HLS offers hundreds of courses that strengthen your global knowledge and regional expertise while helping you meet degree requirements.
We've highlighted a few here, but check out iGPS for our complete list of learning opportunities in International Studies, East Asian Languages & Cultures, International Law & Institutes, Central Eurasian Studies, Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures, and African, European, Latin American, Russian, and Southeast Asian studies.
This page features courses in the following academic sessions:
Fall Intersession (Nov. 29–Dec 17)
Fall Semester (Aug. 23–Dec 17)
Fall Intersession (Nov. 29–Dec 17)
SGIS-S 200/INTL-I 212, "Women, Gender & International Affairs"
Class #: 23573, 46275
Meeting Time: Tues, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Hybrid Online
Instructor: Eli Konwest
A brief overview of gender in international affairs focused on women in international affairs careers and leadership. Guest speakers will discuss how they have navigated barriers to the field and provide advice.
INTL-I 499/545 SGIS-S 400, "The History and Development of International and “Internationalized” Criminal Tribunal"
Class #: 46276, 46277, 46309
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed/Fri, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid Online
Instructor: Tanya Pettay
An introduction into the history and development of international and “internationalized” criminal tribunals, including exploring why and how they were established, as well as major cases, achievements, and challenges.
INTL-I 426/500 SGIS-S 400, "Intro to International Criminal Defense Law & Practice"
Class #: 46272, 46273, 46274
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid Online
Instructor: Tanya Pettay
An introduction into the role played by international criminal defense lawyers, the strategies they use to advance the rights and interests of their clients, and the challenges they face.
SGIS-S 300, "Highlights in East Asian Travel Literature: Over Mountains and Along Perilous Shores"
Class #: 47266
Meeting Time: Asynchronous, Online
Instructor: Yiwen Zheng
This course explores how travel literature negotiated the tension between space and people, knowledge and imagination, and facilitated the formation of traditions and communities in East Asia. All readings will be in English.
Through this platform, students will learn interesting facts about the Middle East. From renowned poets reciting their poetry to documentaries about Middle Eastern countries to stand-up comedy, you will have a virtual and intellectual trip to the Middle East.
Students will hear and learn from global leaders who are working in various fields, utilize cultural competency tools to prepare for the 21st century workplace, and better understand how to turn their degree and academic interests into global careers.
INTL-I 300, "From the Cold War to the BlockChain: The Cultural History of Hacking"
Class #: 46424
Meeting Time: Asynchronous, Online
Instructor: Peter Nemes
Explore the history, cultural representations, and social place of hacking. This course seeks to explore the vast implications of hacker culture through an interdisciplinary lens.
INTL-I 300, "Global Problems, International Solutions"
Class #: 46617
Meeting Time: Fri, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Hybrid Online
Instructor: Hussein Banai
This course surveys a set of contemporary global problems across five major fields – security, political economy, public health, culture, and the environment – and critically examines the practical solutions on offer to mitigate them at the international level.
SGIS-S 300, "A Crash Course in Arabic Language & Culture"
Class #: 46736
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 7:00pm-8:15pm
Location: Online
Instructor: Iman Alramadan & Attia Youseif
Learn the basics of Arabic conversation, including greetings, common expressions, and making self-introductions, as well as the basics of Arab culture including religion, history, social customs, popular music and cinema, sports and cuisine.
This course provides an introduction to the new methods for copying ancient inscriptions and art using digital tools. Students will gain practical experience with these tools, as they work on inscriptions from the Egyptian collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Students will learn to use digital tools to make accurate copies of ancient inscriptions. Students may choose ancient Egyptian, Greek or Latin inscriptions. Knowledge of one of these languages is helpful, but not required.
SGIS-S 300, "Analysis and Visualization of International Data"
Class #: 35200
Meeting Time: Tues, 2:30pm-3:45pm
Location: Hybrid Online
Instructor: Mindy King
The course provides fundamental knowledge and skills to identify useful data sources, formulate relevant questions, develop hypotheses, and analyze, interpret, and communicate trends in quantitative data sets. Introduces the rationale for and basic principles of communicating data through graphic design.
AFRI-X 390, "Military Engagement in Africa from the Cold War to the Great Power Competition"
Class #: 47620
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed/Fri, 4:45pm-6:15pm
Location: Online
Instructor: Joseph Bradshaw
This course provides a foundation for understanding how the U.S. and other global powers engage with African nations through military programs, private contractors, and defense development. The course explores African perceptions of such programs and assesses their impact on African people.
The following courses take place during the Fall 2021 semester.
African Studies
AFRI-L 100, "Reimagining Africa: Contemporary Landscapes and Tacit Global Influences"
Class #: 44277
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Kazeem Sanuth
Reimagining Africa: Contemporary Landscapes and Tacit Global Influences. This course invites you to reimagine the representation of the African continent, recognizing various ways that Africa engages with, contributes to, and constructs its connections to global affairs. Drawing from multiple genres, including texts and media, such as, films, news, blog posts, etc., the course will guide you to explore multiple and intersecting topics that weave the experiences of Africans, both at home and in the diaspora, with various regions/countries of the globe. Through discussion of key ideas and analysis of specific examples from African contexts, you will unpack the inextricable connections of Africa to the rest of the world and ultimately gain nuanced and refreshing perspectives about Africa and its people.
When you think of contemporary Africa, what's the first thing that comes to mind? ...Is it megacities?! Probably not. Yet, Africa is the most rapidly urbanizing continent in the world. It's already home to four of the world's megacities (cities with populations of 10 million or more) and is on track to host more of them than any other continent by the end of the century. Who is moving to African cities and why? Who is building them, and how? What is daily life within them like, and what kinds of cultural, economic, and political roles do they play in our world? In this interdisciplinary class, we'll look for answers to these questions in more than textbook chapters and journal articles alone. We'll also engage mixed media, including Instagram posts, op-eds, TED Talks, YouTube music videos, sci-fi short stories, blog posts, documentary photography, political cartoons, and more. What we'll find might surprise you. So, along the way, we'll also do some critical reflection and self-examination: what shapes the ways we think about Africa and why?
Intro to International Criminal Defense Law and Practice
This course provides an introduction into the role played by international criminal defense lawyers, the strategies they use to advance the rights and interests of their clients, and the challenges they face. This course will include a variety of guest speakers practicing in the field who will also provide a "day in the life" view into the world of international criminal defense law.
Gender and Women in Central Asia Interdisciplinary: we use gender theories to explore Central Asian societies historically and now, with diverse topics such as Tajik and Uyghur masculinities, women's activism in Afghanistan, bride-kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and the Caucasus, Uzbek women's unveiling, Muslim women as religious leaders, and the impact of gender-in-development programs. Lectures, discussions, essays on readings, research. Undergrad (300) and Grad sections (500) meet together
CEUS-R 351, "Prophets, Poets, and Kings: Iranian Civilization"
Class #: 21144
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Jamsheed Choksy
Traces the history of Iranians from ancient times through the Arab conquest to today. Focuses on institutions, religious, secular and ecclesiastic hierarchies, minorities, devotional and communal change, and Iranian influences on Islam. Visual and archaeological aids used. No previous knowledge of subject matter required.
Examines Mongolia's turbulent history from independence from China's last dynasty in 1911 through theocracy, revolution, and communism to today's market democracy. Also focuses on social, economic, cultural, and demographic changes.
CEUS-R 362, "Mongolian Civilization and Folk Culture"
Class #: 32506
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Distance Synchronous Video
Instructor: György Kara
Introduction to Mongolian traditional civilization: material culture (dwelling, clothing, food, warfare, hunting, animal husbandry, crafts, agriculture,), social and spiritual life (kinship, wedding, birth, names, childhood, races, medicine, death, folk religion, Buddhism, shamanism, values and taboos, omens), folk arts (music, oral literature, dance). Knowledge of Mongolian not required.
Surveys interaction between Tibet and China from beginnings to the present, touching on political, cultural, economic, and religious links. Areas explored include the rise of Tibet as a dynamic empire competing with Tang China, religious links between Tibetan hierarchs and Chinese rulers, and conflict over Tibet's incorporation into China.
Surveys the Uralic (that is, Finno-Ugric and Samoyed) peoples of eastern and northern Europe as well as Siberia. Topics include their origins (such as their distinctive non-Indo-European languages) and contrasting history, traditional and modern cultures (religion, art, music, and literature), ethnic and national identity in modern times, economic development and social modernization, and political independence for a few of them along with Russian rule in most cases. Also covers interrelations among these peoples in the modern era, especially the issue of pan-Uralic cultural ties and affinity. Main focus is on Hungary, Finland, and Estonia.
In-depth exploration of Chinggis Khan's Mongol Empire from its origins in the twelfth century in the continent-wide breakdown of the 1330s-1370s. Primary sources (Mongolian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and European) in translation, including many of the medieval era's greatest histories and travelogues.
CEUS-R 395, "Politics and Identity in China and Inner Asia"
Class #: 32497
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Gardner Bovingdon
Challenges the assumption that terms such as "Chinese," "Taiwanese," or "Kazakh" represent straightforward concepts. Via theories of identity, and careful attention to the history of China and Inner Asia, explores and explodes the association of identity and descent, language and ethnicity, citizenship and nationality.
China has been involved with Central Asia as long as it has existed as a unified state (and probably before that), and Central Asia continues to be one of the most important regions of the world to China today. There is an enormous written and archaeological record that documents China¿s understanding of and interactions with Central Asia across time. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive study of or guide to either historic or contemporary Chinese primary or secondary sources about Central Asia. This course introduces the range of Chinese-language sources on Central Asia, which include imperial-era standard and unofficial histories, geographies, literary compositions, travel accounts, etc. Students will learn how to locate, handle, and navigate these materials, which will include introduction to select research tools such as indices, databases, scholarly articles related to these sources.
This class explores representations of the city in East Asian cinema. Since the end of the 19th century, film and urban space have possessed a close relationship across the globe, with film operating as an essential presence in urban mass culture and the city acting as a central figure in film. In this class, we will examine this affinity through films spanning the past century, representing cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Seoul. Our survey of these urban spaces on screen will engage an array of critical perspectives from film and media studies, history, urban studies, anthropology, and cultural studies. In doing so, we will look at film from historical and aesthetic perspectives, and consider how the city shapes and is shaped by visual media. Films will include The New Woman (dir. Cai Chusheng, 1935), Stray Dog (dir. Kurosawa Akira, 1949), Akira (dir. Otomo Katsuhiro, 1988), The World (dir. Jia Zhangke, 2004), and Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2019).
This course studies modern and contemporary popular culture in modern China from historical and theoretical perspectives. It engages with various forms of popular culture¿including popular music, television, comics, film, fashion, and sports. Emphases are placed on how China receive and consume popular culture texts, how the transnational flows of commodities and culture affect local societies and individual identities, and how Chinese popular culture participates in the shifts and turns in global cultural experience. Popular culture not only entertains, but is also a site where meanings are produced, contested, and shared. It affects how we view ourselves as individuals and in relation to others, simultaneously reflecting and transforming ideologies and values in society. Therefore, this course on popular culture is also about modern China itself¿its changing historical and social process. As part of this class, you will be responsible for contributing examples of popular culture to our discussion through your presentations and portfolio assignments. One aim of this class is to help you be a more critically engaged reader of popular culture.
Over the past five decades, the major economies of East Asia¿China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan--have experienced exponential economic growth. In 1945, all were poor in global comparison; by 2021, the region has become among the wealthiest and most dynamic in the world, and millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. In this course, we will examine: what factors lead to the rise of East Asian economies? Is there an East Asian model of growth? We will also examine how these changes have affected work and workers in East Asian economies. How has the nature of work evolved as a result of economic growth? Have the fruits of prosperity been equally shared? Who are the winners and losers in these newly wealthy societies, and why?
EALC-E 300, "Divided Loyalties: Modern Korean Literature in Translation"
Class #: 23304
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 9:25am-10:40am
Location: In-person
Instructor: Susan Hwang
Divided Loyalties: Modern Korean Literature in Translation How do people speak of loyalty and commitment in a nation divided among "brother enemies"? In this course we will engage with major works of modern Korean fiction in English translation, asking in particular how literature became a prime site for constructing and contesting the language of loyalty and commitment. Relevant historical context will be provided in class, with discussion focused on reading the complexities in literary works and films with respect to the following themes: tradition and modernity, imperialism and nationalism, representations of gender, war and national division, globalization, and reconciliation and reunification. In our treatment of these themes, we will analyze how the language of loyalty and commitment shifts, alters, and/or continues in various manifestations. By the end of this course, students will be able to build the skills necessary for textual analysis and informed historical contextualization of literary works (i.e., novels, short stories, poems, plays), films, relevant artwork, and songs.
In this course, the past will offer us a window into the history of science fiction and fantasy literature in China. We will survey the development of literary visions of the future from ancient times to the modern day, with a special emphasis on how culture heroes (for example, Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou, Guan Yu, and the First Emperor of Qin) and famous past events (the Battle of Red Cliff, the Cultural Revolution, etc.) have served as interpretive lenses through which authors envision the world as it could be. About half the course will be devoted to pre-modern literature and half to modern. Readings will include biographies of immortals; Tang dynasty ghost stories; Ming dynasty novels (The Investiture of the Gods, along with the manga adaptation Hoshin engi); Liu Cixin's Santi (The Three-Body Problem); Ken Liu's The Dandelion Dynasty; Lao She's Cat Country; the online serial Grave Robber's Chronicles (Daomu biji); martial arts fiction (wuxia xiaoshuo); and more. All readings will be conducted in English translation; no knowledge of the Chinese language is required.
E350/505: Psychology of Chinese What does it take for one to use Chinese to communicate? How is such process different from communicating in English? This course focuses on the cognitive mysteries that underlie key properties of the Chinese languages. The goal of this course is to offer a roadmap for thinking about the cognitive as well as sociocultural issues related to the Chinese languages at different linguistic levels (speech sounds, words, sentences, writing, etc.). Topics may include perception and production of speech sounds; recognition of Chinese characters and words; comprehension and production of Chinese sentences; mass/count distinctions and classifier cognition; the sense of time and space in Chinese; metaphors Chinese users live by; the relation between language and thinking; and comparisons between Chinese and English that can shed light on translation issues involving Chinese and English. There is no prerequisite on knowledge of Chinese or psychology. Interested students can contact the instructor for more information about this course at chiclin@indiana.edu.
What does it mean to be a man or a woman in contemporary Japan? How have gender roles changed over the course of modern history? In what ways have Japanese people embraced or resisted normative gender roles? And how do gender ideals constrain and enable individuals¿ choices and outcomes? Looking both at and beyond the male/female binary, this course addresses these questions, and how ideas about gender have shaped thinking on a range of important and controversial topics from same-sex marriage to sex education to commercial sex.
EALC-E 391, "Law & Authoritarianism: Through the Lens of China"
Class #: 43332
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Ethan Michelson
Topic: Law & Authoritarianism: Through the Lens of China. We are witnessing a global turn towards populist and illiberal governance. Authoritarian leaders often embrace international legal norms symbolically and rhetorically while subverting them in practice through various means of local political control and interference. This course uses the case of China to explore the functions and behavior of legal systems in authoritarian political contexts because China overwhelmingly dominates scholarship on the topic. Despite a burgeoning scholarly literature chronicling the reconstruction, expansion, and proliferation of laws, courts, and lawyers in China since 1979, scholars disagree about the significance and implications of these developments. Does the Chinese legal system offer meaningful redress to people with grievances, or should it be understood as ornamental "window dressing"? Does it do more to limit or to strengthen the power of the government and its ruling party? Does it do more to help people challenge or to prevent people from challenging the state? In this interdisciplinary course we will not only explore and debate these questions, but will also (re)consider conventional scholarly notions about authoritarianism and popular political participation, single-party rule and judicial governance, democracy and political legitimacy, and legal professionals and their fights for legal and political freedoms. In the process we will scrutinize recent developments in China, including the so-called "turn from law," the rise of "stability maintenance," and a crackdown on lawyers. Our inquiry will be heavily empirical and evidence-based. When we attempt to reconcile, adjudicate, or explain scholarly disagreements, we will scrutinize available data on the issue at hand. Our approach will be not only empirical, but also comparative. Throughout the semester we will endeavor to situate China in comparative global perspective.
This course surveys a set of contemporary global problems across five major fields -- security, political economy, public health, culture, and the environment -- and critically examines the practical solutions on offer to mitigate them at the international level. The case studies for each topic are carefully chosen to highlight the dynamics of cooperation and contestation between governments, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots movements in global politics.
The politics, economics and social structures of Western European countries. Examination of selected domestic and international issues, including the welfare states, the European community, and West-East Europeans relations.
INTL-I 212, "Women, Gender, and International Affairs"
Class #: 46275
Meeting Time: Tues, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Hybrid-Distance Video & Online
Instructor: Elizabeth Konwest
This course provides a brief overview of gender in international affairs with a particular focus on women in international affairs careers and leadership. We will evaluate barriers to the field, intersectional perspectives (like race/ethnicity and LGBTQ+ status), and gendered issues in policymaking. Students will hear from a range of guest speakers discussing how they have navigated barriers and pitfalls and provide advice on career and leadership development.
INTL-I 300, "U.S. Foreign Policy: Navigating the Nuclear Age"
Class #: 23007
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 4:55pm-6:10pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Dina Spechler
Contrary to once widely held expectations, the end of the Cold War has not eliminated the threat to national and planetary survival posed by nuclear weapons. Both the US and Russia retain huge arsenals, which both sides are working hard to modernize. Russia has begun to deploy some of these in forward positions and has threatened to use them against American allies or the US itself. A growing number of other states, some of them hostile to the US, are acquiring significant arsenals of their own. Meanwhile, the process of nuclear proliferation has accelerated and increased the danger of nuclear war arising from regional rivalries, miscalculation, accident, or detonation by terrorists. Arguably, the risk of nuclear war is higher today than it has been for more than half a century. At the same time, the United States, like the other nuclear superpower, is facing serious environmental damage and substantial risks resulting from the production and storage of nuclear warheads and fuel over many decades. This course will examine the key decisions over the last 70 years by policy makers in the US that contributed to the creation of this dangerous situation, how the U.S. has employed diplomacy to avoid nuclear war and reduce its likelihood, the contemporary consequences of its past decisions, and the prospects for the future. We will consider the options open to American decision makers at the time, the wisdom of and rationale for their choices, and what they should do now. The course is likely to involve lectures, videos, and discussions. Weekly reading will be 50-60 pages in length, including many original source documents (memoirs, letters, and speeches) and news articles from the past and present, as well as analysts' discussions of the issues. All readings will be available on Canvas. There will be a short paper, a mid-term and a final exam.
INTL-I 300, "Global Problems, International Solutions"
Class #: 46617
Meeting Time: Fri, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Hybrid-Distance Video & Online
Instructor: Hussein Banai
This course surveys a set of contemporary global problems across five major fields -- security, political economy, public health, culture, and the environment -- and critically examines the practical solutions on offer to mitigate them at the international level. The case studies for each topic are carefully chosen to highlight the dynamics of cooperation and contestation between governments, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots movements in global politics. The aim of the course is to shed light on the challenges and rewards of everyday problem-solving in international politics.
INTL-I 300, "From the Cold War to the Blockchain: The Cultural History of Hacking"
Class #: 46424
Meeting Time: ARR
Location: 100% Online
Instructor: Peter Nemes
Hacking has become a catch-all term for activities that are connected to technological changes. We are hacking or trying to hack everything from software (which was the original focus of hackers), to biological life forms, all the way to the climate or monetary systems. This three-week intensive online course will explore the history, cultural representations, and social place of hacking. What are the practical possibilities of hacking, and what kind of philosophical implications do they carry? What part of our recent history, of our evolving social norms, and of possible changes in our lives are a result of a way of thinking that has its roots in hacker culture? How is hacking connected to everyday life, to art, and to ethics? How is it represented in popular culture? Can hacking culture be connected to grassroots movements or political change? From Linux to Dogecoin, the implications of hacker culture in our present culture are vast, and this course seeks to explore them through an interdisciplinary lens.
What is a "developing" country? Often also referred to as "non-western" or part of the "third-world," this course will explore definitions of these terms and the politics of countries that are typically categorized as developing, including the broader power dynamics that influence these politics. Central to our discussions will be definitions of democracy and autocracy and what these look like in the developing world, globalization and colonization, human rights, and the media. Although the course is about the politics of the developing world, it is inevitable that we should discuss the politics of the developed world, as well, given the historical and contemporary relationships between the developing and developed world.
This course will explore media representations of Middle Eastern societies, as well as the role of media in Middle Eastern countries with an emphasis on Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and the Levant. Beginning with foundational media theory, we will then consider the history of mass media in the region, including print, radio, and television. The course will go on to treat the roles of old, new and social media in political and cultural revolutions of recent decades, along with the complexities of globalized media production involving transnational collaboration and diaspora populations.
This course explores the evolution of thinking about democracy, as both a system of government and a political ideal, in international society. We will investigate the contours of historical and contemporary debates about self-government in the minds of democratic theorists, political figures, and the public at large. The course is divided into three segments. In the first, we will examine the historical forms and theoretical foundations of democracy from ancient Greece to present-day liberal and multinational democratic associations. The second segment of the course focuses more narrowly on the discourses about and the divergent practices of democracy in international and comparative contexts. We will subject to scrutiny key determinants of democracy such as development, civil and political rights, accountable institutions, etc. in reference to the lived experience of democracy. Lastly, we will devote a few sessions to an examination of various crises of democracy in contemporary world politics. Among the topics examined will be the impact of the global economic recession on domestic and international institutions, the aftermath of multiple wars, revolutionary upheavals, and terrorist attacks on democratic decision-making, and the evident turn toward populism and nationalism in Western liberal democratic societies.
This class will adopt a comparative and historical approach to the study of war economy. We will investigate various types of war economies, controlled by states, armed groups, and individuals.
INTL-I 426, "Global Governance and International Organizations"
Class #: 40150
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: David Bosco
For centuries, mankind has struggled to find ways to organize international life and restrain the chaos and conflict that have so often plagued it. But the search for structures and mechanisms to govern the world has always encountered forces that push in the other direction. The desire for uninhibited national sovereignty has been a consistent check on movements for international organization. Questions of democratic accountability remain a persistent problem for global governance efforts. As daunting have been architectural and mechanical problems. What mission should international organizations have? Who should control them and to whom are they responsible? Today, there exists a group of powerful but incomplete and often flawed global governance mechanisms. Formal organization including the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Criminal Court receive the most attention. At the regional level, the European Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other organizations have become. Other efforts at providing governance across borders take less institutionalized forms, including networks, consultative groups, and even shared norms. Understanding the complex interactions between these mechanisms, national governments and other actors is essential to understanding the modern world.
INTL-I 426, "Introduction to International Criminal Defense Law and Practice"
Class #: 46272
Meeting Time: Thurs, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid-Distance Video & Online
Instructor: Tanya Pettay
This course provides an introduction into the role played by international criminal defense lawyers, the strategies they use to advance the rights and interests of their clients, and the challenges they face. This course will include a variety of guest speakers practicing in the field who will also provide a "day in the life" view into the world of international criminal defense law.
Over the past five decades, the major economies of East Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan--have experienced exponential economic growth. In 1945, all were poor in global comparison; by 2021, the region has become among the wealthiest and most dynamic in the world, and millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. In this course, we will examine: what factors lead to the rise of East Asian economies?
