GPIS Concentration:U.S. Foreign Policy & International Relations
- Students selecting this field must complete (IS 724) as their required field course.
- MA students must select TWO more courses within the field.
- PhD. students must choose FOUR courses for primary or TWO for secondary concentration.
- Students are advised to take courses other than those listed below only in consultation with the field coordinator.
- Students are also advised that they could enrich their classroom experience through Independent Study/Directed Research projects with the agreement and under the supervision of the field coordinator.
IS 701/801 Global Change and American Foreign Policy
Seminar, 3 hours. 3 credits. This research seminar examines the transformation of the U.S. role in the world in the global context of the 20th Century and since September 2001.
IS 702/802 Approaches to Collective Security
This seminar explores the origins of the idea of collective security, examines the attempts to organize international security collectively and assesses possibilities and opportunities for collective security arrangements after the Cold War.
IS 703/803 Ethics and Foreign Policy
Lecture, 3 hours; 3 credits. The focus of this research seminar will be on the role of normative ideas in international relations. Students will be introduced to the growing literature on normative approaches to international relations as well as the traditional literature on the practical and philosophical problems of ethical action in the relations of states. Although several policy applications will be considered, the primary focus will be on the theoretical incorporation of normative ideas into our understanding of state action in the anarchic international environment.
IS 714/814 Law in the International System
PhD Required Common Core Course
MA Course Elective
An introduction to the principles of international law and to the political and institutional role of law in the relations of states.
IS 720/820 Research Seminar in Global Security
PhD Required Common Core Course
MA Course Elective
Seminar, 3 hours; 3 credits. The research seminar investigates the profound changes in international security brought about by the end of the Cold War with a specific focus on the role of nuclear weapons. The primary purpose of the seminar is to promote research into the global aspects of the nuclear issue and to enhance understanding of the relationship between nuclear control and the New World Order.
IS 721/821 New World Order: Chaos and Coherence
This course explores ideas of order and how they apply to international politics over space and time. Using theories of international relations, students look at how states and other international actors shape the principles and practices on which order is built and how these actors navigate among the many challenges and disruptions that arise. Specifically, students study the international liberal order, power shifts, and technological innovations, including cyber, and the rise and demise of norms in the international system.
IS 724/824 International & Comparative Political Economy
PhD Required Common Core Course
MA Course Elective
This class focuses on core theories of international political economy, including international trade, international finance, foreign direct investment, the role of multinational corporations, and the subfield of comparative political economy. Students are introduced to the two main paradigms of contemporary economics, Keynesianism and Hayekian monetarism. Students study labor markets and industrial relations, welfare states, the domestic regulation of finance, the politics of debt, inequality, and the role of the state.
IS 734/834 U.S. Grand Strategy*
This course offers a thorough exploration into the subject of U.S. grand strategy. It confronts debates over the definition and usefulness of grand strategy, examines variations across the history of U.S. grand strategy and among current visions for U.S. grand strategy, and analyzes subjects of core concern to U.S. grand strategy.
IS 740/840 Political Economy of Development
This seminar examines alternate theoretical perspectives on development. These perspectives are then employed to understand contemporary political and economic changes in the developing world, including the consolidation of democratic governance and the liberalization of domestic economics.
IS 741/841 Globalization and Social Change in the World System
This course is intended to first identify the distinguishing characteristics of globalization. It then attempts to examine its implications on a number of critical issues, including the future of democracy, income distribution and ethnic, class, and gender relations.
IS 795/895 Topics in International Studies
The advanced study and discussion of selected (titled) topics not offered on a regular basis.
*Core Seminar