Courses: Previous Semesters

Courses Spring 2006

Politics: Course Schedule

(for course descriptions see below, after schedule)

310-10100 U. S. Politics
LA/SS,H,1B Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 09:00-09:50AM Juan Arroyo
  • 02 MWF 11:00-11:50AM Juan Arroyo
  • 03 MWF 12:00-12:50PM Alexander Moon
  • 04 MWF 01:00-01:50PM Alexander Moon
  • 05 MW 04:00-04:50PM Staff
  • 06 MW 05:25-06:40PM Staff

310-12300 Political Justice
LA/SS,G,1B Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 09:00-09:50AM Beth Harris
  • 02 MWF 10:00-10:50AM Beth Harris

310-12800 Intro International Relations
LA/SS,G,1B Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 10:00-10:50AM Chip Gagnon
  • 02 MWF 11:00-11:50AM Chip Gagnon

310-12900 Introduction to Global Studies
LA/SS,G,1B Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 10:50-12:05PM Peyi Soyinka-Airewele

310-14200 Ideas and Ideologies
LA/SS,1B,1A Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MW 04:00-05:15PM Charles Venator Santiago
  • 02 MW 05:25-06:40PM Charles Venator Santiago

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310-21000 Hnrs Int Sem: Gender of War
LA Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 09:25-10:40AM Zillah Eisenstein

310-22000 Hnrs Int Sem: Comparative Genocide
LA Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 04:00-05:15PM Donald Beachler

310-24500 Globalization Studies
LA Credits: 3.00

  • 99 TBA TBA William Sheasgreen

310-29900 Field Study
NLA Credits: 1.00-7.00

  • 01 TBA TBA Donald Beachler

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300-level courses

US Politics courses:

310-30600 U.S. Foreign Policy (This course is only open to students accepted into the Washington Program).
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 80 TBA TBA Thomas Bohn

310-31000 Supreme Court US Politics
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 01:00-01:50PM Beth Harris

310-31900 Sltp: US Politics : Race and US Politics
LA/SS Credits: 1.00-3.00

  • 01 MWF 03:00-03:50PM Alexander Moon

310-31900 Sltp: US Politics : The Media and the Military (This course is only open to those students accepted into theWashington Semester Program.)
LA/SS Credits: 1.00-3.00


  • 80 TBA TBA Thomas Bohn

Comparative/International Politics courses:

310-32100 Contemporary British Politics (Only open to students officially accepted into London Program for Spring 2005.)
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 99 W 10:30-01:15PM Rachel Cullenen / William Sheasgreen

310-32800 International Conflict
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 10:50-12:05PM Naeem Inayatullah

310-33000 European Politics
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 02:00-02:50PM Juan Arroyo

310-33500 Crossing Borders/Global Migration
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 MWF 02:00-02:50PM Chip Gagnon

310-34003 Seltp:Compartv/Internl Studies: African Politics of Rights & Culture

LA/SS Credits: 1.00-3.00

  • 01 TR 02:35-03:40PM Peyi Soyinka-Airewele

310-34004 Seltp:Compartv/Internl Studies: Political Economy of African Diaspora Music
LA/SS Credits: 1.00-3.00

  • 01 TR 02:35-03:50PM (JJWCM-2330) Naeem Inayatullah

Political Theory courses:

310-34200 Liberalism and Marxism
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 01:10-02:25PM Zillah Eisenstein

Public Policy courses:

310-36600 Environmental Politics
LA/SS,1A Credits: 3.00

  • 01 TR 01:10-02:25PM Thomas Shevory
  • 02 TR 04:00-05:15PM Thomas Shevory

310-37203 Selected Topics in Washington (Course meets April 10 - 12, 2003 in Washington, DC)
LA Credits: 1.00

  • 80 TBA TBA Thomas Bohn

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400-level courses

310-40100 Seminar: Compara/Interna Study: Political Implications of the Holocaust
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 W 04:00-06:30PM Donald Beachler

310-40100 Seminar: Compara/Interna Study: Race in the Americas
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 02 T 05:25-08:05PM Charles Venator Santiago

310-40200 Seminar : Prisons
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 T 06:50-09:20PM Alexander Moon

310-40300 Tutorial: Compara/Intrnl Study: Comparative Welfare States
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 01 W 04:00-06:30PM Juan Arroyo

310-40300 Tutorial: Compara/Intrnl Study: National Disasters: The Socio-Political Aftermath
LA/SS Credits: 3.00

  • 02 T 04:00-06:30PM Peyi Soyinka-Airewele

310-40500 Internship
NLA Credits: 1.00-12.0

  • 01 TBA TBA Donald Beachler

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DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS (310)
Course Descriptions from the H&S Supplement

The curriculum is designed to give students an understanding of political organization and political forces in modern society, to provide knowledge and a basis for insight and judgment on the problems involved in the relationship of the individual to government and of governments to one another. Students are prepared for the intelligent performance of the functions of citizenship, for careers in public service, foreign relations, teaching at the secondary level, the study of law and for study at the graduate level.

310-10100-01, 02 U.S. POLITICS SS LA 1b, h

3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 312, Ext. 4-3969
ENROLLMENT: 24 per section
PREREQUISITES: None
OBJECTIVES: Institutions, processes, and cultural roots of U.S. politics. Complex interrelationships among a highly specific set of political-economic institutions which have evolved to reflect the conditions of U.S. society; Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, judiciary, parties, interest groups, media, and the electoral process.
STUDENTS: Open to all students.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion/lecture

310-10100-03, 04 U.S. POLITICS SS LA 1h

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Alex Moon, Muller 3o8, Ext. 4-1258

ENROLLMENT: 24 per section

PREREQUISITES: None

OBJECTIVES. This course has three main purposes. In ascending order of importance, it seeks to familiarize students with the role voters, interest groups, the media and parties in the American political system. We will examine the dynamics of American political institutions and (some of) the origins of (some of) the current political cleavages in the U.S.; it will examine the gap between the ideals and practices of American politics.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture/discussion

310-10100-05, 06 U.S. POLITICS SS LA 1h

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Staff

ENROLLMENT: 28 per section

PREREQUISITES: None

OBJECTIVES: This course addresses institutions, processes and cultural roots of US Politics. Complex interrelationships among a highly specific set of political-economic institutions that have evolved to reflect the conditions of US society are explored. Congress, the Presidency, bureaucracy, judiciary, parties, interest groups, media and the electoral process are also covered.

STUDENTS: Open to all students.

310-12300-01, 02 POLITICAL JUSTICE SS LA 1b, g

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Beth Harris, Muller 310, Ext. 4-3517

ENROLLMENT:29 per section

PREREQUISITES: None

OBJECTIVES:We examine the relationships between law, politics power, witnessing, and justice in a comparative context. The readings and videos draw on a number of disciplinary and professional approaches, including law, the social sciences, the humanities, and journalism. We use case studies to analyze conflicts between nation building/national security strategies and those social and politics groups whose civil liberties are threatened by official legal and political strategies. The case studies may explore: 1) the legal dimensions of conflicts between the Cherokee Nation, American settlers, and the United States government. 2) the legal consolidation of the Third Reich in Germany and its impact on Jewish people under its rule. 3) the legal construction of Israel’s military rule over the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the impact of military occupation on the Palestinian population. 4) the transformation of law and consequences of “official” justice within the United States in response to threats to national security.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion of readings and videos, student presentations of group research projects.

REQUIREMENTS:Reading, watching videos, open-note exams, writing, researching and preparing group projects and presenting dramatizations and group projects in class.

310-12800-01, 02 INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SS LA 1b, g

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Chip Gagnon, Muller 324, Ext. 4-1103

ENROLLMENT: 28 per section

PREREQUISITES: None

OBJECTIVES: We examine and discuss issues of security ranging from security of the state to security of individuals. Issues include the future of war, terrorism, the global economy, nationalism, ethnic and religious conflict, and the role of the media in how we think about the international. We also study how different perspectives lead us to see different worlds, looking specifically at realism, liberalism, global humanism, and theories of identity.

STUDENTS: Open to all

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussions, films

REQUIREMENTS: Attendance and participation in class discussions; readings for each class; three take-home exam essays

GRADING: Standard, based on above requirements

310-12900-01 INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES SS LA 1b, g

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele

ENROLLMENT: 60

PREREQUISITES: None

OBJECTIVES: 1) To expose participants to critical global challenges such as the protection of human rights in a competitive marketplace, the resolution of conflicts emanating from identity politics, weapons proliferation, the use of natural resources, the globalization of capitalist production and struggles for global justice. 2) To provide fundamental analytical frames through which students can address the on-going debates on global history and the moral use of power, culture and development, and the internationalization of the struggle to protect the rights of oppressed populations, such as young victims of the global sex industry. 3) To undertake a comparative study of selected countries as a means of deepening our awareness of the histories, power, racial and social structures that affect peoples and societies. 4) To foster dialogue that will contribute to the personal growth of all participants.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, Discussions, Films, Collaborative work

STUDENTS: Open to all interested students

REQUIREMENTS: Regular attendance, full participation, 'discussion facilitation' and presentations, end-of-section tests and exams, collaborative work, final project/essay.

GRADING: Based on above requirements

310-14200-01, 02 IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES SS LA 1a, 1b

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Charles Venator Santiago, Muller 312, Ext. 4-5714

ENROLLMENT: 28 per section

OBJECTIVES: Exploration of the philosophical and ideological roots of political life and political inquiry. The course will address notions such as social responsibility, civil disobedience, conscientious objection, the French Revolution, Marxism, Fascism, Nazism, cultural politics, Western Liberalism, conservatism, international law and justice, human rights, patriotism, nationalism, homeland security, and identity and violence.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Two lectures on MW

GRADING: Students are expected to write five short papers, to complete a journal, and to actively participate in class.

310-29900-01 FIELD STUDY

(SEE 310-40500 INTERNSHIPS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION)

1 TO 6 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249

ENROLLMENT: 5

PREREQUISITES: 310-10100, one other course in the social sciences, and permission of instructor.

OBJECTIVES: Opportunity for students to explore and experience facets of political life through work experience and/or field research. Academic credit contingent upon completion of study design with departmental faculty member. (Course may not be used to satisfy 100-level distribution requirements.)

310-31000-01 SUPREME COURT IN U.S. POLITICS SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Beth Harris, Muller 310, Ext. 4-3517

ENROLLMENT: 30

PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences, including U.S. politics or equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To explore the distinctive character of judicial lawmaking. 2. To imagine influencing the judicial law-making process. 3. To examine the role of constitutional law in the construction, transformation, and legitimatization of American political and social relations and institutions. 4. To analyze Supreme Court decisions and their implications in three important areas of constitutional policymaking: (a) the division and scope of institutional authority within the national government and between national and government (for example: who has the authority to decide whether the votes for presidential candidates are valid?); (c) the role of government in structuring economic relationships (for example: how has the Supreme Court shaped the development of a national economy , property rights, and workers’ rights?); (c) the legal protections against race, gender, and economic discrimination.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Mostly discussion based on reading assignments and student presentations, including debates.

REQUIREMENTS: Readings (including Supreme Court opinions), open-note quizzes, analytical essays, collective research projects, and oral presentations.

310-31900-01 SELECTED TOPICS: RACE AND US POLITICS

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Alex Moon, Muller 308, Ext. 4-1258

ENROLLMENT: 24

PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences

OBJECTIVES: Course begins with a short section on the history of racial subjugation and civil rights struggle in the United States. Next, we examine the role of the South's interest in racial subjugation in accounting for the history of party alignments, retarded welfare state development, and decline of the New Deal coalition. We end with an examination of the role of attitudes towards race in accounting for citizen views on affirmative action,
taxation, welfare, and crime.

310-32800-01 SELECTED TOPICS: International Conflict SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Naeem Inayatullah, Muller 325, Ext. 43028.

ENROLLMENT: 28

PREREQUISITE: The courses in social sciences or equivalent

OBJECTIVES Study of conflict among nations, nationalism, the role of force and violence, cold wars, and arms competitions, ideological conflicts, similarities and differences between international conflict and intranational conflict, and techniques of conflict resolution.

STUDENTS: Open to all who meet the prerequisites

310-33000-01 EUROPEAN POLITICS

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 308, Ext. 4-3969

ENROLLMENT: 24

PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences or the equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: We start with the question of European identity: do we only mean the EU or something more general? Who is included or excluded, and how is this decided? Can one identify specifically European values? The course provides further background by looking at some of the key European ideological/political variations that are less familiar in the U.S. (social democracy, Christian democracy, post-communism and the far right). Students will then examine national political systems. The emphasis will be on institutional and policy variations in how each country responds to the same needs or issues, such as economics, civil rights, immigration, and nationalism. Special attention will be paid to the problems facing Eastern European nations. Students will also consider Europe’s interaction with the rest of the world, both at the level of a union and of the individual countries. In their institutions and responses to such concrete problems, is there really a difference between "old" Europe and "new" Europe? We will address tensions affecting the creation of a new geo-political entity called “Europe” out of many separate European countries. We consider the mechanisms and values of the European Union. The focus will be on the ideals of such a union, as contrasted with the reality of including different nations with very different policy priorities.

310-33500-01 CROSSING BORDERS/GLOBAL MIGRATION SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Chip Gagnon, Muller 324, Ext. 4-1103

ENROLLMENT: 24

PREREQUISITES: Three concerns in the social sciences or equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: The course will address such questions as: Why do people move across borders? Why is immigration such a volatile political issue around the world? What are the effects on national and cultural identity and boundaries? Immigration and population movements have in fact become the focus of politics throughout the globe, often linked to xenophobia and other forms of violence. We’ll explore the phenomenon of global migration, including labor migration and refugees; consider how immigration/emigration differs from other kinds of movement; how population mobility highlights the construction and reconstruction of nation-states; the ways in which the resulting cultural diversity plays into local and nation-state politics; and how cultural diasporas influence politics in their home and host countries. We’ll also consider these questions as they affect local communities (including western NY State) and explore the gendered nature of migration.

STUDENTS: Open to all interested students who fulfill the prerequisites.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion, lecture, films, fiction and nonfiction readings.

REQUIREMENTS: Three papers and a take-home exam.

GRADING: Standard grading

310-34003-01 SELECTED TOPICS: AFRICA: POLITICS OF RIGHTS AND CULTURE SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, Muller 314, Ext. 4-3508

ENROLLMENT: 28

PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the social sciences or the equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate critical practices, debates and perspectives regarding ‘human rights’ and ‘culture’ in the contemporary global system. Participants will examine the interaction of global and local power, privilege, history, legal and religious values with the prevailing contestations over rights and culture. The subject matter is partly captured by Mahmood Mamdani who asks:

· “Can a culture of individual rights coexist with the right of every individual to practice one’s culture?”

· “When do conflicts of interest translate into conflicts between rights, and tensions within cultures, and when do the languages of “culture” and of “rights” become so many ways of handling conflicts of interest?

Our readings will include comparative case studies drawn from African countries, as well as the US, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussions, guest lecture, films, research and student presentations.

STUDENTS: Open to those who fulfill prerequisites and are particularly interested in the subject matter.

REQUIREMENTS: Regular attendance, active participation, research, essays/exams.

GRADING: Based on above.

310-34004-01 SELECTED TOPICS: The Political Economy of African Diaspora Music SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Naeem Inayatullah, Muller 325, Ext. 4-3028

ENROLLMENT: 28

PREREQUISITE: Three courses in social sciences or equivalent

OBJECTIVES: We will focus on three geographic areas and three forms of music: Popular or World music from West Africa (Nigeria: probably Fela Kute and King Sunny Ade), reggae and dub-poetry from the West Indies (Jamaica: probably Bob Marley and Linton Kwesi Johnson) and Jazz from North America (maybe Sun Ra and Betty Carter). The point of this course will be to take students from something they are likely to find familiar – world music, reggae, jazz – to the unfamiliar. In this case, the unfamiliar is likely to include: the political economy of music production on a world scale; the self-conscious use of music by artists and audiences to resist the forces of cultural homogenization; and perhaps most importantly, artists’ awareness of the intricate, intimate, and volatile relationship between art and politics. This course may help identify the presence or absence of an ethical content in the music we consume and produce. In sum, hearing the fullness of African Diaspora music may help us to identify music’s real power.

Although we will listen and discuss music, this is not a music course.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion

REQUIREMENTS: Plenty of reading, listening to music, and writing

310-34200-01 LIBERALISM AND MARXISM: THEORIZING CAPITALISM, SLAVERY, AND PATRIARCHY SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Zillah Eisenstein, Muller 316, Ext 4-3554

ENROLLMENT: 35

OBJECTIVES: This course intends to open students to thinking theoretically and within historical context. We examine and query the relationship between liberalism and Marxism in terms of sexual, racial, and economic class hierarchies. The course deals with the capitalist division of labor and its relation to the racist and patriarchal sexual division of labor in slavery. The theorists studies are: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, JJ Rousseau, Karl Marx, JS Mill, Sri Aurobindo, Rosa Luxemburg, and Maria Stewart. Our study looks to significant conflicts between Marxism and liberalism with in their theories of private property and individuality. And, we look to the similarities within these theories on masculinist privilege and slave-trade relations. Constructs of nature, natural, democracy, civilization, rationality, inclusivity, and humanity are explored.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures and some discussion

REQUIREMENTS: Serious commitment to the readings and two 8-page analytically developed papers.

310-36600-01, 02 ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Tom Shevory, Muller 315, Ext. 4-1347

ENROLLMENT: 25 each section

PREREQUISITIES: Three courses in social sciences or the equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: Involves examination of a variety of issues related to environmental politics. Considers the relationship between politics and economic growth from environmental perspectives. Includes attention to the role of various political and economic systems in supporting or undermining environmental protection, with special attention to China. Examines a variety of case studies: the politics of global warming, the politics of recycling (in Chicago), the global politics of water, the politics of LoveCanal. Attention is given to questions of political action, including civil disobedience, in environmental contexts. Environmental politics is recognized as existing within racialized and engendered contexts.

STUDENTS: Open to all interested students who meet prerequisites.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture/discussion

REQUIREMENTS: Four take-home exams. Books include: Gelbaspan, Garbage Wars; Ward, Water Wars; Mazur, A Hazardous Inquiry; Economy, The River Runs Black; Merchant, Earthcare

GRADING: Standard, based on requirements

310-40100-01 SEMINAR SS LA

TOPIC: POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HOLOCAUST

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249

ENROLLMENT: 15

PREREQUISITES: Permission of the instructor and three courses in social sciences or the equivalent

OBJECTIVES: The seminar will explore portions of the voluminous literature on the Holocaust to extract implications for politics. Among the topics to be considered are the conditions that permit people to participate in genocide and the human capacity for self-deception that enables people to rationalize their actions. This section of the seminar will consider the controversy raised by Daniel Goldhagen’s book Hitler’s Willing Executioners. We will also explore the academic politics of Holocaust studies by reading works that both proclaim the uniqueness of the Holocaust and by considering authors who argue that too much attention has been paid the Holocaust to the neglect of other historical instances of genocide. The ethical lessons that can be gleaned from global indifference to the destruction of the European Jews will form another segment of the seminar. The global response to atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia will be included for comparative purposes.

STUDENTS: Juniors and Seniors

FORMAT AND STYLE: The seminar will employ a discussion format

REQUIREMENTS: Five to six short papers; read 8- 10 books; regular class attendance and participation

GRADING: Standard

310-40100-02 SEMINAR: COMPARATIVE/INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SA LA

TOPIC: RACE IN THE AMERICAS

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Charles, Venator Santiago, Muller 312, Ext. 4-5714

ENROLLMENT: 15 per section.

OBJECTIVES: This course will introduce students to the study of the historical relationship between race and political and legal institutions in the Americas. The course begins with an etyological discussion of the notion of race and proceeds to explore some of the ways in which race has been re-interpreted in Latin America, the United States, and Canada, while paying attention to the distinct uses of racial narratives and comparing and contrasting these during different periods and epochs.

FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture once a week on Tuesdays.

GRADING: Students are expected to write one research paper, and journal entries.

310-40200-01 SEMINAR: THEORY AND PRACTICS OF PUNISHMENT SS LA

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Alex Moon, Muller 308, ext. 4-1258

ENROLLMENT: 10

PREREQUISITES: Three courses in politics or philosophy

OBJECTIVES: We begin with justifications and critiques of the practice of punishment. In order to evaluate these theories and contemporary practice, we examine historical and current prison conditions. The last section of the course will deal with the politics of prison construction and its intersection with the politics of race in the United States.

310-40300-02 TUTORIAL: COMPARATIVE/INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SS LA

TOPIC: Welfare States: Origins, Differences and Changes 3 CREDITS INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 308, Ext 4-3969 ENROLLMENT: 5 PREREQUISITES: The instructor and three courses in social sciences or equivalent. OBJECTIVES: This seminar in comparative politics will begin with an examination of the origins of the modern welfare state. Philosophical/ethical roots will be studied, as well as the political/economic conditions leading to the rise of welfare states. We will then examine differences in selected contemporary states regarding particular policy areas: health care, education, retirement, unemployment insurance, etc. We will end with recent adaptation in welfare state systems in the face of changing political, economic and social environments. The focus will be primarily on European countries. The class will be organized partly as an independent study/tutorial and partly as a seminar. Students will work on their own projects, but will share ideas and examine sources and concepts in our meetings. REQUIREMENTS: Include a literature review and a 20-30 page final paper.

310-40300-02 Tutorial SS LA

TOPIC: NATIONAL DISASTERS: THE SOCIO-POLITICAL AFTERMATH

3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTOR: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, Muller 314, ext. 4-3508

ENROLLMENT: 5

PREREQUISITES: Permission of the instructor and three courses in social sciences or equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: This course will provide a comparative exploration of the socio-political impact of diverse categories of national disasters that have attracted global attention including: “natural” disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Tangshan earthquake, the Tsunami and Mt Pinatubo Volcanic eruption; technological and human error tragedies, for instance, the Nigeria military depot explosions and the Chernobyl nuclear explosions; as well as terrorist assaults in Kenya, London, New York, Sudan, Morocco and Madrid. In the wake of such national tragedies, critical fissures and discourses often emerge as societies seek to make sense of the disasters, and to respond to the tragedy, its victims and survivors. As with Hurricane Katrina, the aftermath of disasters is a propitious time to investigate underlying tensions, grievances, and divides in a polity. We will be analyzing patterns of political dissimulation, media coverage, discourses of identity, race, class, gender, religion and forms of local and global ‘othering’ that occur with regards to explanations for and responses to the tragedy and during the process of recovery. In addition, we shall explore the role of collective memory, political and social culture in the search for resolution and reconstitution of the society. Through collaborative research and a practicum module, we will seek to unearth the key variables that determine how societies address such disasters and to acquire new skills through disaster response training.

FORMAT: Research, Discussion, Practicum

STUDENTS: Open only to those who fulfill prerequisites and are interested in the subject matter. Participants must enjoy and have a strong capacity for independent and collaborative research and writing.

REQUIREMENTS: Regular attendance, active participation, research & field work, projects, presentations & essays.

GRADING: Based on fulfillment of above requirements.

310-40500-01 INTERNSHIPS NLA

VARIABLE CREDIT

INSTRUCTOR: Don Bleachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249

ENROLLMENT: 10.

PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor and three courses in social sciences or equivalent.

OBJECTIVES: The Politics Department offers a wide variety of internship opportunities for students in different fields. Faculty will work with students to find internships that meet their needs. Internships are available in Ithaca and the surrounding areas. Internship/Field Study can be used to meet both 300 and 400 level requirements. Possible internship sites include: Tompkins County Environmental Management Council; Citizen's Environmental Coalition; Offender Aid and Restoration (working with jail inmates); Planned Parenthood; Assemblyman Marty Luster; Congressman Maurice Hinchey; Community Dispute Resolution Agency; Dispositional Alternatives (Youth Bureau); Red Cross; Human Services Coalition; Mayor's Office; City Attorney's Office; Prisoner's Legal Services; Loaves and Fishes; Alternatives Credit Union; Women's Community Center; Cornell Environmental Law Society; Eco-Justice Task Force; City of Ithaca, Dept. of Planning and Development; Tompkins County Planning Department; Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division; Rune Hill Earth Awareness School; New York Public Interest Research Group; Science Center; Battered Women Task Force; GIAC; Downtown Business Council; Day Care Council; Human Rights Commission.

STUDENTS: Interested students should see Tom Shevory, Muller 315, to register for an internship.

REQUIREMENTS: Students receive one hour credit for every 60 hours of internship-related work. Students are required to keep a journal and undertake internship-oriented research and writing.

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