Courses 2016-2017

Development and Change in Iraq and Afghanistan (Spring 2018)
Naysan Adlparvar
MMES 348 / ER&M 371 / PLSC 380

This seminar course introduces students to processes of socio-political development in the post-conflict settings of Iraq and Afghanistan. In doing so, the course not only provides an overview of both US-led interventions, but also familiarizes participants with the ground realities of delivering development programing. Issues covered include the militarisation of aid, gender, community development, refugees, democratisation, Human Rights, and minorities. There is also a focus on the development of student writing skills.

Humanitarian Interventions (Spring 2017)
Catherine Panter-Brick
ANTH 386 / GLBL 393

Analysis of humanitarian interventions from a variety of social science disciplinary perspectives. Issues related to policy, legal protection, health care, morality, and governance in relation to the moral imperative to save lives in conditions of extreme adversity. Promotion of dialogue between social scientists and humanitarian practitioners

Ethical and Moral Dilemmas in Humanitarian Action  (Spring 2017)
Unni Karunakara
GLBL 791

This course discusses cases that examine ethical and moral dilemmas in the delivery of humanitarian assistance at the organizational, operational and individual levels.

Responding to Violent Conflict: Epidemiological Methods & Public Health Interventions  (Spring 2017)
Kaveh Khoshnood
EMD 540

The last hundred years have witnessed an alarming number of violent conflicts (VC), some of which are ongoing. In its seminal 2002 World Report on Violence and Health, WHO described violence as a public health problem, estimated its scope and magnitude, and categorized it into self-directed, interpersonal and collective violence.  The WHO called upon public health professionals to become more engaged in examining the causes and consequences of violence and to develop strategies to prevent it. 

How have we responded to this call?  This course is a partial response to this call.  The course is focused primarily on collective violence, while also recognizing that all forms of violence are interrelated.  The course pays particular attention to the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, especially the Syrian crisis, while drawing on salient examples from other regions of the world that have experienced VC.  Students will review and critique the available scientific evidence to measure negative health consequences of VC and pay particular attention to epidemiological methods used in producing this evidence.  We will discuss the challenges of conducting rigorous epidemiological studies in contexts of fragility and insecurity.

Intro Critical Refugee Studies (Spring2017)
Quan T Tran
ER&M 221 / WGSS 222

Reconfiguring refugees as fluid subjects and sites of social, political, and cultural critiques. Departing from dominant understandings of refugees as victims, consideration instead of refugees as complex historical actors, made visible through processes of colonization, imperialism, war, displacement, state violence, and globalization, as well as ethical, social, legal, and political transformations. Focus on second-half of the twentieth century.

Refugee Law and Policy (Spring 2017)
PLSC 227 / EP&E 310 

This course will address major themes and controversies in U.S. refugee law and policy, including: the origins and evolution of refugee law in the United States; the role of Congress, courts and administrative agencies; grounds for asylum; expansion of protection to “new” asylum claims; procedures for adjudicating asylum claims; challenges in proving asylum claims; and detention of asylum-seekers.    

Effective States, Weak States and Citizens in the 21st Century (Spring 2017)
GLBL 771
Clare Lockhart

This seminar course will focus on the contemporary issue of effective states, weak states and their social compact with citizens in the 21st century. It will examine the changing context for the role of the state, state-building and peace-building, including forces of globalization, information technology and demographic shifts, as well as the consolidation of illicit networks. It will consider the scope of the challenge of state fragility, and the potential consequences of failure to address it. It will examine cases of success and failure, and consider the domestic and external policies that contributed to these trajectories.

Borders, Culture & Citizenship (Fall 2016)
PLSC 580 / PHIL 474 / PHIL 674 / PLSC 326
Seyla Benhabib

The contemporary refugee crisis in Europe and elsewhere; new patterns of migration, increasing demands for multicultural rights on the part of Muslim minorities in the West, and transnational effects of globalization faced by contemporary societies. This course examines these issues in a multidisciplinary perspective in the light of political theories of citizenship and migration, and laws concerning refugees and migrants in Europe and the United States.