Course Offerings
Worlds Apart, Worlds Together: Conflict, Culture, and Cooperation
Difference, particularly cultural difference, is the source of many conflicts in International Relations. This course will explore conceptual components and theories of conflict, culture, and conflict resolution – with a special focus on the role that culture plays in both starting as well as resolving conflicts. An in-depth examination of contemporary international conflicts will be used as illustrative case-studies. Of particular interest will be the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, when broad-based, non-violent movements brought an end to authoritarian rule in Tunisia and Egypt, while an international intervention ended Moammar Ghaddafi’s rule in Libya. The current events in Syria, where protesters as of yet have failed to bring the same end to Bashar al-Assad, will also be studied within the same framework. Finally, the class will bridge the gap between interpersonal, group, and international conflicts by exploring strategies of conflict resolution and cross-cultural understanding.
Diplomacy and Dictators: U.S. Foreign Policy in an Uncertain World
How does the U.S. government confront dictators, maintain allies, and protect the nation from international threats to national security? This course will introduce the major departments, agencies, and actors within the government involved in foreign policy and national security. It will explore how they operate in the new strategic environment by considering major threats and issues facing the United States today, from terrorists to rogue states to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The course will also address the conflicting goals, agendas, and trade-offs present in any foreign and national security policy. Debating the range of policy options, students will explore how the U.S. might best act to enhance U.S. national security and international position.
Global Public Health and Environmental Sustainability in the 21st Century
Globalization, population growth and technological innovations have created new challenges for population health and the natural environment. New technologies prolong lives and produce prodigious amounts of food even as they create social inequalities, endanger species and deplete the Earth’s resources. In this course, we will take the politics of fostering sustainable life as a theme and cover topics such as biological diversity, humanitarian aid, industrialized food production, urban development, and global disease control. With sustainability as a guiding framework, we will examine policies, technologies and attitudes that shape the relationship between human and environmental health.