This course covers important key aspects of Haitian culture, as the first Black nation in the Western Hemisphere and in the Caribbean. It takes students into central aspects of Haitian history, politics, environment, humanitarian relief and development. This course includes discussions of gender relations, religion, medicine, education, work, migration, race, and class. No knowledge of Haitian Creole is required.
Explores the meanings and practices of altering consciousness, also known as "shamanism," in relation to spirituality and spiritualism and to health and healing of individuals and communities. Considers ethnographic and historical contexts throughout the Americas, with a focus on Latin American cultures, especially Maya, Huichol, Andean, Mestizo, and Mapuche.
Analyzes the contemporary conflicts in Central America by placing them in historical perspective. Includes such topics as the relation between socio-economic structures and politics, the impact of World War II and agro-export development, agrarian reform, revolution, democratization, and relations with the United States.
Surveys the transformation of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East between the second and seventh centuries, focusing on the emergence of religion as a central facet of political identity, the fusion of Christian monotheism with imperial politics, and its impact on traditional societies and cultures on the eve of Islam.
MELC-M 239, "US Foreign Policy and the Muslim World"
Class #: 22114
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 4:55pm-6:10pm
Location: Distance Synchronous Video
Instructor: Abdulkader Sinno
Introduces salient policy debates that shape contemporary American foreign policy toward the Middle East and the Muslim world. Explores foreign policy decision making and international relations theory. Addresses major policy questions, including US reactions to the crisis in Syria and the Arab Spring.
Introduces salient policy debates that shape contemporary American foreign policy toward the Middle East and the Muslim world. Explores foreign policy decision making and international relations theory. Addresses major policy questions, including US reactions to the crisis in Syria and the Arab Spring.
Introduces the definition(s), historical development, theories about the psychological and ideological motivations of terrorism. Examines emergence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, placing the group within the context of current events. Explores the factors leading to the survival and strength of terrorism in Iraq and Syria, ISIS's appeal, and ideology.
Explores how Islam and Muslims have been perceived by Europeans in the pre-modern and early modern periods and by Americans after World War II. Topics covered include key historical encounters between the Muslim-majority world and the West and modern phenomena like Orientalism and Islamophobia.
Introduces salient policy debates that shape contemporary American foreign policy toward the Middle East and the Muslim world. Explores foreign policy decision making and international relations theory. Addresses major policy questions, including US reactions to the crisis in Syria and the Arab Spring.
International Politics in the 20th century: Course will trace the history of international politics from Napoleon¿s wars through Hitler and Stalin to current affairs. Students will learn the historical prologue of current world politics. Course will introduce the terminology of international relations and the ideas that govern the way we think about international politics.
What is going on in Russia now, what is it like to live there? Do you want to know how the Russian government and society have been dealing with the COVID pandemic? How do migrants from Central Asia live and work in Russia? Why is historical memory so instrumental for the current political regime and is Stalin still one of the most popular figures among Russians? Who is defined as a ¿foreign agent¿ in Russia and what can an NGO do in Russia? What role do Russia¿s regions play in economics and politics? How does Russia address climate change? How have Trump and Biden been pictured in the Russian media? We discuss issues in contemporary Russia such as public health, housing, standard of living, the Moscow metro, and examine Russian nationalism, memory wars, political opposition and environmental initiatives. We become familiar with cultural trends, public opinion, and the ups and downs of US-Russia relations. Feel free to suggest other topics and questions for class discussion! Short readings in Russian will be available online.
REEI-R 300, "Heroes and Villains in Russian History"
Class #: 43648
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Tatiana Saburova
We will examine major themes in Russian history through the lives of colorful, controversial, mainly famous, but also obscure, individuals. We will look at Russian legendary rulers and revolutionaries, intellectuals and explorers, traveling from the 13th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will analyze the myth-making process surrounding their lives to learn what such myths, as much as the truth of their lives, tell us about politics of history, Russian society and its search for a "usable past". We will read biographies and memoirs, watch popular films and read excerpts from novels, look at paintings and monuments, to address how myths are constructed and why certain figures occupy a permanent place in the Russian or Western imagination. Requirements: preparation and participation in class discussions, three papers (@1200-1500 words), a final essay and its presentation. Readings will be provided on Canvas.
