Special Topics, Cross-Regional & Capstone

Descriptions of special topics, cross-regional studies and capstone courses

Fall 2023

INTL 350.01 Cross-Regional Studies: International Development, MWF 10:00-10:50 am Maldonado (CRN 10848)

Nearly 1 billion people live on less than a dollar per day and poverty and inequality have proven to be stubbornly resilient against attempts to decrease them over the past 50 years. This class provides an introduction to contemporary research on development issues. It covers a large set of topics, including measurement issues, specific challenges relating to health, education, and gender, the role of institutions in development, and the impact of policies aiming to empower the world’s poor.

INTL 350.02 Cross-Regional Studies: Democracy and Democratization, MW 2:00-3:15 pm, Kovalov (CRN 10849)

We think that democracy is the best form of government. Is it? Should we celebrate it and promote it around the world? Are there any problems inherent in democracy? What is democracy and how can we measure it? What do we mean by the quality of democracy? When do democracies breakdown and how do they emerge? Why are some countries democratic while others are not? How do culture, religion, ethnicity, economics, and international influence affect democratic survival and emergence? This course focuses on democracy and democratization in cross-regional perspective. It examines democracies and democratic development around the world. It focuses on the meaning of democracy, its origins, limits, and consequences in various regions.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Genocide in Global Perspective, TR 1:40-2:55pm Pehl (CRN 10786)

Although the phenomenon is historically older, genocide is often seen as one of the most enduring scourges of the 20th century. It provokes the interest of the wider public and controversy like few other global issues of our time. At the same time, it is also an issue of high complexity and of relevance to policymakers the world over. The debate about and the study of genocide has many dimensions, including those in law, from which the concept originated, as well as in anthropology, in political science, and in art.

Fall 2022

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 13947)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Democracy and Democratization, MW 3:25 pm, Kovalov (CRN 13948)

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Environmental Commons in Global Perspective, TR 3:05 pm, Scott (CRN 13872)

This capstone examines the history and culture of human-environmental relations in specific spaces that transcend the interests and rules of any one nation, including the high seas, the atmosphere, Antarctica, and outer space. The course also looks at “environmental commons” that exist within the boundaries of particular state or regional governments, such as forests, waterways, and other communally-used resources that are historically difficult to manage and govern. Through the study of global environmental commons, our goal in this course is to analyze concepts and key case studies that will lead students to develop innovative research projects on the impacts of human-directed climatic and ecological change.

Spring 2022

INTL 290.01 ST: Memory and Reconciliation in Latin America and Eastern Europe, ONLINE, Wuigk (CRN 21134)

This course examines how human rights abuses committed during Cold War conflicts in Latin America and Eastern Europe are being remembered and dealt with since the peace agreements and the return to democracy. From a multidisciplinary perspective the course will explore the memorialization, justice seeking and reconciliation process after decades of dictatorships, civil wars and violence.

This course will look at forms of collective memory, the attempts to achieve justice and building a new integrated democratic society. Students will compare the different approaches of memory and reconciliation and leave the class with a clear understanding of challenges of post conflict societies.

INTL 350.01 CRS: Human Rights in Global Perspective, TR 1:40pm, Pehl (CRN 20897)

Going back long before the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, debates and ideas about human rights have been pervasive in struggles over political and social issues in many parts of the world. Both states as well as non-state actors (individuals and NGOs) have been involved in and drawn on arguments rooted in human rights discourses in those struggles. This course will introduce key ideas, debates, and actors in the field of global human rights and look at contemporary human rights issues in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

INTL 350.02 CRS: Refugees & Forced Migration, TR 3:05pm, Malek (CRN 21070)

In 2020 alone, over 79 million people in the world experienced forced displacement from their homes due to intersecting factors like persecution on grounds such as race, religion, or nationality, armed conflict, natural disasters, and other threats to safety and well-being. In this interdisciplinary and cross-regional course, students examine the intersecting legal, political, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of forced migration from the second half of the 20^th century to today. Particular attention is paid to the experiences of refugees, alongside legal and policy approaches, humanitarian responses, and media and cultural representations.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Gender and Development, MW 2:00 pm, Maldonado (CRN 20741)

This course examines gender dimensions of international development; how economic growth and development have differential impact on men, women, and on gender equality. We will critically evaluate how development theory and practice address poverty, health, education, sexuality, population, employment and other related topics.

INTL 495.02 Capstone: Environmental Commons in Global Perspective, TR 10:50am, Scott (CRN 20994)

Fall 2021

INTL 290.01 ST: Humanitarian and Development Aid - a critical examination, ONLINE, Wuigk (CRN 11847)

This course introduces students to the various actors involved in humanitarian aid and international development assistance such as: United Nations organizations, bilateral donor organizations like USAID and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After providing an overview over the history of humanitarian and development aid the course will examine global structures of poverty and inequality. Students will learn to analyze how effective the current aid system is. We will look at the classic question: does development aid do more harm than good? The course examines economic, political and cultural effects of aid programs on the recipient countries. We will look especially at countries where multiple donors operate uncoordinated, pursuing inconsistent agendas such as Haiti.

The main objective of the course is to expose students to the criticism that surrounds international humanitarian and development aid and develop an understanding of what needs to change moving forward.

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 11005)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Refugees & Forced Migration, MW 2pm Malek (CRN 11006)

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Genocide, TR 1:40, Pehl (CRN 10923)

Spring 2021

INTL 290.01 ST: Memory and Reconciliation in Latin America and Eastern Europe, ONLINE, Wuigk (CRN 21351)

INTL 350.01 CRS: Health and Society in Global Perspective, TR 3:05 pm, McLean (CRN 21068)

This course provides an overview of contemporary global health problems from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will learn how global social, economic, political, and historical factors affect the health of people across the world, from a local to a global population level. Key forces affecting global health, including climate change, political conflict, transnational migration, trade agreements, and the international human rights movement, will also be explored.

INTL 350.02 CRS: Democracy and Democratization, MW 3:25 pm, Kovalov (CRN 21742)

INTL 390.01 ST: War and Culture, MWF 1:00 pm, Ganaway (CRN 21742)

This course takes a broad thematic overview of the cultural consequences of warfare in the modern world (1789 – present). While we will concentrate on Europe, we will engage with Asia and the Middle East. Specifically, the course examines how wars from the French Revolutionary period onwards led to substantial and permanent changes in gender and sexuality, the scope of political participation for ordinary people, the way we view the role of government, and what we consider to be art.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Genocide, TR 9:25 am, Pehl (CRN 20881)

INTL 495.02 Capstone: Gender and Development, MW 2:00 pm, Maldonado (CRN 21184)

Fall 2020

INTL 290.01 ST: Humanitarian and Development Aid - a critical examination, ONLINE, Wuigk (CRN 13169)

This course introduces students to the various actors involved in international development assistance such as: United Nations organizations, bilateral donor organizations like USAID and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After providing an overview over the history of humanitarian and development aid the course will examine global structures of poverty and inequality. Students will learn to analyze how effective the current aid system is. We will look at the classic question: does development aid do more harm than good? The course examines economic, political and cultural effects of aid programs on the recipient countries. We will look especially at countries where multiple donors operate uncoordinated, pursuing inconsistent agendas such as Haiti and Guatemala.

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 11177)

This course introduces students to problems of inequality in wealth and welfare from a global, comparative, and historical perspective. The causes and consequences of inequalities among countries, as well as gender, class, ethnic and regional stratification, are examined. Major topics on international development are studied in order to better understand problems which many countries and areas of the world face today.

INTL 350.02 CRS: Health and Society in Global Perspective, TR 3:05, McLean (CRN 11178)

INTL 495.01 International Studies Capstone: Genocide, MW 2:00, Pehl (CRN 11066)

Although the phenomenon is historically older, genocide is often seen as one of the most enduring scourges of the 20^th century. It provokes the interest of the wider public and controversy like few other global issues of our time. At the same time, it is also an issue of high complexity and of relevance to policymakers the world over. The debate about and the study of genocide has many dimensions, including those in law, from which the concept originated, as well as in anthropology, in political science, and in art.

Spring 2020

INTL 290.01 ST: Humanitarian and Development Aid - a critical examination, ONLINE, Wuigk (CRN 21526)

INTL 350.01 CRS: Democracy and Democratization, MW 3:25, Kovalov (CRN 21176)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Health and Society in Global Perspective, TR 3:05, McLean (CRN 21431)

INTL 390.01 ST: War and Culture, MWF 1pm, Ganaway (CRN 22108)

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Gender and Development, MW 2pm, Maldonado (CRN 20971)

INTL 495.02 Capstone: Postcolonial World, TR 10:50am, Foody (CRN 21319)

This senior capstone course explores key themes from postcolonial theory and the study of colonial, post-colonial, and imperial sites. One of the key elements in this study is interrogating the concepts we have used (and still use) to learn about the world, including in our major. To begin, we examine the concept of cultural difference and its history. Then we will dig deeper into questions about the connections between our knowledge and colonial and imperial power. We do this by looking at problems of time (modernity), race/gender/class (subjectivity), and security. Students also will pursue an individual project over the course of the term related to these themes and our class discussion.

Fall 2019

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 11318)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Global Environmental Challenges: Past, Present, Future, TR 3:05, Blake Scott (CRN 11319)

This course explores how human societies and natural environments have interacted and shaped each other around the world - from the sixteenth century to the present. Students examine this dynamic relationship from two angles: one, we study how the history of globalization has depended on and dramatically transformed the natural world; and second, we analyze the rise of global environmental consciousness and its relationship to social movements emerging in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. To ground this formidable and all-encompassing subject, the course introduces key concepts and issues through critical case studies. Students learn about historical events from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. We focus, in particular, on cultural and economic encounters of colonialism and capitalism, tracing transnational flows of commodities, invasive species, human migrations, and issues of waste and pollution. Finally, in the second half of the course, we take a closer look at ideas and social movements that have challenged ecological destruction and inequality, and in turn, shaped the way we think about environments.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Postcolonial World, MW 2:00, Foody (CRN 11189)

Spring 2019

INTL 290.01 ST: The UN, the International System and Developmen: A Practitioner's View, TR 3:05, Degia (CRN 21758)

This course will examine the topic of development within the multilateral system from the perspective of a practitioner of multilateral diplomacy. It will trace the evolution of thinking about development, especially from the standpoint of developing countries. Specific countries or regions such as the Caribbean, Africa and the Alliance of Small Island States and particular issues critical to them such as sustainable development, climate change, poverty, migration and human rights will be drawn upon as case studies.

INTL 350.01 CRS: Global Environmental Challenges: Past, Present, Future, MW 2, Blake Scott (CRN 21319)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Democracy and Democratization, TR 12:12, Kovalov (CRN 21637)

When do democracies breakdown and how do they emerge? Why are some countries democratic while others are not? How do culture, religion, ethnicity, economics, and international influence affect democracy survival and emergence? This course focuses on democracy and democratization in comparative perspective. It examines democracies and democratic development across regions. We will study theoretical approaches which help us understand the causal factors leading to democracy and its deterioration and specific cases of democratic breakdown and improvement.

INTL 390.01 ST: War and Culture, MWF 1:00, Ganaway (CRN 23423)

INTL 495.01 International Studies Capstone: International Migration, TR 3:05, Amy Malek (CRN 21068)

In this capstone, the global movement of people across borders will be explored through four main themes. These themes examine the intersections of contemporary international migration with: a) law and society; b) ethnicity and race; c) kinship and the family; and d) humanitarianism and development. In each area, we’ll examine borders and mobility in historical, sociological, anthropological, and artistic sources from multiple regions of the world. Students will conduct independent research related to these themes, culminating in a final research paper.

INTL 495.02 International Studies Capstone: Genocide, MW 2:00, Malte Pehl (CRN 21493)

Fall 2018

INTL 290.01 ST:Comparative Social Movements, Express II, MW 5:30, Taylor (CRN 12597)

A broad-based, experiential study of the new developments in the social movements around the world focused upon historical, political, economic, social and cultural impacts of globalization and structural adjustment processes initiated on the late 20th century.

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 11466)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Global Environmental Challenges: Past, Present, Future, TR 10:50, Blake Scott (CRN 11467)

INTL 390.02 ST: Africa and China, MW 2:00, Mutwol (13279)

This course examines China’s role in African economic development. Topics include historical and contemporary relationship and expanded commercial ties, trade, assistance and investment as well as China’s policy of non-interference in Africa’s domestic affairs.

INTL 495.01 International Studies Capstone: International Migration, TR 1:40, Amy Malek (CRN 11308)

Spring 2018

INTL 290.01 ST: The Islamic Tradition, MWF 9:00, Kathleen Foody (CRN 22114)

An examination of Islamic beliefs and practices, covering Muhammad’s life, Islamic social and religious institutions, and the Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi traditions.

INTL 290.01 ST: Human Rights in Global Perspective, MW 2:00, Malte Pehl (CRN 21269)

Going back long before the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, debates and ideas about human rights have been pervasive in struggles over political and social issues in many parts of the world. Both states as well as non-state actors (individuals and NGOs) have been involved in and drawn on arguments rooted in human rights discourses in those struggles. This course will introduce key ideas, debates and actors in the field of global human rights and look at contemporary human rights issues in Europe, Asia and Africa.

INTL 290.03 ST: Peace and Conflict in the Middle East, MWF 10:00, Ali Demirdas (CRN 23514)

The course has several objectives. First, it aims to give students a more nuanced and complete understanding of the politics, societies and economies of the MENA. Second, it fosters students’ analytical skills, helping them to apply theoretical frameworks to problems in the Middle East. Finally, it seeks to supply students with the theoretical and empirical evidence necessary to evaluate and make critical, analytical arguments about the Middle East in comparative perspective.

INTL 290.04 ST: Drugs, Guns & Gangs in the Americas, Express II, MW 5:30, Jason Taylor (CRN 21413)

This course explores the dominant development theories, examines the historical legacy of authoritarianism and establishes a foundation to examine the relationship of crime, law, and governance in the context of emergent issues in contemporary Latin America. In brief, this course will explore underlying historical political, economic and social issues related to contemporary conditions and structures of crime and violence in the Americas.

INTL 290.05 ST: Europe’s Age of Ideology, MWF 1:00, Bryan Ganaway (CRN 23515)

This course looks at the rise of ideologies designed to produce the most perfect society possible during Europe’s long nineteenth century (1789-1914). These will include liberalism, conservatism, scientific socialism, imperialism, scientific racism, and nationalism. Each week students will receive one lecture that contextualizes an ideology from this period. This will be followed by one discussion based on a primary source from the nineteenth century, and then a second discussion that looks at how this ideology continues to impact culture and politics in European countries today. The regional focus is mostly Western Europe, but it will also include Russia and the colonial experience in Africa.

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldonado (CRN 21446)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Deconstructing Tourism: History, Culture, and the Question of Sustainability , TR 9:25, Blake Scott (CRN 21934)

From the Caribbean to Europe to Southeast Asia, tourism has become one of the most lucrative and influential forms of economic and cultural exchange. How, though, did this come to be? In this course, students critically examine tourism’s transnational history and culture, analyzing the many ways people think about and engage in leisure travel. Readings and class discussions focus on key theories and methods for studying tourism, mobility, and questions of sustainable and socially just forms of travel. The class will also introduce specific case studies of tourism development in Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Over the course of the semester, students should gain a deeper understanding of how pressing political, cultural, economic, and environmental issues intersect with international tourism.

INTL 495.01 International Studies Capstone: International Migration, TR 3:05, Amy Malek (CRN 21163)

INTL 495.02 International Studies Capstone: Genocide, MW 3:25, Malte Pehl (CRN 21648)

In this course, we will look at genocide from a range of angles. We will start by defining the concept and take a look at the history of genocide leading up to the 20^th century examples. Part Two will introduce a range of examples of recent genocides and Part Three will deal with different academic and artistic perspectives on the subject. The final part will then analyze attempts to deal with the problem by preventing it and bringing justice to its victims through legal and political means.

Fall 2017

INTL 290.03 ST: Race, Ethnicity & Migration in Europe, TR 12:15, Malek (CRN 11450)

Europe is experiencing what has been called a "migration crisis," drawing refugees and migrants from other regions to its borders in unprecedented numbers. This course examines post-WWII migration to Europe with a focus on questions of
inclusion and exclusion, and through a comparative look at the various approaches to integration and multiculturalism undertaken across the continent.

