Course Catalog

Analyzes the formulation and practice of American foreign policy, with emphasis on its continually changing relation to the domestic political process. Topics include the constitutional and political power sharing between the President and Congress, NATO membership, the Korean War, the Middle East involvement, and the Cold War. Focuses particularly on US policy in the 'new world order'.

Introduces the basic theories and practices of political economy through the lens of globalization. Discusses the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD and the former GATT as well as the WTO. Explores the complex trade relations between Asia, Europe, and the US, and the impact of financial crisis on world markets.

Examines the changing context of post-Cold War conflict and how contemporary disputes may be resolved. Analyzes the nature of intervention strategies and their consequences; negotiation and mediation techniques, as well as other political instruments to deal with conflict resolution; the institutions and regimes of security and conflict management, plus the problems related to peace and state building.

Studies France's development from a provincial peasant society, hampered by weak governments and enduring colonial wars, to a technologically sophisticated industrial democracy and a major international power. Studies France's cultural, social, and economic contexts, evolving party system, and institutions and policy-making processes to better understand this phenomenal change and its consequences for France's role in the world. The ability to read in French will facilitate research, but is not required.

Focuses on causes and consequences of European military conflicts and the historical transformations resulting from peace settlements. Examines the European Wars of Religion, the Napoleonic wars, the Franco-Prussian War, the Treaty of Portsmouth, the Paris Peace Conference and the Versailles Treaty as well as World War Two and the Yalta Conference. The approach is interdisciplinary, combining history and political science.

Covers the formal structure of the international legal order; sources, uses and dynamics of law in international relations; use of force, war crimes; the status and functions of states, governments, international organizations, companies, and individuals; law of the sea, environment, jurisdiction, aliens, human rights, the diplomatic process and its protection, and treaties. Discusses theory and future directions of international law. This course is crosslisted with International Law.

The rise of the Atlantic world after 1500 generated cities of unrivaled cultural, economic and political power. Replacing the previously dominant form of the Mediterranean city-state, London, Paris and Madrid became the centers of an Atlantic world which formed the core of the first world system. This course will examine the rise of these cities from the perspective of state building, urban culture, urban revolt, the growth of the Atlantic economy and the responses to these processes through urban planning and city government.

“billionaireswatch.org” is combining a research seminar with watchdog activism, exploring the roles of billionaires in politics in order to develop a framework with which to scrutinize their influence. We study the role of private wealth in public policy-making and explore how a watchdog website may lead to greater transparency and accountability

Introduces the contemporary politics of the Middle East, from Turkey and Iran to the Atlantic Ocean, including all the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa as well as Israel. Focuses on political trends (nationalism and religious fundamentalism), key historical experiences and traumatic events (wars and revolutions), and the interference of world powers that contributed to shaping this sensitive area.