REEI-R 300, "Anthropology of Russia & Eastern Europe"
Class #: 44042
Meeting Time: Wed, 11:30am-2:00pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: Sarah Phillips
What was Eastern bloc socialism, and what happened to it? This course explores the contradictory effects of socialism and its "fall" in the former Soviet Union (especially Russia and Ukraine) and Eastern and Central Europe. Our focus will be on the lives of "regular people" and their diverse experiences and interpretations of the social, political, economic, and cultural changes over the last three decades. We will also consider different ways people "re-member" the socialist past and to what extent this past still informs daily life in contexts of "post-socialism." We'll delve into pop culture, queer, crip, and feminist movements, post-socialist shopping, minority media, music, and much more. Our inquiries will connect to broad intellectual questions in anthropology and related disciplines, including globalization, social suffering, consumption and cultural identity, ethnicity and nation building, and various axes of inequality such as language, class, dis/ability, gender, and sexuality, among others.
REEI-R 300, "International Politics in the 20th Century"
Class #: 42364
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 4:55pm-6:10pm
Location: In-person
Instructor: László Borhi
International Politics in the 20th century: Course will trace the history of international politics from Napoleon¿s wars through Hitler and Stalin to the current affairs. Students will learn the historical prologue of current world politics. Course will introduce the terminology of international relations and the ideas that govern the way we think about international politics.
With Russia again becoming again a major player in international affairs, it is important to understand how its economy works. The first part of the course looks briefly at the recent economic history of Russia, including the functioning of the Soviet economic system, the transition to a market economy, and the formation of the current system dominated by state-controlled enterprises. The bulk of the course, however, will examine the current workings of the Russian economy with a particular emphasis on institutions and governance (i.e., property rights, corruption, tax system, federalism) although we will also look at the main sectors such as energy and other natural resources as well as manufacturing and education. There is no single text for the class. Most of the readings are chapters from edited volumes of papers published in academic journals. All of the readings are available online. Although E202 is a pre-requisite for this course, I will explain the main economic concepts as needed. Student performance in the course will be evaluated based on two midterm examinations (20% of the grade each), cumulative final examination (35% of the grade), presentation on a topic approved by me (15%) and attendance (10%).
Uralic Peoples and Cultures Surveys the Uralic (that is, Finno-Ugric and Samoyed) peoples of eastern and northern Europe as well as Siberia. Topics include their origins (such as their distinctive non-Indo-European languages) and contrasting history, traditional and modern cultures (religion, art, music, and literature), ethnic and national identity in modern times, economic development and social modernization, and political independence for a few of them along with Russian rule in most cases. Also covers interrelations among these peoples in the modern era, especially the issue of pan-Uralic cultural ties and affinity. Main focus is on Hungary, Finland, and Estonia.
Central Asia under Russian Rule surveys the history of the complex relations between Russia and Central Asia. We will explore the Russian expansion into the region in the 16th century and the conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century, discuss the political and social developments under Russian rule, and conclude with the emergence of modern nations in Soviet Central Asia in the 1920s. Central Asia is defined as the western part of Inner Asia, stretching from the Caspian Sea in the west to Eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang) in the east, including the modern republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and adjacent historic regions in north-eastern Iran and northern Afghanistan. The main topics to be discussed: Early trade relations between Russia and Central Asia The motives for and the course of Russian expansion into the region Russian colonial rule: law, education, administration, economy and culture Russian migration and colonization Russian indirect rule over its Central Asian protectorates Economic development and modernization under Russian rule National movements and uprisings in Central Asia The 1917 Revolution and the Civil War in Central Asia The emergence of modern nation states The evaluation of the Russian conquest and Russian rule in Central Asia in modern historiography.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies