This Course and Program Catalogue is effective from May 2023 to April 2024.

Not all courses described in the Course and Program Catalogue are offered each year. For a list of course offerings in 2023-2024, please consult the class search website.

The following conventions are used for course numbering:

  • 010-099 represent non-degree level courses
  • 100-699 represent undergraduate degree level courses
  • 700-999 represent graduate degree level courses

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10 Results

IS 211.3: Introduction to International Studies Development

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.


IS 212.3: International Studies and Conflict

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.


IS 298.3: Special Topics

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


IS 299.6: Special Topics

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


IS 398.3: Special Topics

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


IS 399.6: Special Topics

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


IS 401.3: International Cooperation and Conflict

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.


IS 402.3: International Development

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.


IS 498.3: Special Topics

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


IS 499.6: Special Topics

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