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 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 825: Seminar: Women and Social Change in the Developing World
  (Meets with GRS SO 820.) Studies women in nonindustrial countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, stressing empirical research, theory, and methodology. Comparisons between regions and with industrial countries. Focus on sex segregation, female labor force participation, migration, fertility, family roles, and women and political power.
• 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 LC 680: Modern Chinese Literature & Film
  Graduate Prerequisites: Graduate standing. - A seminar on the major works of modern Chinese literature and cinema from the May Fourth period to the present, with a focus on close reading and visual analysis. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
• CAS LC 951: Directed Study in Chinese
  Graduate Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and department.
• CAS LC 952: Directed Study in Chinese
  Graduate Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and department.
• CAS LE 529: Swahili with a Health Focus 1
  Graduate students in professional health fields are introduced to conversational Swahili with a particular focus on applications in global health settings. Designed for public health students who intend to work internationally or have an interest in a cross-cultural understanding of health.
• CAS LE 530: Swahili with a Health Focus 2
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLE529) or consent of instructor. - Building on CAS LE 529, this course continues to develop a student's conversational Swahili skills in global health settings. Second course in sequence designed for public health students who intend to work internationally or have an interest in a cross-cultural understanding of health.
• CAS LF 568: Topics in Literature and Film
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLF 350) and one LF 400-level literature course, or consent of instructor. - May be repeated twice for credit is topics are different. Topic TBA.
• CAS LF 569: Topics in Francophone Writing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLF 350 or CASLF 351 or consent of instructor - May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. Topic TBA.
• CAS LF 571: Topics in Nineteenth-Century French Literature
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLF 350 and one 400-level literature course. - May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. Topic TBA.
• CAS LF 613: French through Translation
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: for CASLF 313 only: CASLF 212 and placement test results, one other LF course at the 300-level, or consent of instructor. - Graduate Prerequisites: for GRSLF 613 only: advanced proficiency in French. - Students develop language skills and cultural awareness by exploring literary, technical, legal, and audiovisual texts. Students translate from different genres with special emphasis on prose, analyze essays on translation, and prepare a substantial translation from French into English, learning how to develop their own voice. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
• 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 642: Geographies of the Imagination: Writing (beyond) the Island
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLF350 OR CASLF351) or consent of instructor. - Approaches to real and imagined spaces in their literary representations. Emphasis on relation between cultural and political heritage and aesthetic forms. Discussion of themes such as exile, displacement, mobility, and empire in critical discourse. French, Francophone, and related traditions. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Research and Information Literacy