Courses

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.

• CAS IR 778: Problems of Strategic Intelligence
  Explores major aspects of strategic intelligence; interrelationship of intelligence and other aspects of foreign policy; performance of U.S. intelligence community; and intelligence as a tool in the formulation of foreign policy.
• CAS IR 780: CIA's National Clandestine Service
  The National Clandestine Service spends 15% of the US Intelligence budget but receives 95% of public and private scrutiny. Examines the unique legal mandate and culture of the clandestine service: espionage, covert operations, counterintelligence, and special operations.
• CAS IR 788: International Relations of Asia-Pacific
  Focuses on the Asia-Pacific region. Analysis of issues that have defined international relations; the impact of the Cold War, of regional economic growth and dynamism, and the emergence of contention over regional identity and its relations to global politics.
• CAS IR 789: Globalization, Development, Governance
  Graduate Prerequisites: (GRSIR603) or consent of instructor. - Covers the history, theory, and contemporary policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions and their offshoots, as well as the newly established development banks, with special emphasis on sustainability policy perspectives.
• CAS IR 798: Global Development Capstone
  Graduate Prerequisites: At least 12 credits toward the MA in Global Development Policy or the MA in Global Development Economics. - (Meets with GRS EC 798 and GE798.) Capstone course for MA students in Global Development Policy and Global Development Economics. Students, working in groups, design and carry out an interdisciplinary policy analysis comparable to those performed for a government or nonprofit agency.
• CAS IR 799: Master's Paper
  Provides structure and support to Masters paper writers, through individual mentorship of a faculty member. Goals include formulating researchable questions, creating viable research and writing strategies, and critiquing intermediate efforts. Normally taken in final semester for 4 units. May be taken in two consecutive semesters with permission.
• CAS IR 901: Directed Study 1
  Advanced independent study in international relations under the supervision of a faculty member. Usually requires a formal research paper. Hours arranged.
• CAS IR 902: Directed Study 2
  Advanced independent study in international relations under the supervision of a faculty member. Usually requires a formal research paper. Hours arranged.
• CAS LF 621: Reading French for Graduate Students
  Designed for graduate degree candidates preparing for language reading examinations. Develops skills in interpreting written French with minimal phonological or cultural references. Practice in translating passages relating to the sciences and humanities. No previous knowledge of French required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge.
• CAS LF 641: Topics in Urban Imaginaries in Literature and Film
  May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. - Students examine the filmic and literary representations of urban environments in France and the francophone world; the phenomenon of urbanization, the historical development, cultural and artistic context of its attractive power; fluxes of migration of the city; streets and monuments as characters. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Creativity/Innovation
  • The Individual in Community
• CAS LF 655: Studies in Nineteenth-Century French Literature
  May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. - Examines major themes and works in the literature of nineteenth-century France. Attention to cultural context and dialogue between the arts, literature, politics, and popular culture. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS LF 658: The Nonbinary Nineteenth Century
  Undergraduate prerequisite: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - Examines fictional and non fictional works from nineteenth-century France on themes of sexual and gender identity, contextualized through contemporary queer, trans, and feminist theory. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS LF 662: Cinema-Monde: Mapping French Film
  Spanning from the silent era to the present-day, this course reframes the key movements of French cinema through the lens of the global. Directors include Georges Melies, Jean Renoir, Jean-Luc Godard, Chantal Ackerman, Agnes Varda, and the Dardenne brothers. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS LF 678: Topics in The Voice in the Text: Gender and Authorship
  May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. - Explores how French and Francophone women writers and theorists engage with cultural, social, and political issues. Draws on works such as novels, autobiographies, plays, and essays, situating these writings at the intersection of gender, language, nationality, and collective memory. Topic for Spring 2026: Exploration of experimental texts by women writers, tracing questions of authorship, identity, language, sexuality, feminism, and gender roles in a variety of literary and cultural forms. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • The Individual in Community
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS LF 850: Seminar: Theories of Literature
  Satisfies department theory requirement. Topic for Fall 2024: Literary Theories & Critical Practices. Traces, explores, and equips students to work with literary theories and critical methodologies, from influential twentieth-century works to the most recent trends in gender and sexuality studies, ecocriticism, disability studies, and critical race studies.
• CAS LF 860: Seminar: Topics in French Literature
  May be repeated for credit if topic is different. Topic for Spring 2026: Sixty Years of Francophone Filmic Production. Discussion of African and Afro-diasporic films in their social, historical contexts, and production practices; the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers and genre, between documentary and fiction, and thus, aesthetic transformations.
• CAS LF 951: Directed Study: French Language and Literature
  Hours arranged. Consent of instructor and department.
• CAS LF 952: Directed Study: French Language and Literature
  Hours arranged. Consent of instructor and department.
• CAS LI 621: Reading Italian for Graduate Students
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Designed for graduate degree candidates preparing for language reading examinations. Develops skills in interpreting written Italian with minimal phonological or cultural references. Practice in translating passages relating to the sciences and humanities. No previous knowledge of Italian required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge.
• CAS LI 951: Directed Study in Italian Language and Literature
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor and department. - Hours arranged.