Due to COVID-19, International Studies faculty will be working remotely. The best way to reach us is by email (our addresses are listed after our faculty profiles). For information about the department, graduate program, and undergraduate programs, please contact respectively: Prof. Purnima Bose, chairperson, pbose@indiana.edu; Prof. Stephen Macekura, director of graduate studies, smacekur@indiana.edu; and Prof. Jessica Steinberg, director of undergraduate studies, steinbjf@indiana.edu.
Welcome!
The Department of International Studies prepares you for the increasingly complex and interconnected world of the 21st century. Whether you are passionate about human rights, media, education, the environment, or public health, when you pursue an International Studies degree at IU you will learn how to analyze these global issues through a multidisciplinary context and acquire the skills required of tomorrow’s global leaders. Additionally, you will develop deep knowledge of at least one region outside the US, and fluency in another language. An integral part of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, the department offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees as well as graduate degrees. Our students go on to meaningful careers in government, NGOs, corporations, foundations, media outlets, and policy institutes; but most importantly, emerge from our department as ethical citizens of the world.
Upcoming Events
There are no events at this time. See more eventsFall Small Session (Nov. 30–Dec. 20)
INTL-I 212: Black Lives Matter as a Global Movement
1 credit with Professor Hamid Ekbia. Analyze Black Lives Matter as a global human rights movement focused on race and the intersections of gender, class, and colonialism. Students will look at BLM, its US roots, and history through a global lens and perspective, while exploring how countries around the world are viewing and joining this movement. The course will also touch on the immigrant/refugee/revolutionary perspective and feature a number of guest lecturers from Indiana University and of national renown.
Learn moreFeatured Courses - Spring 2021
INTL-I 305 Media and the Middle East
Explore media representations of Middle Eastern societies, as well as the role of media in Middle Eastern countries with an emphasis on Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and the Levant.
Learn more
INTL-I 423/500 Empires and the Politics of Post-Imperialism
This course examines the rise, fall, and consequences of empire in world politics. It does so by exploring the justifications and enabling circumstances (e.g. military, political, economic, cultural, ideological, demographic, and geographical) behind a range of imperial forms and practices from ancient Egypt, Persia, and China to classical and modern European empires, through to contemporary times. Among the range of topics covered are imperial ideologies, settler colonialism, the relationship between capitalism and imperialism, the processes of decolonization, and the emergence of neocolonialism in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Learn more
INTL-I 426/520 History of the International System
History of the International System An introduction for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students to the history of the modern international system and major theoretical approaches to understanding how international order changes over time. The course is organized chronologically. It mixes occasional lectures with group discussions of the readings. We study the rise and fall of different international systems, their organizing principles, and the fate of alternative visions for international order that did not come to pass.
Learn more
INTL-I 424/510 Violence against Civilians in War: Causes and Consequences
Why do armed groups engage in violence against civilians? What are the consequences for such conduct? Can such violence be limited in future conflicts? This course seeks to provide a framework for thinking about violence against civilians in war. We will approach these issues from theoretical, ethical, legal, empirical, and policy perspectives, examining the main moral and legal arguments prohibiting the targeting of civilians as well as theories used to understand variation in such armed group conduct. By the end of this course, students will be able to apply this knowledge in order to assess global policies to promote human security. Students pursuing careers in human rights, security, diplomacy, law, or international policy will find this course useful.
Learn moreRecent Faculty Achievements
David Bosco was recently quoted on Vox
Hamid Ekbia published a short essay, "Solace in Solitude," in the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Huss Banai recently made a number of media appearances discussing important current events. He appeared on NPR's On Point show, Public Seminar("On the meaning of Soleimani's death), Background Briefing podcast, BackStory Podcast("On the history of US-Iran relations), Deutsche Welle (airs on PBS before NewsHour), CBC("On what de-escalation means"), and on Vox("On possible implications").
In August, Amali Ibrahim published The Law and Religious Intolerance in Indonesia on the Baker Institute Blog.
Feisal Istrabadi's op-ed, "To Foster Trust, Genuine Federal Structures Must be Constructed," was published by the Iraq Energy Institute.
Sarah Bauerle Danzman published an article in The Monkey Cage titled "Why is the U.S. forcing a Chinese company to sell the gay dating app Grindr?".
Huss Banai participated in a roundtable discussion on Boston radio station WBUR. You can listen to the conversation at radioopensource.org.
Emma Gilligan is participating in an ongoing podcast series, My Smart Roomates. Episodes are available on iTunes, Pippa, and Podcast Republic.
Recent Publications by Faculty
Purnima Bose’s book
Intervention Narratives: Afghanistan, the United States, and the Global War on Terror, was published by Rutgers University Press. Her book is also featured on the Page 99 Test.
Bill Scheuerman’s book
The second, revised and expanded edition of Bill Scheuerman’s The End of Law: Carl Schmitt in The Twenty-First Century has been released by Rowman & Littlefield International (London).
Sarah Bauerle Danzman's book.
Merging Interests by Sarah Bauerle Danzman is now available through Cambridge University Press.
Nur Amali Ibrahim's book
Improvisational Islam: Indonesian Youth in a Time of Possibility, is now available through Cornell University Press.
Stephen Macekura’s book
The Development Century: A Global History (co-edited with Erez Manela of Harvard University), has just been published.
Jess Steinberg's book
Mines, Communities, and States: The Local Politics of Natural Resource Extraction in Africa, is now available through Cambridge University Press.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies