The social nature of being human

This free course, The social nature of being human, will introduce you to several of the social aspects of humanity and being human. Some of these are obvious, as, during the course, you will think about crowd behaviour and consider traditional dilemmas of being in crowds. Others will be less obvious, such as the seemingly intimate and private act of charitable giving to the homeless. Yet the focus of the course will at all points be how the 'social' permeates our day-to-day conduct, and often in ways we are not necessarily aware of it. We are in the presence of others, not just when they clearly chant with us or step on our feet, but, more controversially, even when during our most private dreams, fantasies and other ruminations.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Crowds and identity
• 1 Crowds and identity
• 1.1 Crowd research: then and now
• 1.2 Karma of the crowd: the Magh Mela pilgrimage
• 1.3 Test yourself on what you’ve learned so far
• 1.4 Magh Mela: some concluding thoughts
• 2 Groups and politics
• 2 Groups and politics
• 2.1 The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Britain
• 2.2 Engaged publics: the IPO at the BBC Proms
• 2.3 Test yourself on what you’ve learned so far
• 2.4 The IPO disruption: some concluding thoughts
• 3 Meaning as social
• 3 Meaning as social
• 3.1 Your experiences of charitable giving
• 3.2 Partiality and public perceptions of deservingness
• 3.3 Understanding campaigns about homelessness
• 3.4 Charitable giving: some concluding thoughts
• Conclusion
• Take the next step
• References
• Acknowledgements