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:
Spring Small Session (Jan. 19–Feb. 7)
Spring Semester (Feb. 8–May 1)
Spring Small Session (Jan. 19–Feb. 7)
Check each course to see how it satisfies certain credit requirements (e.g., ASCS-Q 296, INTL BA or BS degree) or can be counted toward certificates.
INTL-I 212, "Solving Global Problems With Technology"
Class #: 34126
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Isak Nti Asare
Digital technologies including social media, electronic marketplaces, automated sensors, and smartphones are transforming our world. Using an open and participatory problem-solving approach, this class explores emerging technological innovations and how governments around the world are using these innovations to try to address global issues such as pandemics, climate change, and poverty. The promise of emerging technologies also come with pitfalls, however. The course also examines the risks, threats, and governance challenges of digital transformation and through a hands-on setting, gives students an opportunity to develop their project management and research skills. No technological background required.
Writing and memorizing Chinese characters is probably one of the most challenges faced by students of Chinese. This course will introduce the principles of writing Chinese characters to students in first- and second-year Chinese classes. It will teach students how to write and memorize Chinese characters correctly and effectively by learning radicals, stroke order and strategies. It will also discuss many aspects of the culturally fascinating Chinese heritage of Chinese characters, including Chinese calligraphy.
This course, designed for students in 4th and 5th year Chinese, will guide students in the creative delivery of their ideas, opinions, and arguments coherently on practical, social, and professional topics. Activities include reading articles that require students to synthesize, determine cause and effect, and draw comparisons and conclusions. Students will be encouraged to support their ideas with specific examples using well-controlled structures, general and specialized/professional vocabulary, and advanced writing and grammar abilities to meet the criteria of ACTFL advanced level. Writing assignments may include a short narrative story, a description, and a persuasive essay. This course is ideal for students with strong speaking skills who desire more practice in their Chinese reading and writing.
This course is designed for students who have completed 5th semester Chinese (C301), or its equivalent. It concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening. Students are required to read chosen materials and prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese. This class will emphasize the improvement of spoken language skills and help students actively engage in constant meaningful communication within various contexts in Mandarin. This course will also prepare students to deal with advanced level OPI test.
SGIS-S 200, "Women, Gender & International Affairs"
Class #: 31260
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 10:00am-10:50pm
Location: Hybrid Distance
Instructor: Staff
Evaluate the barriers and obstacles facing women in international affairs, both from the perspective of women’s absence in careers and leadership roles in the field, as well as the exclusion of women and “women’s issues” in policymaking. Students will hear from a range of guest speakers who will discuss how they have navigated barriers and pitfalls, and provide advice on career and leadership development.
Comments: This course can be taken in conjunction with the following courses to meet the ASCS-Q 296: College to Career II: Navigate your Arts and Sciences Experience requirement for HLS majors: Get Started on your Global Career, Global Issues affecting Local Communities or Global Service: your next steps.
In addition, students who are looking for experiential and/or professional development opportunities should consider combining courses that meet the ASCS-Q 296 with any of the following intersession courses: Data Visualization, Op-Ed Writing, Writing Policy Memoranda, Digital Transformations, or Descriptive Statistics.
Professional development fulfillment if cross-listed as INTL course.
Quantitative skills are crucial to understanding and interpreting data. This overview in descriptive statistics covers means, standard deviations, and other basic measures and concepts.
Note: This course may count for 1 undistributed course credit toward the INTL B.A. or B.S. degree. (It may not fulfill any quantitative reasoning requirements). Please speak with your advisor to confirm you are adhering to requirements.
SGIS-S 400/500, "Introduction to International Criminal Defense Law and Practice"
Class #: 31548/31549
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Hybrid Distance
Instructor: Tanya Pettay
Get an introduction into the defense role in protecting fair trial rights and challenging the dominant narratives of international criminal law. Students will explore various defense strategies and challenges arising in landmark cases and hear from guest speakers practicing in the field who will provide a “day in the life” view into the world of international criminal defense law.
Note: This course may count for 1 undistributed course credit toward the INTL B.A. or B.S. degree. This course requires DUS approval for credit to count unless you have taken INTL-I 499/I-545. Please speak with your advisor to confirm you are adhering to requirements.
It’s never too early to start preparing for your post-graduate career. Students will learn how to navigate the job-seeking process, engage in skill-building workshops and networking opportunities with global leaders, and better understand how to turn their degree and academic interests into global careers.
Comments: This course can be taken in conjunction with the following courses to meet the ASCS-Q 296: College to Career II: Navigate your Arts and Sciences Experience requirement for HLS majors: Women in International Affairs, Global Issues affecting Local Communities or Global Service: your next steps.
In addition, students who are looking for experiential and/or professional development opportunities should consider combining courses that meet the ASCS-Q 296 with any of the following intersession courses: Data Visualization, Op-Ed Writing, Writing Policy Memoranda, Digital Transformations, or Descriptive Statistics.
Professional development fulfillment if cross-listed as INTL course.
International Studies is a Eurocentric discipline that often fails to consider perspectives drawn from other regions, including the African diaspora. This course seeks to decolonize International Studies by centering the insights, literature, and perspectives of Black academics, activists, and intellectuals.
Note: This course may count for 1 undistributed course credit toward the INTL B.A. or B.S. degree. Please speak with your advisor to confirm you are adhering to the requirements.
SGIS-S 200, "Global Issues affecting Local Communities"
Class #: 31812
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid Distance
Instructor: Marvin Sterling
Students will select one of a variety of global issues affecting today’s world and complete research to create tangible resources that can be used in their local communities.
Comments: This course can be taken in conjunction with the following courses to meet the ASCS-Q 296: College to Career II: Navigate your Arts and Sciences Experience requirement for HLS majors: Women in International Affairs, Get Started on your Global Career, or Global Service: Your Next Steps. In addition, students who are looking for experiential and/or professional development opportunities should consider combining courses that meet the ASCS-Q 296 with any of the following intersession courses: Data Visualization, Op-Ed Writing, Writing Policy Memoranda, Digital Transformations, or Descriptive Statistics.
Experiential learning requirement if cross-listed as INTL course.
Writing and memorizing Chinese characters is probably one of the biggest challenges faced by students of Chinese. This course will introduce the principles of writing Chinese characters to students in first- and second-year Chinese classes. It will teach students how to write and memorize Chinese characters correctly and effectively by learning radicals, stroke order, and strategies. It will also discuss many aspects of the culturally fascinating Chinese heritage of Chinese characters, including Chinese calligraphy.
This course is designed for students who have completed 5th semester Chinese (C301), or its equivalent. It concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through multimedia materials (including selected movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese. This class will emphasize the improvement of spoken language skills and help students actively engage in constant meaningful communication within various contexts in Mandarin.
SGIS-S 300, "Advanced Level Chinese Essay Writing"
Class #: 31863
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Yina Patterson
This course, designed for students in 4th and 5th year Chinese, will guide students in the creative delivery of their ideas, opinions, and arguments coherently on practical, social, and professional topics. Activities include reading articles that require students to synthesize, determine cause and effect, and draw comparisons and conclusions. Students will be encouraged to support their ideas with specific examples using well-controlled structures, general and specialized/professional vocabulary, and advanced writing and grammar abilities to meet the criteria of ACTFL advanced level. Writing assignments may include a short narrative story, a description, and a persuasive essay. This course is ideal for students with strong speaking skills who desire more practice in their Chinese reading and writing.
SGIS-S 200, "Diversity, Culture, and Language in East Asia"
Class #: 31864
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Alessia Cherici
This course will take students on journey across East Asia, namely China, Japan, and Korea exploring the cultural and linguistic diversity of the region. Through the lens of the dialects and language varieties spoken in these three countries, we will discover and analyze several linguistic issues pertaining to sounds, words, and structures. By doing so, we will understand that what we typically refer to as “a language”, e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, is in fact an extremely multifaceted phenomenon that subsumes a number of related, though often very diverse, languages. While exploring these issues, we will try to provide answers to the following questions: What is a “dialect”? What do we mean by “standard”, when it comes to language? How (and how much) do dialects differ from each other and from the standard? How does language diversity reflect on and shapes culture? What are the advantages of being multilingual?
Note: This course may count for 1 undistributed course credit toward the INTL B.A. or B.S. degree. Please speak with your advisor to confirm you are adhering to the requirements.
Instructor: Hamid Ekbia International Studies section; Shruti Rana for INTL-L section
The current pandemic has led to unprecedented closures of national borders and the withdrawal of much of the social and cultural aspects of society into the walls of the home. This course seeks to turn the pandemic crisis into an international learning opportunity, asking students to conduct a comprehensive study of the response to the crisis in different parts of the world — in particular, the region or country in the world where they intended to do their international experience. Students will be prepared to hit the ground running when finally able to study or travel abroad, as they will have an understanding of how the pandemic has altered the cultural, social, and institutional landscape of that country. The course will also provide students with the opportunity to reflect on the broader question of what it means to learn about other people, to understand their cultures, and to relate to their experiences.
SGIS-S 300, "Writing Policy Memoranda for Global Affairs"
Class #: 31419
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid Distance
Instructor: Tod Lindberg
Looking for a way to improve your professional and analytical writing skills? This course will train students to write professional quality policy memoranda, which are critical components of policy decision making and global careers. You will learn several common structures for policy memos, including action recommendations and one-pager advocacy. Course sessions will focus on key components and the research and writing skills needed to effectively research and write policy analyses. The format of this course will be similar to a small seminar, but with more focus on individualized instruction and feedback. This is a 2 unit course, but students may also take this course for 1 unit, with a reduced workload.
Comments: Students who are looking for experiential and/or professional development opportunities should consider combining courses that meet the ASCS-Q 296 with any of the following intersession courses: Data Visualization, Op-Ed Writing, Digital Transformations, or Descriptive Statistics.
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.
SGIS-S 300, "Combatting Human Trafficking Globally and Locally"
Class #: 31440
Location: 100% Online
Instructor: Eli Konwest
Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that manifests locally in unique ways. In this course, students will come to a greater understanding of human trafficking, hear from interdisciplinary professionals in how trafficking is combatted in their fields, and learn how they can contribute to curbing this phenomena in their own lives. Students will also participate in a small service-learning component with a non-profit partner.
Note: Students who are looking for experiential and/or professional development opportunities should consider combining this course with courses that meets the ASCS-Q 296 requirement.
SGIS-S 200, "Digital Transformation - solving global problems with technology"
Class #: 31819
Meeting Time: Mon/Wed, 11:30am-12:45pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Isak Nti Asare
Digital technologies including social media, electronic marketplaces, automated sensors, and smartphones are transforming our world. Using an open and participatory problem-solving approach, this class explores emerging technological innovations and how governments around the world are using these innovations to try to address global issues such as pandemics, climate change, and poverty. The promise of emerging technologies also comes with pitfalls, however. The course also examines the risks, threats, and governance challenges of digital transformation and through a hands-on setting, gives students an opportunity to develop their project management and research skills. No technical background required.
Note: This course may count for 1 undistributed course credit toward the INTL B.A. or B.S. degree. Please speak with your advisor to confirm you are adhering to the requirements.
You have seen the shift from research-driven news reporting to sensationalism, media manipulation, and attention-seeking. And that is what we will explore, in the context of East Asia. Major units of the class will address celebrity in East Asia, the hybridization of Western pop culture with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cultural developments, and how politics is intertwined with pop culture in East Asia. We will pick apart pop culture case studies to see what they can teach us about each of these East Asian cultures, and also about their interaction with each other.
Oral History in Kyrgyzstan and America, an international experience course. This class is jointly taught by faculty from American University in Central Asia (Bishkek) and by Kamp from IU CEUS, with students from both institutions participating and doing research together. The focus is oral history: methods, ethics, the formulation of a research project, carrying out interviews, processing, analyzing, archiving. Subjects will be everyday life themes where we find parallels in recent Kyrgyzstan and American cases, such as migration, social movements, etc. Format: one hour zoom session per week, Thursdays 8:35 am, and the rest asynchronous.
The focus is on relationships of power and authority, including how governments, markets, and international organizations deploy or use culture, and how people turn to cultural resources to resist attempts to govern them and/or to assert their own political aims.
EALC-E 201, "Translation and Adaptation in East Asia"
Class #: 31865
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Susan Hwang
Textual Rebirths: Myths and Legends in East Asia Today How can we explain the lasting popularity of the legendary Chinese monkey king as it manifests through Dragon Ball? What accounts for the countless reincarnations of "woman warrior," "white serpent," or "nine-tailed fox" archetypes in contemporary media such as Disney film "Mulan," K-dramas, and contemporary Japanese films? How and why do East Asian myths and legends travel beyond the time, language, and culture in which they are born? Students will analyze the transnational aspects of such diverse texts as manga, television shows, films, songs, and various digital media and what that reveals about East Asian societies, politics, and culture. All readings, viewings, and listenings will be in English translation. **No prerequisites** **Fulfills COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry and Global Civ & Culture Requirement**
EALC-E 300, "Sex, Romance and Story-telling in the Tale of Genji"
Class #: 11990
Meeting Time: Tues/Thurs, 3:15pm-4:30pm
Location: Distance Other
Instructor: Edith Sarra
Seize the opportunity to read The Tale of Genji with an experienced guide. This lecture/discussion class provides in-depth exposure to one of the central texts of Japanese literature, in English translation. We will pursue issues of gender, class, narration, and the connections between the tale and pre-modern Japanese history, politics and religion. The focus of our reading will be the depiction of romantic and/or sexual "love," family relations, and the heroes and heroines whose experiences of "love," marriage, and imperial politics organize the narrative. Readings include the Tale of Genji in English translation and critical essays and articles on related topics. No prior training in Japanese literature required. Course fulfills requirements for the EALC major; Global Civilization and Culture credit, and A & H Breadth of Inquiry credit for the BA.
Cultures of Protest in South Korea In the second half of the 20th century, as the divided Korea became a stage for the Cold War, South Korea experienced military dictatorships, democratization, and neoliberalization. How did Koreans mobilize culture as a site of resistance during such turbulent times? By engaging with diverse mediums--literature, songs, films, and digital media (i.e., "webtoons" and podcasts)--this course explores how social movements and political protests were shaped at crucial junctures in South Korea's recent history. All readings, viewings, and listenings in English translation. **No prerequisites** **Fulfills COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry and GCC**
Japan is at the forefront of a global trend of population aging and decline. Currently the only large, developed country with a declining population, over the course of the 21st century, dozens of other countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America are expected to begin shrinking as well. This makes Japan an important case for understanding the radical changes societies will experience as the exponential global population growth of the past three centuries begins to reverse itself.
The aims of this course are three-fold: first, to understand how Japanese institutions, including the family, the education system, the employment system, the government, and social movements of ordinary citizens function; second, to consider how these institutions pattern the lives of Japan’s residents; and third and finally, to explore how Japan, and other countries facing demographic decline, are likely to change in the coming decades as the world moves towards negative population growth.
The course draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives from sociology, political science, anthropology, and history. Through discussions and assignments, you will sharpen your analytical skills, and hone your ability to assess social scientific argument and evidence.
EALC-E 351, "Facing and Fleeing Death in Early China"
Class #: 31882
Meeting Time: Wed, 1:10pm-2:25pm
Location: Hybrid Distance
Instructor: Nick Vogt
This course will explore the variety of ways in which early Chinese thinkers confronted the reality of death. We will read about ancient kings striving to build political legacies that would outlive them; famous immortals and the various practices of alchemy, meditation, and diet that were said to have made them that way; philosophers (e.g., Zhuangzi) from both before and after the advent of Buddhism who questioned the negative image of death, and more. Concern about the disruptive effect of human mortality is ubiquitous in early Chinese texts. Treatment of death in the Confucian classics, however, centers largely on the effects of death on the survivors, and particularly on the nature, benefits, and proper execution of mourning. While we will consider these classical models of ancestor worship and mourning, the emphasis of the course will be on responses - psychological, philosophical, and practical - to the knowledge of one's own mortality.
This course explores international conflict and cooperation in contemporary East Asia—arguably this century’s most dynamic, and consequential, region. From China’s meteoric economic and military rise and the ever-present risk of war on the Korean Peninsula to the future of the US-centered alliance system, human rights, free trade, and global pandemics, the issues that define this complex and increasingly interconnected region now powerfully shape international and global politics (and US foreign policy debates).
Why are some countries rich while other countries remain poor? Why are some societies characterized by relative equality of wealth among its members (i.e. Sweden, China before 1978), while others are vastly unequal (i.e. Brazil)? How do current challenges such as globalization, democratic backsliding, and civil conflict affect global, national, and local efforts at facilitating development? Students will learn about the post-WWII global architecture surrounding international development projects, study both institutional and behavioral factors that influence development outcomes, and use theory and empirical observation to generate insight into the enduring challenges of development as well as the most promising pathways toward development at local, national, and global levels. I-203 is the core course for the International Studies thematic concentration in Global Development.
This course will investigate intersections between "identity" and "conflict." We will consider how different forms of identity--such as ethnic, religious, political, and gender--can become the basis for people to mobilize. We will analyze the processes through which certain identities are affirmed at the cost of alternative ones, paying careful attention to how and why people participate in acts of violence and discrimination against those whose identities are deemed undesirable. Rather than view conflicts as irreducibly based in identity, however, we will seek to understand how they emerge out of local conditions and historical legacies, and can be shaped by national, regional, and transnational contexts. Our approach will be interdisciplinary, drawing on readings from anthropology, cultural studies, and political theory. Students will acquire some familiarity with critical concepts such as colonialism and post-colonialism, the nation and the state, race and ethnicity, and globalization and neoliberalism.
Examines the development of the modern state and the role of international organizations in maintaining global security and promoting global governance. Addresses issues of political and cultural diplomacy and their effect in international disputes.
Why did Russia annex Crimea in March 2014? Why does Moscow continue to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine? What can the Ukrainian crisis tell us about Russia's relationship with Eastern Europe more broadly? This course will examine Russian foreign relations in Eastern Europe since the Second World War, exploring topics such as the rise and fall of the Soviet bloc, economic interdependence, and the security challenges of the post-Cold War order.
The goal of this course is to introduce advanced undergraduate students and graduate students to the history of the modern international system and major theoretical approaches to understanding how international order changes over time. The course is organized chronologically. It mixes occasional lectures with group discussions of the readings. We study the rise and fall of different international systems, their organizing principles, and the fate of alternative visions for international order that did not come to pass.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies