Courses

• CAS PO 352: Rise of China
  (Meets with CAS IR 365.) China's political, economic, and strategic development since the late nineteenth century, with emphasis on the period since 1949. Examines three questions: In what ways is China rising? How did it happen? What are the impacts of China's rise on the U.S. and the global system? This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 374.
• CAS PO 355: International Relations of South Asia
  Meets with CAS IR 372. Introduction to South Asia and regional conflict and cooperation. Focus on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka inter-state relations; great power interventions; power distributions; norms; political, military, and economic conflict and cooperation. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 378.
• CAS PO 356: Nuclear Security
  Meets with CAS IR 353. Provides students with the foundation for understanding nuclear security in the twenty-first century. Emphasis on the American Cold War experience, the growing threat of nuclear proliferation, the renaissance of civilian nuclear power, safeguards, and nuclear weapons under budget constraints.
• CAS PO 357: Causes of War and Peace
  Meets with CAS IR 347. War is the most destructive social act in which humanity engages. Why does war happen? This question is addressed by focusing on a variety of scholarly explanations. Theoretical discussions are paired with an examination of historical cases.
• CAS PO 360: Introduction to Latin American Politics and International Relations
  (Meets with CAS HI 399 and CAS IR 367.) Introduction to the patterns and complexities of Latin American politics and foreign policies. Focuses on the distinctive Latin American political experience and alternative explanation for it, including colonization, the international economy, and human and material resource capacity and utilization. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 367.
• CAS PO 368: Introduction to Middle East Politics
  Meets with CAS IR 307. Employs social science theories to explain the political development of the Middle East since World War I. Part 1 examines state formation and competing explanations for authoritarianism. Part 2 analyzes social movements ranging from Islamist groups to mass mobilization.
• CAS PO 371: The Politics of Post-Communist Russia
  (Meets with CAS IR 364.) Analysis of the emergent political forces, institutions, and alliances in the post- Soviet Russian Federation, against the background of the unresolved economic, ethnic, and social problems that are the USSR's legacy to the "new Russia"; prospects for stabilization are assessed in the context of the multiple crises facing Russia today. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 364.
• CAS PO 372: Russian and Post-Soviet Foreign Relations
  Meets with CAS IR 375. Decisive factors in the foreign relations of Russia and the other former Soviet republics, including historical continuity and change, survival and change of ideology, domestic politics, economic and geographical factors, military and external political considerations. The future of arms control, nuclear weapons, the economy, and relations among the former republics are also examined. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 375.
• CAS PO 373: African Politics Today
  (Meets with CAS IR 343.) An introduction to the issues dominating African political life today. Core course debates revolve around recent trends in African economic growth, democratic governance, and armed conflict, in addition to several other issues of contemporary concern.
• CAS PO 377: Africa in International Politics
  Meets with CAS IR 351. Introduction to the international relations of post-colonial Africa. Core themes include the politics of post-independence international alignments, the external causes and effects of authoritarian rule, and Africa's role in the global political economy. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 390.
• CAS PO 378: International Human Rights: Applying Human Rights in Africa
  Meets with CAS IR 352. Studies the growing international influence on politics of human rights principles, documents, and organizations, drawing especially on African cases such as Congo, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. Topics include universality vs. cultural relativism, individual vs. group rights, and issues in human rights enforcement. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 587.
• CAS PO 380: Special Topics: International Relations in Political Science
  Topics for 2016/2017 TBA.
• CAS PO 381: History of American Foreign Relations since 1898
  Meets with CAS HI 287. Analysis of the history of American foreign policy from the perspective of the changing world and regional international systems; emphasis on the effect of these systems and the impact of America on the creation and operation of international systems. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 366.
• CAS PO 383: Making Sense of the World: Conceptual Foundations of International Relations
  (Meets with CAS IR 360.) Introduction to various analytical approaches for understanding the dynamics of global interaction. Explores the variety of "worlds" made visible through the lens of theory. Fosters critical thinking about how conceptual tools shape our understanding of the world and attempted solutions to global problems. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 372.
• CAS PO 384: Global Governance and International Organization
  Meets with CAS IR 373. Provides an overview of major theoretical perspectives on the creation and function of international organizations, comparative case studies of selected organizations, and an examination of present and future roles of international organizations in selected issue areas. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 385.
• CAS PO 391: Classical to Early Modern Political Theory
  A text-oriented study of the principal political ideas of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Machiavelli.
• CAS PO 392: Modern Political Theory
  Intensive study of the political philosophy of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche. Classes are generally a combination of lecture and discussion but also include formal debates, guest lectures, and films.
• CAS PO 393: The European Enlightenment
  Survey of the intellectual and social transformation of Europe from the 1680s to the French Revolution. Readings draw on both eighteenth-century sources (including Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet, Lessing, Smith, and Hume) and recent work by historians. Also offered as CAS HI 215. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 395.
• CAS PO 394: Catastrophe & Memory
  Examines the ways in which catastrophes, both natural and social, enter into cultural memory. Goal is to understand how events that seem to defy comprehension are represented in works of art and given a place in the memory of a culture. Also offered as CAS HI 221. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 397.
• CAS PO 396: Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality
  Analyzes notions of gender and sexuality. Questions include: Are gender and sexual identity natural, or are they social constructions? How are they related to love and desire? Also offered as CAS PH 256.

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