Course Offerings
A college course can help you prepare for the expectations of higher education and can add value to your college applications and résumé. This program will introduce you to the advancing field of global public service through the following course options.
DIPLOMACY AND DICTATORS: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
How does the U.S. government confront dictators, maintain allies, and protect the nation from international threats to national security? This course will introduce the major departments, agencies, and actors within the government involved in foreign policy and national security. It will explore how they operate in the new strategic environment by considering major threats and issues facing the United States today, from terrorists to rogue states to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The course will also address the conflicting goals, agendas, and trade-offs present in any foreign and national security policy. Debating the range of policy options, students will explore how the United States might best act to enhance U.S. national security and international position.
WORLDS APART, WORLDS TOGETHER: CONFLICT, CULTURE, AND COOPERATION
Difference, particularly cultural difference, is the source of many conflicts in International Relations. This course will explore conceptual components and theories of conflict, culture, and conflict resolution-with a special focus on the role that culture plays in both starting as well as resolving conflicts. An in-depth examination of contemporary international conflicts will be used as illustrative case-studies. The class will then bridge the gap between interpersonal, group, and international conflicts by exploring strategies of conflict resolution and cross-cultural understanding.
LOCAL ACTIVISM, GLOBAL CHANGE: ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS FROM A PLANETARY PERSPECTIVE
Today's most serious environmental challenges require global perspectives and global solutions. This course will examine the social, political, and economic conditions and choices that drive environmental degradation, and the nature of effective responses to complex environmental crises. By examining cutting-edge issues such as climate change, the loss of biological diversity, stratospheric ozone depletion, and food crises, students will link local actions and activism to global outcomes.