INTL 290.04 ST: The Globalization of Paradise: The Caribbean, TR 3:05, Blake Scott (CRN: 11896)

The Globalization of Paradise: Caribbean History and Culture in Critical Perspective The aim of this course is to provide students with an historical, social, and environmental grounding on the impacts of globalization in the developing world, particularly with small nation-states and communities in the Caribbean and Latin America. Globalization will be interrogated as a concept and phenomenon beginning with European conquest and exploration, and through the eras of slavery, colonialism, and twentieth century post-colonialism. Of critical and related importance, students will also analyze the many ways the Caribbean has been imagined as a “paradise” by outsiders. The course examines the social consequences of this international influence in terms of migration, the African diaspora, racial politics, economic production and consumption, and environmental change. By the end of the course, students will have a clear understanding of how the twin themes of paradise and globalization have shaped patterns of development in the Caribbean, and more broadly, the Global South.

INTL 290.01 ST: Political Islam in a Turbulent Era, Express II MW 4:00 – 6:25 Ali Demirdas

While the 20^th century witnessed the Islamic revival, the issue of political Islam has become among the most important and hotly debated issues in the world. This class is motivated by a set of interlinked questions designed to understand the roots and the nature of modern Islamic political movements in the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the West. What are their intellectual origins? How should we understand their relationship to colonialism, theology, nationalism, democracy, liberalism, development, and women and gender? How have Islamic political movements evolved over time?

We will explore these questions historically and in comparative perspective by drawing on scholarship from international studies, Islamic studies, sociology, anthropology, and history. By the end of the course, students should possess an empirically grounded understanding of contemporary Islamic movements as well as the analytical tools necessary to explain their behavior.

INTL 350.01 Cross Regional Studies, War: Regional, Political, Economic and Cultural Perspectives, TR 1:40, Pehl (CRN: 11674)

In an age of drones, terrorism, asymmetric and cyber warfare as well as nuclear proliferation, how has the landscape of violent political conflict evolved since the fall of Communism and the end of the Cold War only some 25 years ago? This course investigates the manifold regional and global facets of and questions related to conflict and security, situating these discussions in contemporary political, social and cultural realms. What does the ongoing breakdown of binary conceptual divisions into war and peace, civil and international wars, civilian and military targets as well as into state actors versus private actors mean for how wars start, how they unfold and how they get regulated and resolved? As a whole the course will undertake an examination of the changing nature of war and conflict itself in the 20^th and early 21st Century using select regional examples.

INTL 350.02 Cross Regional Studies: World Systems and Globalization, MWF 1, Friedman (CRN: 11675)

This course examines the World Systems analysis approach introduced by Immanuel Wallerstein. World Systems analysis rejects the distinctions between disciplines and dissolves regions in an effort to understand totalities. World Systems analysis studied globalization before it was called globalization and is therefore the perfect paradigm for International Studies inquiry. The class will evaluate the usefulness of World Systems analysis to current world events.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: Postcolonial World, MW 3:25, Foody (CRN 11474)

Spring 2017

INTL 290.01 ST: Turkish Foreign Policy in a Tumultuous Region, MWF 9:00 am, Demirdas (CRN 22532)

This course seeks to provide students with an understanding of the domestic and international forces that shape contemporary Turkish foreign policy. Coterminous with the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, Turkey (and its ever-evolving foreign policy) has become especially important after the end of the Cold War. This evolution has become even more significant in the wake of the new millennia with the advent of the conservative AKP, which created a paradigm shift in Turkey’s decades-long traditional foreign policy.

While the focus of the course will be on current events, such as the situation in Syria and the Middle East as well as the relations with the European Union and the United States, theoretical and historical aspects of Turkey’s foreign policy will also be covered.

INTL 290.02 ST: Humanitarian and Development Aid - a critical examination focusing on Haiti, Guatemala and Nicaragua, TR 5:30 pm, Wuigk (CRN 21363)

This course introduces students to the various actors involved in international development assistance such as different United Nations organizations, bilateral donor organizations like USAID and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After examining the history of humanitarian and development aid the course will examine global structures of poverty and inequality. Students will learn to analyze how effective the current aid system is. We will look at the classic question: does development aid does more harm than good? The course examines economic, political and cultural effects of aid programs on the recipient countries. We will look especially at countries where multiple donors operate uncoordinated, pursuing inconsistent agendas such as Haiti and Guatemala.

INTL 290.03 ST: Drugs, Guns and Gangs in the Americas, Exp. II, MW 5:30 pm, Taylor (CRN 21535)

INTL 290.01 ST: Political Islam in a Turbulent Era Express II MW 4:00 –6:25 Ali Demirdas

INTL 350.01 CRS: Revolution & Utopia, TR 3:05 pm, Foody (CRN 21574)

This course critically analyzes revolutionary movements from the 1950s to the present and their attempts to re-create society, politics, and the world at large. We will trace the development of "Third World" movements in colonial and post-colonial contexts as well as their global effects. In addition, we will examine contemporary theories of revolution and the necessities, as well of dangers, of utopian projects.

INTL 350.02 CRS: Global Governance in Transition Again? The Rise of the Rest, MWF 10 am, Pacheco (CRN 22219)

This course provides an overview of the evolving architecture, functions and outcomes of global governance, and it explores possible ways of improving the capacity of the international community as a whole to deal with contemporary global challenges.

INTL 495.01 Capstone: International Financial Crises, MW 3:05 pm, Maldonado (CRN 21246)

The response to international financial crises by experts, politicians, and others is that this financial crisis is different from others that have occurred in the past. In this capstone we will look at financial crises from the economic, political, and social perspective. We will start by discussing the different types of financial crises. We will then look at case studies of each type of crises across multiple regions and analyze the crisis’ economic, political, and social effects on the countries affected. Finally, we will discuss ways in which countries/international community can prevent or prepare for the effects of international financial crises. Students will conduct independent research related to financial crises, culminating in a final research paper.

INTL 495.02 Capstone: International Migration, TR 3:05 pm, Malek (CRN 21820)

Fall 2016

INTL 290.02 ST: Peace and Conflict in the Middle East, MWF 1:00pm Demirdas (CRN 11175)

INTL 290.04 ST: Refugees, Migrants, and Citizenship, TR 12:15-1:30, Malek (CRN 12178)

Who has the right to travel, to remain, or to belong? This course considers new theoretical approaches to migration and citizenship through ethnographic case studies examining a diverse array of refugee and immigrant experiences. How do exclusion and inclusion impact ideas of citizenship, race, and identity? How is mobility enabled, disabled, and regulated by state and non-state actors in ways that impact integration and belonging? In working through these questions, students will draw on recent cases in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas to conduct analyses that draw out the intersections of migration and citizenship.

INTL 290.05 ST:Comparative Social Movements, Express II, TR 5:30 Taylor (CRN 13528)

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 09:00 Maldonado (CRN 11860)

INTL 350.02 CRS: World Systems and Globalization, MWF 01:00 Friedman (CRN 11861)

INTL 390.01 ST: Law and Politics in South Asia, TR 1:40 Pehl (CRN 13349)

In this course, students investigate the interaction of law and politics in South Asian countries (e.g. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc.). Themes include the rule of law and constitutionalism, democratization, citizenship and electoral laws, legal pluralism and judicial activism. Another part of the course will cover the role of international law in relation to South Asia and South Asia's role in international law and politics.

INTL 495.01 Capstone, Cosmopolitanism, TR 3:05, Foody (CRN 11623)

Cosmopolitanism suggests that all humans belong to one community, regardless of race, religion, gender, or national origin. This capstone explores philosophical, historical, and political attempts to imagine humanity as a single community, as well as critiques of those attempts. We will focus on a series of distinct, although interconnected, spheres of thought in today's world: (1) international law; (2) religion; (3) gender. Each of these spheres developed from a long history of imperial and colonial thinking. We will explore that colonial historical foundation as well as contemporary attempts to look outside it and create new approaches to international law, religion, and gender. Students will conduct independent research related to the course themes and present their research in class over the course of the semester. The three course themes may change based on student interest.

Spring 2016

INTL 290.02 ST: Peace and Conflict in the Middle East, TR 9:00 Demirdas (CRN 21458)

INTL 290.04 ST: Drugs, Guns and Gangs in the Americas EXP II, MW 5:30 Taylor (CRN 21662)

This course explores the dominant development theories, examines the historical legacy of authoritarianism and establishes a foundation to examine the relationship of crime, law,and governance in the context of emergent issues in contemporary Latin America. In brief, this course will explore underlying historical political, economic and social issues related to contemporary conditions and structures of crime and violence in the Americas.

