POLITICAL ECONOMY
The objective of this course is to develop understanding of how political institutions and behavior shape economic outcomes, and vice versa. Starting from the micro level study of political behavior, we will build up to analyze the internal workings of institutions and ultimately macro level economic and political outcomes. During the course we will cover the following topics • Limits and potential of markets • Public goods provision • Voting • Redistribution
LABOR ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213. This course examines labor markets through the lens of economics. In broad terms, labor economics is the study of the exchange of labor services for wages—a category that takes in a wide range of topics. Our objective in this course is to lay the foundations for explaining labor market phenomena within an economic framework and subsequently apply this knowledge-structure to a select set of questions. Throughout this process we will discuss empirical research, which will highlight the power (as well as the limitations) of employing economic models to real-world problems. By the end of this course we will have the tools/intuition to adequately formulate and critically contest arguments concerning labor markets.
- MTWR 5:10 p.m.-6:45 p.m.
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Instructor:
Michelle Y Jiang
Info - 3 points
GAME THEORY
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213. Equivalent to ECON UN4415. Introduction to the systematic treatment of game theory and its applications in economic analysis.
- MW 2 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Cesar Barilla
Info - 3 points
TOPICS-NEUROBIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
Examines current topics in neurobiology and behavior.
- MW 10 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Svetlana Rosis
CULPA: 3
Info
- 3 points
IMMIGRANT NEW YORK
- TR 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
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Instructor:
Rebecca Kobrin
CULPA: 7 Info - 4 points
PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213. Types of market failures and rationales for government intervention in the economy. Benefit-cost analysis and the theory of public goods. Positive and normative aspects of taxation. The U.S. tax structure.
- MTWR 3:30 p.m.-5:05 p.m.
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Instructor:
Kyle G Coombs
Info - 3 points
Behavioral Neuroimmunology
In this course we will examine and discuss some of the multiple interactions among the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems, and the consequences of these interactions for health and behavior, using both the human and animal literatures. Topics include the role of the immune system in neural circuit formation and function, cognition and emotion, neuroendocrine-immune interactions during stress, and the effects of infection, stress, or toxin exposure during critical life stages on health vs. disease throughout the lifespan. We will consider current events related to COVID19 in these topics as well. The critical role of the immune system in brain development and the potential role of early-life inflammatory events in the etiology of psychopathology (autism, schizophrenia), allergies and autoimmunity, and neurodegenerative conditions (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's) will be highlighted.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Marisa N Spann
Info - 3 points
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213. Equivalent to ECON UN4500. The theory of international trade, comparative advantage and the factor endowments explanation of trade, analysis of the theory and practice of commercial policy, economic integration. International mobility of capital and labor, the North-South debate.
- MTWR 12:10 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
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Instructor:
Roberta B Tabajara
Info - 3 points
Intensive Laboratory in Biotechnology
INTENSIVE LAB BIOTECH
Prerequisites: Chem UN1403 and CHEM UN1404. Intense laboratory where students desiring an introduction to laboratory skills meet MTWR, 5 hours a day for four weeks in the summer term participating in experimental bench work, data analysis and safe laboratory practice. Grades depend on preparation, participation in the laboratory, short lab reports, critical thinking and experimental skill. There will be two sections for S4515. Section 001 begins June 7th and runs through July 1st. Section 002 begins July 6th and runs through July 29th.
- MTWR noon-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Lili Yamasaki
CULPA: 5 Info - 2 points
Intensive Laboratory in Biotechnology
INTENSIVE LAB BIOTECH
Prerequisites: Chem UN1403 and CHEM UN1404. Intense laboratory where students desiring an introduction to laboratory skills meet MTWR, 5 hours a day for four weeks in the summer term participating in experimental bench work, data analysis and safe laboratory practice. Grades depend on preparation, participation in the laboratory, short lab reports, critical thinking and experimental skill. There will be two sections for S4515. Section 001 begins June 7th and runs through July 1st. Section 002 begins July 6th and runs through July 29th.
- MTWR noon-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Lili Yamasaki
CULPA: 5 Info - 2 points
COMICS: READING THE MEDIUM
This course will offer an immersion in both the history and the language of comics, from the newspaper strips through the early comic books to today's graphic novels. Beginning with readings that offer a theoretical framework and an analytical vocabulary, students will examine and discuss the way page layout, panel composition, color, lettering, sound effects, and more help carry and shape the narrative, as soundtracks and shot composition do in film. Readings will include wordless works by Shaun Tan, classic works by Alison Bechdel, as well as many that may be less familiar. Students will analyze the American, Asian, and European approaches to comics. Guest speakers from the comics industry will aid in developing students' analytical skills. Instructor permission is required for registration after 5/28.
- MW 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Karen L Green
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
HOW TO WRITE FUNNY
In this class we will consider the various forms and functions of humor in written prose, discussing techniques and approaches to humor writing. Students will write their own humorous stories and essays which we will read and discuss in class, focusing not only on what is or isn't funny, but on how humor can be advantageously used to increase the power of an overall piece. The class will also break down stories, novels, and essays from a variety of authors-Bill Hicks' political satire; the darkly comedic fiction of Barry Hannah and Paul Beatty; the absurd humor of Tina Fey and Baratunde Thurston; Anthony Lane's charming British snarkiness; Spy Magazine's sharply parodic voice; Woody Allen's one-liners; Lena Dunham's zeitgeist comedy-in an effort to better understand what makes their humor work. Students will be asked to write stories inspired and influenced by these authors. As we critique each other's work, we will investigate strategies related to the craft of humor writing, including self-deprecation, political satire, humor and the other, going blue, dark comedy, schtick, humor as a means vs. humor as an end, crossing the line, and how to write funny without sacrificing substance.
- MW 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Patricia A Marx
Info - 3 points
GLOBAL ENERGY: SECURITY/GEOPOL
The course focuses on the nexus between energy and security as it reveals in the policies and interaction of leading energy producers and consumers. Topics include: hydrocarbons and search for stability and security in the Persian Gulf, Caspian basin, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America; Russia as a global energy player; role of natural gas in the world energy balance and European energy security; transformation of the global energy governance structure; role and evolution of the OPEC; introduction into energy economics; dynamics and fundamentals of the global energy markets; IOCs vs NOCs; resource nationalism, cartels, sanctions and embargoes; Asia's growing energy needs and its geo-economic and strategic implications; nuclear energy and challenges to non-proliferation regime; alternative and renewable sources of energy; climate change and attempts of environmental regulation; emerging international carbon regimes and search for optimal models of sustainable development. Special focus on implications of the shale revolution and technological innovations on U.S. energy security.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Albert Bininachvili
CULPA: 6
Info
- 3 points
STRAT INTELLIGNC/POL DEC MAKNG
The interaction of intelligence and political decision-making in the U.S. other Western democracies, Russia and China. Peculiarities of intelligence in the Middle East (Israel, Iran, Pakistan). Intelligence analyzed both as a governmental institution and as a form of activity, with an emphasis on complex relations within the triangle of intelligence communities, national security organizations, and high-level political leadership. Stages and disciplines of intelligence process. Intelligence products and political decision-making. The function of intelligence considered against the backdrop of rapid evolution of information technologies, changing meaning of homeland security, and globalization. Particular emphasis on the role of intelligence in the prevention of terrorism and WMD proliferation.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Albert Bininachvili
CULPA: 6
Info
- 3 points
MADE IN AMER: MAFIA IN CINEMA
In this course (whose title is taken from the name of the final episode of The Sopranos) we focus on America’s three greatest practitioners of the so-called “Mafia Movie.” In the first half of the course we examine representations of Mafia in the films of Coppola and Scorsese; in the second half, we perform a comprehensive reading of The Sopranos, a serial that redefined not only the gangster genre, but the aesthetic possibilities of television itself. In addition to our close-readings of the primary cinematic texts, we will pay attention to literary, historical, and anthropological sources on Mafia, both in America and in Italy. In the unit on The Sopranos, we will also consider connections to other contemporary representations of American gangsterism, particularly in the medium of television. Critical avenues privileged will include gender, sexuality, criminal and political economy, poetics of place, internationalism, dialect, plurilingualism and the politics of language, ethnicity and race, diaspora, philosophies of violence, philosophies of power.
