This course provides an overview of the history and modern issues of peace and war with an emphasis on the institutions in Washington, D.C. (ie. Pentagon, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Amnesty International, State Department, CIA). Through reading ethnographic and historical case studies, as well as theoretical, journalistic, and polemical works, the course explores why and how the […]
history
Locating the International
This two-part course begins by exploring how we understand the international. Usually, we tend to think of the international as being defined by the line between the domestic and the foreign. However, this line is often moving, blurrier than we think, and even appears in new places. By engaging students with a range of material […]
International Crisis Management
While nation states and regional political groupings complete and sometimes clash, no one seeks conflict per se. Common objectives, however, often imply different approaches toward an endpoint of peace, security, and prosperity. Human and natural disasters bring disruption to human well-being. Drawing on simulations from U.S. Army War College tabletop exercises and matrices developed for […]
Poverty in a Rich Country
Do some Americans choose to be takers rather than makers? Or is the economy rigged to ensure that money and power flow continually from the poor to the rich? Through multi-media sources drawn from economics, history, philosophy, sociology, public policy, medicine, religion, and journalism, this course will explore a wide range of ideological and evidence-based […]
Quest for Justice
This course introduces students to an on-going dialogue at the core of Western intellectual history about how to think about justice. The course examines how the attempt to achieve clarity about the fundamental problems of justice gives rise to new questions and problems that were not apparent at first. The central theme of the course […]
Place and Politics
So much of our lives today takes place in the virtual world of the internet that it is easy to forget or ignore the ways in which our physical environment affects our behavior and our self-understanding. This class will explore different theories of place and why it matters for politics. This will include an examination […]
Asia’s Conflict “Flashpoints”
Why do interstate conflicts occur? What causes them to become intractable or to escalate in intensity such that they threaten regional or international security? To what extent could, or should the U.S. play a role in helping to defuse or resolve them? This course addresses these questions through an examination of three “flashpoints” of conflict […]
Who is DC
Outsiders often miss the vibrant neighborhoods of DC, which have deep histories and distinctive cultures. Today, DC neighborhoods face intense pressure to change. Through 3-5 field trips, interviews with residents and local politicians, and our own picture-based maps, students in “Who is DC?: exploring neighborhood identity, interviewing locals, and analyzing campaigns for stronger places” will […]
Branding Nations and Cultures
Branding Nations and Cultures will advance the goals of the Complex Problems program by using communications theory and practical application texts & learning tools to unpack concepts of national narratives in global diplomacy. Throughout the course, the very accessible concepts of national identity (and the branding of places and cultures in addition to nations) will be […]
Defining American
This course examines the question: What does it mean to be an American? We ask questions about race and ethnicity, as well as about ideology and beliefs. While we explore our own identities whether American or not we can all learn about ourselves by understanding the other. Analyzing historical as well as contemporary […]