Chip Gagnon
Associate Professor
Department of Politics
Ithaca College
e-mail: vgagnon@ithaca.edu
(607) 274-1103

Fall 2009

Introduction to International Relations - POLT 12800-01 (CRN 23549)
An introductory level course meant to introduce students to the major schools of thought in the field of international relations, as well as some of the basic issues facing the global community. Requires students to understand and analyze events from different perspectives. Discussion and lecture.
Syllabus | Required readings schedule

Seminar: Missionaries for Democracy: The missionary impulse and US democracy promotion - POLT 40102 - 01 (CRN 21860)
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

Previously taught courses

• Crossing Borders/Global Migrations - POLT 33500-01
  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) (will probably be offered Fall 2010)
• Whiteness and Multiculturalism (POLT-33600-01) 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
• European Politics (POLT-33000)
• First Year Seminar: The Politics of the Global Community (POLT-12700-01)
• Yugoslavia: the wars in the Balkans
• Seminar: Nationalism and Violent Conflict (POLT-40100) 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?