- MW 1 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Stefan Pedatella
CULPA: 36
Info
- 3 points
REVOL/RAD POLITICS-MARX-MAY'68
This seminar will expose students to classical texts in political theory relating to revolutionary action, political ethics and social militancy from the Communist Manifesto to 1968. The course will explore the idea of revolutionary ethics as conceived by Western and non-Western political philosophers and militants. The discussion will stress the connection between philosophers and revolutionary leaders and the transformation of the idea of radical politics through the dialogue between these two discourses (the philosophical and the militant) and the public reception of revolutionary events in the media and commemorative writings. Authors will be examined according to their historical context and their role in the tradition of political thought and the history of radical politics from 1848 to the mid-sixties. Students will be exposed to different discourses of political militancy and radical politics and to reflect on the ethical implications of the history of radical thought and action in comparative perspective.
- TR 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Alheli Alvarado-Diaz
CULPA: 9
Info
- 4 points
DATA ANALYSIS WITH PYTHON
This course is meant to provide an introduction to regression and applied statistics for the social sciences, with a strong emphasis on utilizing the Python software language to perform the key tasks in the data analysis workflow. Topics to be covered include various data structures, basic descriptive statistics, regression models, multiple regression analysis, interactions, polynomials, Gauss-Markov assumptions and asymptotics, heteroskedasticity and diagnostics, data visualization, models for binary outcomes, models for ordered data, first difference analysis, factor analysis, and cluster analysis. Through a variety of lab assignments, students will be able to generate and interpret quantitative data in helpful and provocative ways. Only relatively basic mathematics skills are assumed, but some more advanced math will be introduced as needed. A previous introductory statistics course that includes linear regression is helpful, but not required.
- MW 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Gregory M Eirich
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
Entrepreneurial Principles and Quantitat
Entrepren & Quant Reasoni
This course is structured around class-wide and individual exercises that introduce students to the key principles of entrepreneurial thinking, such as identifying problems and opportunities, thinking creatively, developing minimally viable products (MVPs) and low fidelity prototypes, creating a reliable workflow, pivoting and course-correcting, finding valuable help, and developing productive habits. In addition, students are introduced to the key tools of quantitative reasoning, including surveys, observational data, experiments, simulation and projections, data analysis, statistical reasoning, organized researching, and persuasive and authoritative writing – and how those tools support entrepreneurial projects. Students should leave the class equipped with the sense that they themselves can produce constructive change in their world, along with a blueprint for how to go about getting it started.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Gregory M Eirich
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
NATURAL LANG PROCESSING SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social scientists need to engage with natural language processing (NLP) approaches that are found in computer science, engineering, AI, tech and in industry. This course will provide an overview of natural language processing as it is applied in a number of domains. The goal is to gain familiarity with a number of critical topics and techniques that use text as data, and then to see how those NLP techniques can be used to produce social science research and insights. This course will be hands-on, with several large-scale exercises. The course will start with an introduction to Python and associated key NLP packages and github. The course will then cover topics like language modeling; part of speech tagging; parsing; information extraction; tokenizing; topic modeling; machine translation; sentiment analysis; summarization; supervised machine learning; and hidden Markov models. Prerequisites are basic probability and statistics, basic linear algebra and calculus. The course will use Python, and so if students have programmed in at least one software language, that will make it easier to keep up with the course.
- MT 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Patrick Houlihan
Info - 3 points
MACHINE LEARNING SOC SCI
Prerequisites: basic probability and statistics, basic linear algebra, and calculus This course will provide a comprehensive overview of machine learning as it is applied in a number of domains. Comparisons and contrasts will be drawn between this machine learning approach and more traditional regression-based approaches used in the social sciences. Emphasis will also be placed on opportunities to synthesize these two approaches. The course will start with an introduction to Python, the scikit-learn package and GitHub. After that, there will be some discussion of data exploration, visualization in matplotlib, preprocessing, feature engineering, variable imputation, and feature selection. Supervised learning methods will be considered, including OLS models, linear models for classification, support vector machines, decision trees and random forests, and gradient boosting. Calibration, model evaluation and strategies for dealing with imbalanced datasets, n on-negative matrix factorization, and outlier detection will be considered next. This will be followed by unsupervised techniques: PCA, discriminant analysis, manifold learning, clustering, mixture models, cluster evaluation. Lastly, we will consider neural networks, convolutional neural networks for image classification and recurrent neural networks. This course will primarily us Python. Previous programming experience will be helpful but not requisite. Prerequisites: basic probability and statistics, basic linear algebra, and calculus.
- MW 1 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Michael Parrott
Info - 3 points
PROBABILITY
Prerequisites: At least one semester of calculus. A calculus-based introduction to probability theory. Topics covered include random variables, conditional probability, expectation, independence, Bayes rule, important distributions, joint distributions, moment generating functions, central limit theorem, laws of large numbers and Markovs inequality.
- MTWR 4:30 p.m.-6:05 p.m.
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Instructor:
Young S Kim
CULPA: 5
Info
- 3 points
STATISTICAL INFERENCE
Prerequisites: STAT GR5203 or the equivalent, and two semesters of calculus. Calculus-based introduction to the theory of statistics. Useful distributions, law of large numbers and central limit theorem, point estimation, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, maximum likelihood, likelihood ratio tests, nonparametric procedures, theory of least squares and analysis of variance.
- MTWR 6:15 p.m.-7:50 p.m.
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Instructor:
David A Rios
CULPA: 16 Info - 3 points
LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS
Prerequisites: STAT GR5203 and GR5204 or the equivalent. Theory and practice of regression analysis, Simple and multiple regression, including testing, estimation, and confidence procedures, modeling, regression diagnostics and plots, polynomial regression, colinearity and confounding, model selection, geometry of least squares. Extensive use of the computer to analyse data.
- MTWR 6:15 p.m.-7:50 p.m.
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Instructor:
Daniel Rabinowitz
CULPA: 19 h-index: 34 Info - 3 points
STAT COMP & INTRO DATA SCIENCE
Prerequisites: STAT GU5204 and STAT GU5205 Open to MA students in Statistics only Introduction to programming in the R statistical package: functions, objects, data structures, flow control, input and output, debugging, logical design, and abstraction. Writing code for numerical and graphical statistical analyses. Writing maintainable code and testing, stochastic simulations, paralleizing data analyses, and working with large data sets. Examples from data science will be used for demonstration.
- MTWR 4:30 p.m.-6:05 p.m.
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Instructor:
Gabriel Young
CULPA: 7 Info - 3 points
Time Series Analysis
Open to MA students in Statistics only Prerequisites: STAT GU4205 or the equivalent. Least squares smoothing and prediction, linear systems, Fourier analysis, and spectral estimation. Impulse response and transfer function. Fourier series, the fast Fourier transform, autocorrelation function, and spectral density. Univariate Box-Jenkins modeling and forecasting. Emphasis on applications. Examples from the physical sciences, social sciences, and business. Computing is an integral part of the course.
- MW 1 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Rongning Wu
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
BAYESIAN STATISTICS
This course introduces the Bayesian paradigm for statistical inference. Topics covered include prior and posterior distributions: conjugate priors, informative and non-informative priors; one- and two-sample problems; models for normal data, models for binary data, Bayesian linear models, Bayesian computation: MCMC algorithms, the Gibbs sampler; hierarchical models; hypothesis testing, Bayes factors, model selection; use of statistical software. Prerequisites: A course in the theory of statistical inference, such as STAT GU4204/GR5204 a course in statistical modeling and data analysis such as STAT GU4205/GR5205.
- MTWR 6:15 p.m.-7:50 p.m.
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Instructor:
Daniel Rabinowitz
CULPA: 19 h-index: 34 Info - 3 points
STATISTICAL MACHINE LEARNING
Prerequisites: STAT GR5206 or the equivalent. Open to MA students in Statistics only The course will provide an introduction to Machine Learning and its core models and algorithms. The aim of the course is to provide students of statistics with detailed knowledge of how Machine Learning methods work and how statistical models can be brought to bear in computer systems - not only to analyze large data sets, but to let computers perform tasks that traditional methods of computer science are unable to address. Examples range from speech recognition and text analysis through bioinformatics and medical diagnosis. This course provides a first introduction to the statistical methods and mathematical concepts which make such technologies possible.
- MTWR 2:45 p.m.-4:20 p.m.
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Instructor:
Banu Baydil
CULPA: 10
Info
- 3 points
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR FINANCE
Prerequisites: STAT GR5204 or the equivalent. STAT GR5205 is recommended. Open to MA students in Statistics only A fast-paced introduction to statistical methods used in quantitative finance. Financial applications and statistical methodologies are intertwined in all lectures. Topics include regression analysis and applications to the Capital Asset Pricing Model and multifactor pricing models, principal components and multivariate analysis, smoothing techniques and estimation of yield curves statistical methods for financial time series, value at risk, term structure models and fixed income research, and estimation and modeling of volatilities. Hands-on experience with financial data.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Hammou El Barmi
CULPA: 8
Info
- 3 points
TOPICS IN MODERN STATISTICS
APPLIED SURVEY-DATA ANLYS
Topics in Modern Statistics will provide MA Statistics students with an opportunity to study a specialized area of statistics in more depth and to meet the educational needs of a rapidly growing field.
- MW 4:30 p.m.-7:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Emanuel Ben-David
Info - 3 points
Summer Internship in Climate and Society
SUMMER INTERN:CLIM & SOC
Prerequisites: enrollment in the M.A. Program in Climate and Society. During the third and final term of study for the 12-month M.A. Program in Climate and Society, students must complete either a thesis or internship and simultaneously enroll in EESC W4405. The summer internship requires a minimum of 140 hours of professional participation during the Summer Term in a position related to core issues of concern to the Program. The selected position must be approved by the Director of the M.A. Program by a specified date in the Spring Semester preceding the Summer Term. The position must be substantive in nature and must constitute a practical, professional experience. Students will be evaluated on the basis of oral and written updates on the work, a student internship report to be submitted at the end of the Summer Term, and on the basis of a supervisor report form to be submitted by the site supervisor for the internship.
- 6 points
CAPSTONE WORKSHOP IN CLIMATE AND SOCIETY
In this course, students will work jointly with a client organization in the climate and society field. Under the guidance of the instructors, they will take a short request from the organization for a specific product (data analysis, program development, curricular and training material, or other related items), develop a work plan, implement the work plan, and present the final product to the client. This course gives students direct experience in the co-production of knowledge in the climate and society field, a valuable skill in the contemporary world. It extends the training in the integration of natural science and social science that is a hallmark of the Climate + Society program. It includes training in the construction of a boundary object--a final product--conducted jointly with the client organization; this training includes instruction in project design, implementation and evaluation, and in communication between organizations.
- 6 points
An Introduction to Complex Climate Risks
Intro to Complex Climate
Extreme climate and weather events can lead to cascading failures that can spread within and across socio-environmental systems and sectors, often disproportionally affecting underserved communities. Climate change is projected to lead to more frequent and more severe extreme weather events amplifying the likelihood of Complex Climate Risks through multivariate, concurrent, and sequential climate extremes affecting societal systems (e.g., food, health, supply chains, finance) and critical infrastructure (e.g., water, energy, communication, transportation) in complicated ways that are challenging to anticipate and prepare for. Understanding and mitigating Complex Climate Risks in a changing climate in compliance with climate equity and justice requires joint efforts from a broad range of scientific communities across disciplines and temporal and spatial scales - from local to global extent, synoptic to decadal variability, and hazard characterization to detailed risk and impact assessment. In recognition that univariate risk assessments might fail to acknowledge amplified risks for societies, from inter-related hazards and affected sectors, a complex risk perspective is increasingly required in the context of understanding climate impacts, resilience and adaptation. This course will provide an introduction to Complex Climate Risks by discussing recent frameworks developed to address them under current and future climate conditions. Several recent real-world events in which societal impacts were amplified by compounding climatic drivers and interactions with societal systems, leading to e.g. conflicts and migration, amplified mortality and failure of critical infrastructures are reviewed. Examples include the 2010 heatwave which caused increased mortality and harvest failures and their connection to the Arab Spring uprising a year later, the links of a year-long with the Syrian Civil and the mass migration that followed in 2015 and the 2021 February Texas cold spell that left millions without electricity and water for days under severe cold conditions in particular in poorer neighborhoods. This course will provide the students with a thorough understanding of Complex Climate Risks, the typology of different compounding hazards and statistical approaches bridging the physical and societal spheres for a more integral climate risk assessment. Guided by recent literature quantitative and qualitative frameworks that aim at assessing current and future climate risks to turn them into a
- TR 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Kai Kornhuber
Info - 1.5 points
MAFN FIELDWORK
Prerequisites: all 6 MAFN core courses, at least 6 credits of approved electives, and the instructors permission. See the MAFN website for details. This course provides an opportunity for MAFN students to engage in off-campus internships for academic credit that counts towards the degree. Graded by letter grade. Students need to secure an internship and get it approved by the instructor.
- 1-3 points
INDEPENDENT STUDY
This course offers students an opportunity to expand their curriculum beyond the established course offerings. Interested parties must consult with the QMSS Program Director before adding the class. This course may be taken for 2-4 points.
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Instructor:
Gregory M Eirich
CULPA: 1 Info - 1-4 points
UNITED NATIONS & HUMAN RIGHTS
What is the UN track record in promoting and protecting human rights? This intense six-week course will examine the UN human rights standards, mechanisms, institutions and procedures established over the past sixty years and question their effectiveness. With a particular focus on the actions (or lack thereof) of the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and diverse international judicial institutions like the International Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, the course will illustrate, through practical case studies, the inherent challenges associated with the protection of human dignity, the enforcement of human rights and the fight against impunity.
- TR 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
David Marshall
Info - 3 points
UN & CHALLENGE OF PEACEBUILDING
UN & CHAL OF PEACEBUILDIN
Peacebuilding is complex and multi-faceted encompassing security, sustainable development, human rights, reconciliation of past differences, and, ultimately, societal transformation. It is above all else an inherently political process. This course examines the evolution in thinking and approaches to peacebuilding and how it has been put into practice by the United Nations, at both the Headquarters and country levels. We will look at the many stakeholders, the need for partnerships and the challenge of coordination, as well as the tools used by the UN in its support to peacebuilding. We will also extract lessons learned and the conditions for peacebuilding to succeed, with special attention to the UN’s work in supporting peacebuilding at the country level.
- MW 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
James William Rawley
Info - 3 points
UN & MAINT OF INTL PEACE & SEC
The United Nations recently passed its seventieth anniversary and a new Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was selected by the Security Council to succeed Ban Ki-moon. At this critical juncture, the international system is being challenged to provide adequate responses to the rise of violent extremist groups, waves of refugees arriving in Europe, and to --†fewer but deadlier --armed conflicts. As prevention continues to be elusive and recent - mostly intrastate --armed conflicts have proven to be particularly resistant to peaceful settlement whether through mediation, the deployment of peace operations or peacebuilding projects, the question of the relevance of the UN is posed yet again. Has the Security Council been successful in using the tools at its disposal, from prevention to peace operations and enforcement measures? What has become of the Responsibility to Protect? Is a divided Security Council facing a crisis of relevance? What does it mean for peace operations sent where there is no peace to keep? What are the persisting obstacles to effective prevention? What are the lessons from the evolving partnership with regional organizations? How can peace be sustained over the long term? What will have been Ban Ki Moon's legacy? What are the prospects for UN reform and what could it look like? To address these questions and more, the course will examine the evolving role of the world organization in global security, shaped by its member states with different strategic interests and by the broader geopolitical context in which it operates.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Arthur Boutellis
Info - 3 points
THE UN AND DEVELOPMENT
This six week course provides an overview of the contribution the United Nations development system has made in the sphere of development. The course traces the historical evolution of the UN's contribution in the areas of development cooperation, poverty reduction, environment and climate, human rights, gender and humanitarian action. It explores the emerging role of non-state actors, in particular the private sector and civil society. The last sessions will examine in detail the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030 and the recognition that to be relevant in today's rapidly changing world, the UN must commit itself to major reform. The course will draw extensively from the practical experience of the instructor.
- MW 5:30 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Kimberly Gamble-Payne
Info - 3 points
COMPARATIVE FOREIGN POLICY
This course explores the unique and distinct foreign policy behavior of different states in the international system. Explanations of state behavior will be drawn from many overarching international relations frameworks including but not necessarily limited to realism, liberalism, and constructivism. The effects of power, culture, institutions and history will be examined.
- TR 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Zachary C Shirkey
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
US FOREIGN POLICY
This course examines the foundations, decision-making processes, and substance of American foreign policy, particularly as it has developed over the past fifty years. We explore the role of American political culture, the presidency, Congress, and the foreign policy bureaucracy in helping to determine America's relationship with other states and international organizations. We pay particular attention to the recurring tensions that run through American foreign policy: isolationism v. internationalism, security v. prosperity, diplomacy v. military power, unilateralism v. multilateralism, and realism v. idealism. Each week we will explore a broad theoretical/conceptual theme and then focus on a specific topic that exemplifies a practical application of the theme.
- MW 9 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Bruce L Cronin
CULPA: 13 Info - 3 points
INTL RELATIONS:THRY & CONCEPTS
Through a review of major academic literature, lectures, and class discussion, this course examines many of the central concepts, theories, and analytical tools used in contemporary social science to understand international affairs. The theoretical literature is drawn from fields including comparative politics, international relations, political sociology, and economics. The course is designed to enhance students' abilities to think critically and analytically about current problems and challenges in international politics.
- MW 2 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Laura R Samotin
h-index: 0 Info - 3 points
EAST ASIAN SECURITY
This course empowers students to develop a deep understanding of the major issues of East Asian security. We will examine the various challenges to stability in East Asia in the context of power, institutions, and ideas (the three primary factors that impact international relations), including: China’s increasing assertiveness; the North Korean nuclear crisis; historical stigma amongst Japan, South Korea, and China; lingering Cold War confrontations on the Korean Peninsula and across the Taiwan Strait; and an unstable relationship between the US and China. Through a comparison with the West, students will inquire whether a unique approach is required when considering appropriate responses to security issues in East Asia.
- MW 2 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Fumiko Sasaki
Info - 3 points
INTL POLITICAL ECONOMY
This course serves as an introduction to the study of international political and economic relations. We look at the connections between politics and economics as well as markets and governments and relate them to key substantive issue areas such as finance, trade, investment, marketing, income inequality and poverty, and globalization. In examining the issue areas, we shall look both at how scholars think about them and how private and public decision makers analyze and impact them. The teaching is informed by the sharing with students knowledge deriving from multiple disciplines, cultures, and languages to help them gain useful real-world insights.
- TR 2 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
David E Spiro
CULPA: 1 h-index: 6 Info - 3 points
Ukrainian Foreign Pol: Russia, Eur, & US
Ukrainian Foreign Policy
The course consists of three parts: historical background, thematic and political issues, and conclusions. It provides historical perspectives on the development of today's Ukraine, analyzes the evolution of its politics since independence, and delves into its quest for Euro-Atlantic integration. While providing an assessment of political, social, and economic transformations, the course examines major causes of Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity. The current political situation in the country and the current war with Russia will be thoroughly investigated. The top priority of Ukraine's foreign policy is to ensure international support for its efforts to rebuff Russia’s full-fledged aggression and to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Can diplomacy still play a role? What is to be done to solve existing internal problems? What is to be done to restore the country? Can Ukraine’s president, its government, and parliament solve all these problems? Is there a future for UN peacekeeping operations in Ukraine? These and other issues, including international assistance to Ukraine, behind-the-scenes activities, power struggles, and diplomatic endeavors are analyzed in the course. The course delivers first-hand insight by a
career diplomat who has been actively involved in the implementation of Ukraine's foreign policy and closely connected with the upper echelons of the country's political establishment.
- TR 2 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Valerii Kuchynskyi
Info - 3 points