provides an introduction to game theory and its application in social science, especially political science and economics. The purposes of the course are to give students a sense of the field of game theory and how political scientists use it in making arguments about how government and politics work, to develop students' intuition about strategic situations in everyday life, and to develop students' analytical capabilities generally. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to depict social situations as simple game theoretic models, analyze those models to understand how the behaviors of the individuals involved are mutually reinforcing, and apply computer-based tools to evaluate under conditions of uncertainty.
Summer Term
2 hours of Web-based or technologically-mediated activities replacing standard discussion sections (effective Fall 2006) per week and 6 hours of Web-based or technologically-mediated activities replacing standard lectures (effective Fall 2006) per week and 14.5 hours of Outside Work Hours per week.