Course Descriptions

This course introduces students to key themes in international development. In an interconnected and interdependent world, it is imperative to understand the conditions under which a majority of the world lives, how these conditions have come to be, and what is being done to address concerns of inequity and poverty. Themes of colonialism, globalization, gender, debt, trade, democracy, sustainable development, migration, health, education, and emerging powers are explored. To make sense of such a diverse and complex set of issues, the course has three primary objectives: first, to contextualize international development into its historical setting; second, to introduce the theories which seek to understand and explain international development; and third, to apply these theoretical constructs to specific issues and cases of international development.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Permission of the Department.
Prerequisite(s): 18 credit units at the 100-level including at least 12 credit units from ANTH, ECON, GEOG, HIST, POLS, RLST, RUSS, SOC, SPAN, UKR, WGST.
Note:Students who have taken IS 200.6 may not take this course for credit.

It is well known that we live in an age of intense international engagement. Countries and peoples are tied together by economics and trade, migration, environmental realities, and popular culture while also divided by religions, values, ideologies, issues of military and economic power, and ethnic and political conflicts. The course addresses some of the most complex interactions and tensions that define our world. In IS 212, we will look at patterns of conflict in international affairs and the causes of war, from world wars to ideological clashes and social protests, as well as some of the processes and institutions of cooperation, which range from the United Nations and a variety of political conventions to broadly based social movements that seek to address the inequities and unfairness of the modern era.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Permission of the Department.
Prerequisite(s): 18 credit units at the 100-level including at least 12 credit units from ANTH, ECON, GEOG, HIST, POLS, RLST, RUSS, SOC, SPAN, UKR, WGST.
Note:Students who have taken IS 200.6 may not take this course for credit.

This course offers an introduction to key research methods and approaches in the interdisciplinary field of International Studies. In a hands-on way, it teaches students how to best practice academic research, as well as apply varying quantitative tools and qualitative critiques when analyzing international relations and development. Topics include: the relationship between imperialism and the production of knowledge about things “international”; the racial legacies of the discipline of International Studies; the impact of transnational social movements on changing understandings of the international system; the challenges languages and translation when researching international matters; and how to best utilize a university library.

Prerequisite(s): 18 credit units at the 100-level including at least 12 credit units from ANTH, ARBC, CHIN, ECON, FREN, GEOG, GERM, HIST, INDG, JPNS, POLS, SOC, SPAN, UKR, WGST.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

This seminar explores the contribution that interdisciplinary theory and research make toward understanding international cooperation and conflict with special attention to the role and evolution of military and peace interventions in global society. Topics will include war and peace, global community, humanitarianism, militarism, and peacebuilding as well as an examination of the roles of international organizations and non-governmental organizations in international conflict and cooperation.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): IS 211.3 and IS 212.3; or the permission of the IS program adviser or the Political Studies Department Head.
Note: Students with credit for IS 400 may not take this course for credit. It is recommended that students complete HIST 292 and HIST 293 prior to taking this course.

A seminar course that explores the contribution that interdisciplinary theory and research make toward understanding international issues, particularly international development. Topics will include theoretical conceptualization of development, democracy, globalization, and gender. As well, it will engage with debates around issues such as climate change, global inequalities, food security, and the role of civil society groups in development.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): IS 211.3 and IS 212.3; or the permission of the IS program adviser or the Political Studies Department Head.
Note: Students with credit for IS 400 may not take this course for credit. It is recommended that students complete HIST 292 and HIST 293 prior to taking this course.

Individuals cannot solve the climate emergency, even if we all have a role to play. Neither can individual countries. Climate change is a collective action problem that requires international cooperation to transform the global economy by 2050. Building on the success of the Montreal Protocol, the United Nations has worked to bring its member nations together in a similar process to confront climate change. The results of the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) Climate Change Conferences dating back to 1995 have been decidedly mixed. The United States never ratified the Kyoto Protocol and the 2009 Copenhagen meeting failed to reach an agreement. In 2015, the Paris Agreement made a breakthrough, but subsequent COP meetings have struggled to find agreement on how to meet the Paris targets or adequately fund the Loss and Damage Fund. This course will focus on this international process, first by stepping back and exploring the historical context of climate science, planetary thinking, economic growth, denialism and obstruction, new technologies, and the efficacy of international environmental agreements. We will then work together to organize a mock future COP meeting, developing negotiating positions for different national governments with the goal of developing what a new agreement might look like that address competing national concerns (e.g. United States, China, India, Canada, the European Union, Nigeria, and Small Island Nations). We will also consider the role of non-governmental actors in the COP meeting and the success of the commitments (e.g. the United Nations, large banks, Greenpeace and the Sunrise Movement, the climate tech sector, farmers organizations, and the major oil companies).

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): IS 220.3, IS 211.3 or IS 212.3; or the permission of the IS program adviser or the History Department Head.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours