This 2-credit seminar involves faculty from several schools and departments at Boston University, with the goal of analyzing autism not only as a medical disorder, a scientific puzzle, an educational challenge, or an emotional burden for families and individuals, but also, more broadly, as a 'fact' that generates questions and reactions in a wide range of social contexts, from politics to the arts. The seminar consists of weekly lectures and discussion of assigned materials. Topics include defining, diagnosing, and treating autism: autism and the law; institutional structures of autism-related services; educational strategies; families with autism; representation of autism in literature, film, and media; musicology and autism therapy. Requirements include weekly readings and papers. Cannot be used for concentration credit toward the major or minor in Psychology.