How do scientific and technical experts do their work and produce the results that they do? The purpose of this course is to read and critically evaluate the canonical works in the sociology of science, knowledge, and technology and to initiate a research project. The research paper for this course can be tailored to meet the student's long term research or professional interests. The readings are organized chronologically to introduce major works and their authors, present an overview of the development of the field, the diversity of perspectives, turning points, and controversies.
Seminar teaches writing serious research papers in various areas of 20th-century American history, based on primary sources.
This course provides graduate students with a topical introduction to major themes in the history of communications since the Enlightenment. The focus is on media organizations and public policy. Attention will be paid to visual media, news reporting, and digital journalism. Readings are drawn not only from history, but also from media studies, literature, and historical sociology. Field(s): EME
The course seeks to analyze the dynamics and issues that describe relations between the United States and Latin America since the end of World War II. A complete picture of the current state of affairs in the hemisphere and the reasons that led to it require an analysis in three different - but related - dimensions. To cover the first one, the course analyzes historical benchmarks that contextualize particular overt American interventions in the region, dissecting their causes, operation and consequences. In a second dimension, the course looks at topics that have permeated the relationship between the United States and Latin America over this period. Because of their typically cross-national nature, they illustrate a different set of dynamics and concerns that have fueled tensions in the relationship. A third and final dimension concerns recent developments in Latin America that affect and have been affected by American foreign policy. Their novelty suggests that these issues will remain relevant at least in the immediate future.
Prerequisites: the instructor's permission.
Students will make presentations of original research.
Prerequisites: Instructor's permission prior to registration.
This course explores new research on the individual and organizational determinants of candidate selection, accountability, and representation in new and developing democracies. Developing democracies have weak states and parties that pose new challenges to existing research on democratic accountability. This course focuses on seven questions: 1) What purpose do political parties serve in places with low bureaucratic capacity 2) Why are some parties stronger (i.e., more disciplined, cohesive, and institutionalized) than others? 3) When will parties in developing countries campaign on programmatic platforms? 4) How do individuals decide which candidates to vote for? 5) When do politicians using vote-buying and patronage to win elections succeed? 6) Under what circumstances do politicians successfully use violence and economic threats to win elections? 7) How do politicians in new democracies manipulate institutional rules to win elections?
Prerequisites: the instructor's permission.
Students will make presentations of original research.
Required of all Harriman Institute Certificate candidates. For registration purposes the actual course number is HSPS G8445x.
Prerequisites: the instructor's permission.
A graduate seminar designed to explore the content, process, and problems of China's political and economic reforms in comparative perspective. Please see the Courseworks site for details
This course examines central issues in contemporary international security policy such as causes of war, American primacy, rising major powers, international and civil wars, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, unconventional warfare, crisis management, standards for legitimate use of force, and key concepts in the study of international politics and conflict.
Prerequisites: the instructor's permission.
Required of all first-year PhD students in American history. Open to history PhD students only. **formerly titled "Literature of American History" Field(s): US
Individual work with an adviser to develope a topic and proposal for the Ph.D. dissertation.
A review of research methods from the perspective of social work research concerns. Topics include problem formulation, research design, data-gathering techniques, measurement, and data analysis. Selected aspects of these areas encountered in social work research are intensively reviewed in terms of social work research.
This course, which will be taught by a practitioner, will focus on United Nations peacekeeping operations as one of the main conflict management tools of the Security Council (SC) in Africa. Through an extensive series of case studies (Somalia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic and Cote d'Ivoire), It will closely examine the tool of peace keeping, the context in which it operates, the evolution of its doctrine, the lessons learned, and the challenges ahead. Drawing on the recent report of the High-level Independent Panel on peace operations (HIPPO), and the cases studies above, it will elaborate on the many issues in peacekeeping today,in particular the limits of the use of force, the protection of civilians, the nexus peacekeeping/peacebuilding, and the increased partnership with regional and subregional organizations.
This course will examine the inner workings of the UN Security Council and how they have evolved over the years in order to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of power relationships within the international community, of the ways large and small countries seek to advance or defend their interests, and of how the working methods of the Council have been adjusted to better meet new challenges, such as human security, non-proliferation, and counter terrorism. Inequality-among its members, between them and the other 178 Member States, and between the Council and other international bodies--has been a defining characteristic of the composition, procedures, and rules of the world's premier security institution from the outset. Through case studies and conversations with practitioners, including the representatives of large, emerging, and smaller powers, the class will assess what kinds of reforms might be needed in how the Council goes about the critical business of maintaining international peace and security. The course aims to provide an informed and nuanced understanding of the politics and procedures of the Council for those in civil society, governments, international secretariats, and research institutions who seek to assess, influence, or work with the Council.
This is a Public Health Course. Public Health classes are offered on the Health Services Campus at 168th Street.For more detailed course information, please go to Mailman School of Public Health Courses website at http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu/academics/courses