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Previously
taught courses
- ST:
Pirates, Mercenaries and Missionaries: Sovereignty in the International
System (Selected
Topics in Comparative and International Studies) - POLT 34002-01 (This
course counts towards Comparative and International Studies requirements
in the Politics major and minor)
Are today's pirates in any way related to the pirates of the past?
Is the increasing use of mercenaries a good thing for world peace?
Do missionaries (both religious and secular) threaten the sovereignty
of countries? We'll explore these and other questions, focusing in
particular on how pirates, mercenaries and missionaries fit into the
international system and its rules. We'll also explore their histories
and their relationship to the concept of sovereignty. These groups
also help us understand how today's rules evolved over the past several
hundred years. They are still active today, and we'll take a look
at contemporary pirates, mercenaries, and missionaries to get an understanding
of how the international system and its rules continue to evolve.
Parrots and eye patches optional.
- Crossing
Borders/Global Migrations - POLT
33500
Why do people migrate? Why do the vast majority of
people not migrate across borders? Why is immigration such
a hot political topic all over the world? This course introduces students
to various theories of migration. We also discuss the implications
of migration for the meaning of borders, citizenship, the nation-state
and identity. Discussion and lecture.
Syllabus
| Required readings
and assignments schedule
- Russian
Politics (POLT-32600)
- Whiteness
and Multiculturalism (POLT-33600) What
does it mean to be white in the US today? In the world? This course
explores this under-studied aspect of race, examining various ways
in which "white" as a racial category has been and is currently defined.
Focus ranges from the personal to the global, including societies
around the world. Enrollment limited to 20; seminar format (discussion).
Syllabus
| Required
readings schedule
- Ithaca
Seminar: "Avatar"
as International Politics:
Cultural, economic and military aspects of global relations
- ICSM 10500-10 (CRN 21870)
This
course is a seminar for incoming first-year students.
The recent film “Avatar,” though taking place on a distant
planet, touches on a number of themes that are central to an understanding
of contemporary international relations. Using the film as a starting
point, we will look at such topics as war and peace, mercenaries,
oil supplies, global economic relations, and cultural encounters.
In addition to “Avatar” we may also bring in other popular
films to illustrate these themes. Enrollment is limited to 22 students.
- European
Politics (POLT-33000)
- First
Year Seminar: The Politics of the Global Community (POLT-12700)
- Yugoslavia:
the wars in the Balkans
- Seminar:
Missionaries for Democracy: The missionary impulse and US democracy
promotion
This seminar addresses the question of how and why the US spreads
democracy around the world through comparing democracy promotion to
traditional religious missionary work, considering the similarities
and differences between the two. We’ll explore the definitions
of democracy, whether democracy “travels” across cultures,
the relationship of democracy promoters to target societies, and think
about whether and how democracy promotion is similar to missionary
work. Syllabus
and readings
- Seminar:
Nationalism and Violent Conflict From
Rwanda to western Europe, from Bosnia to the US, many of the violent
conflicts taking place in the world today are framed in cultural terms,
as ethnic, nationalist, or religious. Some argue that the major cause
of violent conflict in the post-cold war era will be clashes between
cultures or culturally-defined civilizations. In this scenario, cultural
difference itself is the cause of violence. But is
cultural diversity itself enough to explain hatred and killing? Will
the wars of the future be fought over culture? What is the relationship
between nationalism, cultural identity, violence, and state power?
Is there a link between globalization and culturally-framed conflict?
Is US foreign policy driven by culture? These are among the questions
we'll be thinking about this semester. Syllabus
and required readings
- Seminar
on Identity, Culture and International Relations: Migration and Immigration
- Tutorial:
Political Trends in Eastern Europe (POLT-40300-01, Tutorial:
Comparative/International)
- During
the 1999-2000 academic year I also took part in a team-taught course,
the H&S Honors Program Junior Seminar (336-300), convened by my
colleague Naeem Inayatullah. The topic of the course, which was offered
both Fall and Spring semesters, was Cultural Encounters. Here's
the syllabus for my section: Promoting
Democracy in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia?
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