International Studies

REEI-R 300/500 & INTL-I 300 Russian Foreign Relations and Eastern Europe

Why did Russia annex Crimea in March 2014? Why does Moscow continue to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine? What can the Ukrainian crisis tell us about Russia’s relationship with Eastern Europe more broadly? This course will examine Russian foreign relations in Eastern Europe since the Second World War, exploring topics such as the rise and fall of the Soviet bloc, economic interdependence, and the security challenges of the post-Cold War order. Lectures, readings, and discussions will also consider how Russian relations with other parts of the world, particularly the West, affected Moscow’s behavior in the region during the Cold War and after.

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.

INTL-I 206 Peace and Conflict

This course will investigate intersections between "identity" and "conflict." We will consider how different forms of identity--such as ethnic, religious, political, and gender--can become the basis for people to mobilize. We will analyze the processes through which certain identities are affirmed at the cost of alternative ones, paying careful attention to how and why people participate in acts of violence and discrimination against those whose identities are deemed undesirable. Rather than view conflicts as irreducibly based in identity, however, we will seek to understand how they emerge out of local conditions and historical legacies, and can be shaped by national, regional, and transnational contexts. Our approach will be interdisciplinary, drawing on readings from anthropology, cultural studies, and political theory. Students will acquire some familiarity with critical concepts such as colonialism and post-colonialism, the nation and the state, race and ethnicity, and globalization and neoliberalism.

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.

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.

INTL-I 310 Global Internet Governance: Sovereignty in the Digital Age

Why did the US administration seek to ban TikTok? Why does Russia want the United Nations to regulate the internet? Why is the European Union battling with the Silicon Valley giants over their business practices? These questions fall under the ambit of global internet governance, the administration of the global internet's technology, and policy. The course will trace how internet governance evolved from a niche technical domain into one of the most contentious arenas of global politics. The tension between the internet's global reach and national sovereignty will be at the center of this examination.

Second 8-week course

INTL-I 325 Women, Gender & Human Rights - in Spanish

Students will discuss the way groups organizing around gender issues strategize and utilize the various tools available to them in their attempts to eect political and social change. Concurrent enrollment in INTL-I304 #8048, Women, Gender and Human Rights Movements (which is taught in English) is recommended, but not required.

Course taught in Spanish

INTL-I 325 Contemporary Latin America - in Spanish

Students will discuss pertinent problems of contemporary Latin America, such as urbanization, industrialization, and revolution. Concurrent enrollment in LTAM-L211 #6241 (which is taught in English) is recommended, but not required.

Course taught in Spanish