INTL 350.01 CRS: International Development, MWF 11:00 Maldenado-Bird (CRN 21712)

INTL 350.02 CRS: Revolution & Utopia, TR 12:15, Foody (CRN 23378)

INTL 390.01 ST: Nationalism and Citizenship in Europe, TR 9:25 Ocak (CRN 21713)

This course aims to investigate how the configuration of nationality, citizenship and sovereignty was established in Europe. The course starts with an examination of nationalism theories that try to answer the questions such as “What is a nation? Are national identities primordial or are they constructs? What is nationalism? Are there good and bad nationalisms?” etc. After discussing various theoretical approaches to nations and nationalisms, the course moves on to engage deeply with the modernist approach and deals with the relation between state formation and the production of nation. We will discuss the revolutionary formula of ethnos/demos nexus consolidated after the French Revolution by situating the emergence of modern citizenship within the capitalist/colonialist division of the world. Finally, the course will engage with the contemporary challenges to the nationality/citizenship equation that emerge as a result of globalization and flow of people from the periphery to the metropole. We will explore the novel ways of inclusion to and exclusion from the polity and the new nationalist movements in Europe.

INTL 495.01 Capstone, Interrogating Globalization, TR 3:05 Samuel (CRN 21327)

As the capstone course for the International Studies Major, this course takes a critical, multi-disciplinary approach to the topic of international studies and globalization, providing an overview of the vast and ever-increasing literature from the perspectives of international relations, political science, anthropology, geography, history and economics. “Globalization,” as we shall discover, is a complex, contested, fluid and flexible concept; what it means, to whom and why will be our focal points of inquiry.

First, we will address the historical underpinnings and intellectual precedents of globalization. We then turn to the literature concerned with the transformation of social relations brought about by globalization. We will also explore ethnographic and critical approaches to the study of globalization.

Throughout the semester, we will be considering how globalization “works” as a discourse, how globalization is experienced, what its attributes might be, what shifts in political economic power relations the term denotes, and how we might develop a critical approach to its study.

INTL 495.02 Capstone, Genocide, MW 3:25 Pehl (22081)

FALL 2015

INTL 290.02 ST: Latin America - Memory and Reconciliation, MWF 11:00-11:50 WUIGK (CRN 11267)

This course examines the long-term effects that Cold War conflicts have had on Latin America’s societies from a multidisciplinary perspective. The course will explore how decades of dictatorships, civil wars and violence are being remembered and dealt with since the peace agreements and the return to democracy. The regional focus will be on Guatemala, Peru, Chile and Argentina.This course will look at forms of collective memory, the attempts to achieve justice and building a new integrated democratic society.

INTL 290.03 ST: Comparative Social Movements, TR 4:00-6:45 MIRANDA (CRN 11751)

INTL 290.04 ST: Peace & Conflict in the Middle East, TR 1:40-2:55 DEMIRDAS (CRN 13276)

Course seeks to supply students with the theoretical and empirical evidence necessary to evaluate and make critical, analytical arguments about the Middle East in comparative perspective.

INTL 350.01 CRS: Religion and Law in the Global Context, TR 3:05-4:20 FOODY (CRN 12116)

This course invites students to consider the relationship between religion and law in a variety of contexts. The goal of this course is not to decide how “religion” and “law” should interact; instead, we will instead ask questions about how certain understandings of or definitions of religion inform debates over the limits of religious practice, the dangers of religious identity, and the necessity of non-religious government.

INTL 350.02 CRS: Transnational Migration, MWF 1:00-1:50 (CRN 12117)

The mobility of populations across international borders and the ensuing diasporic communities pose an array of important theoretical, conceptual and empirical questions; about the meanings of borders, the nature of (migrant) identity and culture, also in relation the nation-state and national identity. Migration also raises important questions about race and racism. In order to tackle these various questions and issues, the class will draw on a range of texts from academic writings, theorizations of migration, race, and ethnicity, journalistic accounts and films. Among the main migration movements tackled in the class are: North African migrations to Europe, West African migrations to Europe and the US, East Asian migration to the US, South Asian migration to Europe and inner-African migrations.

INTL 390.02 ST: Cuban Society & Politics, MW 4:00-6:45 MIRANDA (CRN 11822)

A study of 20th and 21th century Cuba, its politics, civilization and culture.

INTL 495.01 International Studies Capstone class, TR 3:05-4:20 SAMUEL (CRN 11786)

Please contact the department.

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