Course Description
Selected problems related to United States foreign policy.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional readings and short paper(s) normally required for graduate level coursework.
Athena Title
PROB FOREIGN PLCY
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course explores the cultural and diplomatic history of the post-1945 encounter between the United States and the so-called Third World (comprising much of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America). The Cold War, American images of other countries, doctrines of economic development, and strategies of nation building are central to this history. Readings, class discussion and research will offer new perspectives on the historical roots of today’s global crises. A principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which past societies and peoples have defined the relationships between community and individual needs and goals, and between ethical norms and decision-making. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
The American Century and the “Underdeveloped world,” 1941-1950 Modernization and the early Cold War Race and Gender in Foreign Relations Cultural Texts, Power and Foreign Relations Modernization Theory: The MIT Connection Modernization and the Road to Vietnam Nation Building and the Middle East Orientalism and Anti-Americanism Terrorism September 11th and Beyond
Institutional Competencies
Analytical ThinkingThe ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, or visual form.
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
The capacity to engage in the relational process of optimizing personal and collective strengths toward a common goal.
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
Syllabus