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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS IR 572: Ballot or Bullet: The Global Struggle for Justice
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar. - How do people attain justice for issues with deep historical roots, such as colonialism, segregation, indigenous land rights, reparations, gender/race-based violence, and religious persecution' Explores the role of violence both in policing global morality and in popular responses to imposed universalist ideas. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 573: Seminar in Public International Law
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent). - Overview of the rules, principles, and institutions of public international law. Surveys the basic doctrinal architecture of the field and examines rapidly developing subfields and controversies. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 574: Laws of War
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS IR 230 or IR 271/PO 171 or IR 349 or IR 350 or IR 374 or IR 375 or IR 385, or IR 573. Juniors and seniors in ROTC are welcome even if th ey have not completed one of these courses. - International law governs the use of force, the conduct of armed conflict, and the adjudication of war crimes. This course explores the strengths, limits, and blind spots of these three bodies of law through a broad range of topics.
  • CAS IR 577: Foreign Policy of the People's Republic of China
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Meets with CAS PO 576. Explores China's perception of its role in the world, its evolution from a regional to a world power, and its security and economic relationships within the international system. Relationships with the superpowers, Third World, and world economy, focusing on technology and capital transfers.
  • CAS IR 579: Japan in International Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Meets with CAS PO 552. International and domestic influences on Japan's international behavior in the past as a predictor of Japan's future role in international politics. Covers Japan's role in the Cold War, post-war Asia, and the management of the global economy. Examines viability of post-Cold War U.S.-Japan relationship.
  • CAS IR 580: Latin America & International Law
    Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120) and junior standing. - This course examines Latin America¿s political integration since independence and critically evaluates arguments that this region developed its own distinct norms and approach to international relations and international law.
  • CAS IR 581: The Evolution of Strategic Intelligence
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: limited to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) and CAS IR 271. - With emphasis on U.S. intelligence activities from the American Revolution through the Cold War, IR 581 examines various aspects of intelligence practices, principles, organizations, activities, and events and the impact intelligence has had on global events. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 582: Taiwan: Politics and Transformation
    (Meets with CAS PO 553.) Examines Taiwan's history, economic development, ethnic identity, democratization, and its controversial position in international politics as a key to understanding questions of political economy, democratic transition, and East Asian security.
  • CAS IR 583: Strategies of Defense Planning
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: open to juniors and seniors in International Relations and Political S cience who have completed the First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or 120) and Writing, Research & Inquiry (WR 150, 151, 152). - It is highly-recommended that students have previously taken a 200 or 300-level IR course. Students who have not met these requirements need instructor approval to take this course. Addresses principles and practices of U.S. defense planning. Investigates how the Department of Defense receives and develops strategic direction, builds military capability and executes operational missions. Examines the requirements, acquisition, and resource allocation process for new weapon systems. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing- Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 584: Global Trade and Development
    Provides deep understanding into the impact of global trade on socio-economic development, emphasizing the role of global and regional institutions. Special attention is given to the transformative rise of global supply chain trade and its intricate links to development outcomes. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS IR 585: Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Meets with CAS PO 549. An in-depth examination of politics in post-Mao China, this course focuses on several critical issues, uses various conceptual frameworks to try to understand why the reform process broke down, and examines prospects for the future.
  • CAS IR 586: Financing Development in Africa
    This course provides background information regarding Africa’s infrastructure development challenges, key sectors, trends, key actors and institutions financing development. Key frameworks covered in the course include the project development life cycle, project financing and public private partnership (PPP) structures.
  • CAS IR 587: Global Energy History
    Prerequisite: one Social Inquiry I course. - This course traces global energy history from the Industrial Revolution to our era of climate change. We examine where energy resources come from, how they are acquired and moved, and why societies transition from one source of energy to another. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy, Social Inquiry II.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS IR 589: North Atlantic/European Security Issues
    Meets with CAS PO 582. Examination of the post Cold War security environment in the North Atlantic and greater European context. Exploration of threats to security, mechanisms in place and emerging (NATO, CSCE, CFE, WEU), and challenges posed by changes since fall 1989.
  • CAS IR 590: Political Economy of Latin America
    (Meets with CAS PO 562.) Historical and contemporary issues in Latin American political economy. Uses case studies and cross-regional comparisons to assess competing explanations. Analyzes the current political and economic situation facing Latin America in its quest for economic growth and development.
  • CAS IR 591: Political Economy of Gender Inequality
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior or senior standing; or consent of instructor. - Gender inequality is an enduring social phenomenon, despite variation over time and place. This course analyzes the political, economic, and social dimensions of gender inequality. It follows a comparative approach, focusing particularly on empirical analysis while also addressing fundamental normative issues of fairness. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS IR 592: Economic Development and International Institutions
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor. - Examines the role of international institutions in economic development. Analyzes how development- related international institutions makes rules and affect national policy choices. Applies those lessons to concrete policy challenges, including possibilities for institutional reform.
  • CAS IR 593: Technology and Economic Inclusion in the Developing World
    How can firms and governments use new technologies to provide clean energy, drinking water, and other services to rural and frontier communities in the developing world' The course investigates how rural communities, particularly those without access to formal and other services, manage their money, provide energy and other services they need, and general live their lives. We will then examine how firms and governance can design products, governance mechanisms, and policies which can most effectively tap into such communities. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS IR 594: Global Environmental Negotiation and Policy
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Provides an overview of key actors, issues, and treaties in global environmental governance, paying particular attention to historical and contemporary differences in perspectives and interests of industrialized and developing countries. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry II.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS IR 596: Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Considers the impact of globalization on advanced industrialized nations. Explores global and regional governance of finance, trade, and multinationals. Examines changes in national economic practices in Europe, Asia, and the US, and their effects on jobs, inequality, welfare, and democracy.

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