Global Affairs (GLAF)

This course provides an overview of the broad and loosely related field(s) of study and expertise typically clustered under the term "global affairs" and explores Notre Dame's particular approach to global issues, namely "integral human development" (IHD). IHD is a conceptual and normative framework for understanding, practicing, and evaluating efforts to reduce poverty, build peace, protect human rights, and address crises caused by food shortages, natural disasters, environmental degradation, and exploitative government or corporate practices and policies. This course examines the provenance, meanings, and resonances of integral human development and comparable concepts in multiple religious as well as secular traditions.

Global Policy & Politics (GPP) helps students gain an understanding of the influences and challenges officials face during the foreign policymaking process. The course begins by investigating how people's choices are shaped by cognitive, cultural, normative and decision-making structures. The second section of the course examines how a state's attributes (i.e., size, regime type, and internal cohesion) produce different types of constraints on policymakers. The third portion looks at the most important actors in the foreign policymaking process in the United States, including the president, intelligence, the Congress, media, NGOs, international institutions, foreign governments, and lobbyists. In the fourth segment we examine policymaking in a half-dozen countries. Using a comparative approach, we identify the characteristics of each county and study their real-world effects on its foreign policies. The final is an experiential learning simulation in which students apply their skills and knowledge to a crisis situation based on actual events. In addition to studying policymaking, students will also learn how to consume, digest, and organize complex ideas and information across multiple related topics and explain them in a coherent manner. The course both enhances students' knowledge of how foreign policy is made and teaches them the reading, writing and oral communications skills they will need to support, and one day become, a policymaker. This includes producing both written and oral policy briefings as well as collaborative experiential policymaking exercises. The ability to find the logical linkages among arguments and synthesize and present their similarities and differences in concise and informative written and spoken briefings is a highly marketable skill. Multinational corporations, governments, think-tanks, NGOs and international organizations are all seeking people who are able to weigh different policy options and communicate complex analytical ideas to both superiors and subordinates.

This course aims to provide students with an introduction to statistical methods and their applications to quantitative problems in global affairs. The course begins with fundamental statistical concepts including descriptive statistics, probability, sampling distributions, and hypothesis testing. It then turns to estimation and inference in the simple and multiple regression models. The course places emphasis on data analysis, data visualization, and interpretation of quantitative results for global policy analysis.

This course introduces global affairs students to culture as an analytic tool to interpret social differences within and across communities, from local to global. Building on insights from anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines, we will examine key themes in global affairs such as "development," "progress," and "policy," in light of what a culturally-informed perspective offers to our understanding of these topics. Over the semester, students will learn to identify and describe the role of cultural difference in shaping global affairs, and to analyze contemporary debates in global affairs in light of culture, power, and inequality. Finally, through independent research, students will develop their own set of critical questions to prepare for their future cultural immersion experiences and scholarship.

Global Policy & Politics examines the influences and challenges actors face during the policymaking and governance processes in domestic and international settings. The course investigates how individual and collective actors make choices across varied settings and in different states. How do different cognitive, cultural, normative, and institutional structures shape the decision-making process? The course also examines variation in the attributes of states over time and across the globe, including their size, regime type, and internal cohesion. What kinds of constraints and opportunities do these differences produce for leaders and policymakers? Students compare a range of countries, including the United States, to understand the key actors and institutions in the governance and policymaking processes, including the executive and legislative branches, civil society actors, and external actors such as international institutions and foreign governments. The class combines broad global comparisons with focused case studies of particular places and themes. In addition to studying politics, policy, and governance, students will also learn how to consume, digest, and organize complex ideas and information across multiple related topics and communicate them coherently. The class values the ability to find the logical linkages and contradictions among arguments, to weigh and compare different options and perspectives, and to synthesize and present ideas in concise and informative written and spoken formats.

This course introduces students to the discipline of economics and the principles and methods of micro- and macro-economics. "Principles of Economics" covers topics such as scarcity, demand and supply, elasticity, consumer choice, competition, monopoly, labor markets, poverty and inequality, financial markets, GDP and economic growth, unemployment, money and inflation, monetary policy and exchange rates, and government policy.

This course traces the history of Catholicism in the modern era. It is self-consciously global in its approach, examining how Catholic people, ideas, devotional practices and architectural drawings circulate around the world. Topics investigated include: Catholicism during the democratic revolutions of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, religion and nationalism, the "social" question and Catholic ideas about the family and the economy, the crisis of fascism in the 1930s, decolonization and the cold war, liberation theology and the global South, the first (1869-70) and second (1962-65) Vatican councils and the current sexual abuse crisis. Students will read and interpret a variety of sources, including memoirs, short stories, papal encyclicals, art works and accounts by contemporary historians. Assignments will include short essays and quizzes. The final assignment will be a report, using materials from the course and working as an historian, written for Pope Francis.

When India gained independence from British Rule in 1947, democracy was not expected to last in the heterogeneous and poor sub-continent. Yet, democracy has thrived in India for over 70 years. More recently, other South Asian countries have democratized. What explains this unexpected trend? Is there a connection between colonial legacies, international institutions and South Asian democratization successes (and failures)? After an overview of caste, religion and language in the region, this course explores South Asian politics by examining the historical and institutional development of democracy in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, including internal and external threats to democratic institutions. In particular, we will examine how the politics of accommodation and good institutional design have affected the persistence of democracy on the sub-continent, while also considering how non-state actors and international organizations have impacted outcomes. The course also takes a deep look at the degree to which findings from South Asia might be used in other parts of the world and relevant policy implications.

Science and technology play a powerful role in structuring our world, in everything from our physical environment to our culture. It is thus imperative that we understand how these entities work. What constitutes reliable knowledge? How do the technological systems in which we are embedded throughout our lives come to be, and how can they be changed? In this historic moment of a global pandemic playing out against a backdrop of fake news, alternative facts and increasingly autonomous technologies, these questions are more critical than ever. This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of Science & Technology Studies in order to provide them with analytical and conceptual tools needed to confront the complex questions that arise where science and society intersect. Its objective is thus not so much to present a particular body of empirical information as it is to equip students with the analytical skills to understand complex multi-dimensional phenomena. The purpose is to give students both the opportunity and the tools to consider science and technology in a broader political, social, historical and economic context, and to reflect on how the practices of scientific and technological development shape their own individual and collective experience.

This course introduces students to the field of social-cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropologists are primarily interested in exploring issues of human cultural diversity across cultures and through time. This course will explore key theoretical, topical, and ethical issues of interest to cultural anthropologists. We will examine diverse ways in which people around the globe have constructed social organizations (such as kinship, and political and economic systems) and cultural identities (such as gender, ethnicity, nationality, race, and class) and we will consider the impact of increasing globalization on such processes. Throughout the course we will consider how different anthropologists go about their work as they engage in research and as they represent others through the writing of ethnographies.

LifeDesign: The Art and Science of Human Flourishing is organized around a series of questions: How might we develop mindsets, skillsets, and habits to foster a more joyful, purposeful life? How do these ideas relate to creating a flourishing life, one filled with deep satisfaction, well-being, and resilience? What is a "motivating question" in one's own life that is worth exploring over the semester? What can we learn from science, the humanities, and global experiences about the varieties of human flourishing? How do explorations of one's own flourishing connect with larger questions of promoting human flourishing in a global context? This course assists students in exploring and finding their own answers to these questions so that they can build a sustainable foundation for flourishing during their undergraduate years and beyond in their personal, civic, spiritual, and professional life, especially in an increasingly complex global context.

Understanding religious communities and their values are crucial to understanding human societies and global affairs. One particular group of interpreters of Islam, namely the traditional or orthodox religious scholars called the ulama and their institutions, are often hidden from contemporary accounts of Islam when in fact they are critical players. This course will provide historical contexts in order to explore how traditional Muslims navigate the discourses of modernity and how they resist it. We will read original texts in translation and secondary sources of descriptions of representatives of the orthodox tradition in regions of Asia, the Middle East and in the West. The course will pay particular attention to the institutions of learning known as madrasas, jami` and hawzas. Of course, the orthodox views are challenged by other Muslims and some of those debates will also be channeled in the class while the focus will remain on the Ulama. The course aims to equip students with analytical skills and the resources to understand how religious ideas impact religious communities and global affairs.

An introduction to the field of global development, with particular focus on the various disciplines that have contributed to and shaped the development discourse. Readings, lectures, and discussions will draw from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, environmental and technological sciences, public health, law, and gender studies, among others. We will examine debates on the meaning and measurement of development; alternative approaches to, and methods in, the study of development; and attempts to address some of the main development challenges facing the world today. There will be a central focus on understanding "what works" in development. Working together in teams, students will conceptualize and design an international development project using "real world" constraints.

Armed conflict and state repression continue to occur across the globe, millions of people face overwhelming poverty, and systemic challenges like climate change imperil collective survival. Nevertheless, we have also witnessed the emergence of sophisticated civil society networks and social movements to address these challenges, as well as governmental and transnational institutions committed to promoting justice and peace at the local, national, regional and global levels. This course introduces students to the various ways scholars and activists define peace and the challenges faced in securing peace. It surveys: (1) the major causes of direct and structural violence; (2) various definitions of "peace" and the conditions under which it occurs and is sustained; and (3) the comparative success of various strategies such as building peace movements and promoting nonviolent social change.

This course is an introduction to the history of the peoples of Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present day. During the term, we will consider the ways in which Africans shaped and were shaped by the transformative events of the period. In the second half of the nineteenth century, European powers conquered and colonized much of the continent. Over the next sixty years, Africans lived and died under the yoke of European rule; some resisted, others collaborated, but all influenced the nature of colonialism and its eventual collapse. By the 1960s, most Africans were free of foreign rule. Since then the peoples of Africa have endeavored to achieve political stability, navigate Cold War politics, harness development aid, and adapt to a globalizing economy. In recent years, they have succumbed to brutal wars and endured devastating famines, but they have also inspired the world with their triumph over apartheid, emerging vibrant democracies, rich cultures, and deep history. In this class, we will identify, problematize, and debate these major themes in Modern African history. We also will make use of a variety of texts, from historical documents to classic academic works to works of African art, film, and fiction.

What does it mean to be Korean? How are definitions of Korea and “Koreanness” affected by recent waves of globalization and migration? This course investigates the social construction of race and nationhood within the context of South Korea. While many believe South Korea to be ethnically and racially homogeneous, the country has increasingly opened up its borders to foreign migration to offset the adverse impact of its rapidly aging society. More than one in ten marriages in South Korea involves a foreign-born person today, and growing numbers of racially mixed people consider themselves Korean. In addition, members of the Korean diaspora have started to “return” to their country of origin in recent years, only to find that they are marginalized because of their culturally different backgrounds. This course introduces students to sociological theories of race, ethnicity, and nationhood by analyzing how South Koreans define self and Other. We will learn how racial and ethnic identities continue to evolve as the contexts of migration change. We will also learn why it is difficult for individuals of particular backgrounds to find a sense of belonging in the societies in which they live and work.

An introduction to the field of international development, with particular focus on the various disciplines that have contributed to and shaped the development discourse. Readings, lectures, and discussions will draw from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, environmental and technological sciences, public health, law, and gender studies, among others. We will examine debates on the meaning and measurement of development; alternative approaches to, and methods in, the study of development; and attempts to address some of the main development challenges facing the world today. There will be a central focus on understanding "what works" in development. Working together in teams, students will conceptualize and design an international development project using "real world" constraints.

This course introduces students to the field of social-cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropologists are primarily interested in exploring issues of human cultural diversity across cultures and through time. This course will explore key theoretical, topical, and ethical issues of interest to cultural anthropologists. We will examine diverse ways in which people around the globe have constructed social organizations (such as kinship, and political and economic systems) and cultural identities (such as gender, ethnicity, nationality, race, and class) and we will consider the impact of increasing globalization on such processes. Throughout the course we will consider how different anthropologists go about their work as they engage in research and as they represent others through the writing of ethnographies.

When diseases emerge in Africa, the media presents a relentless tide of infection, with AIDS and Ebola, for example, claiming thousands of hapless victims of “backward” thinking and rejection of western medicine. Western journalists express disbelief that people suffer and die because they refuse to take appropriate steps to protect themselves, whether it is taking the sick to the hospital, or wearing condoms to avoid contracting HIV. We are led to ask why treatable or even preventable diseases are claiming so many African lives. Why does popular thinking about health and disease on the African continent appear to be impervious to biomedical models? This class uses an anthropological perspective to look beyond the simple popular and medical answers to questions of sickness to examine the social and political frameworks that inform people’s understandings of the health of their bodies and communities. This course will introduce students to cultural perspectives on disease through an investigation of how people around the continent understand and experience illness, and why what appears to be simple medical knowledge is anything but simple when it is understood in its social and political context. We will investigate the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa, examine why polio persisted in Nigeria, and compare how the HIV epidemics unfolded in South Africa and Uganda. In addition to infectious diseases, we will ask questions about the social experience of disability in Africa, investigate hospital care, and draw comparisons with western perspectives.

This lecture course examines some of the most important events, ideas, and personalities that shaped late Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods of Russian history during the last one hundred years: from the outbreak of the First World War and the Revolutions of 1905 and 1917 through the Great Terror of the 1930s, the experience of the Second World War and the emergence of the Soviet Empire, late Stalinism and post-Stalinist developed or mature socialism, the collapse of the communist rule and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as well as Russia's uneasy transition "out of Totalitarianism" and into Putin's authoritarianism during the first fourteen years of the twentieth-first century. The course is designed for history majors as well as for students in other disciplines with or without background in modern Russian and East European history.

A weekly tutorial for students in GLAF 20100.

This course provides students with the tools and knowledge to design research projects in global affairs. Students will learn how to identify meaningful research questions, build theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and choose appropriate methods—including qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods—to effectively answer different research questions. The course familiarizes students with key steps in developing research designs, how to make and justify methodological choices in research projects, and how to turn a research design into a research proposal. The course structure moves through the various stages of social science research—from theory building, ethics and IRB, literature review and proposal design, methods for collecting and analyzing data, to research proposal development. This course is required for students in the Global Affairs major.

This course aims to provide students with an introduction to statistical methods and their applications to quantitative problems in global affairs. The course begins with fundamental statistical concepts including descriptive statistics, probability, sampling distributions, and hypothesis testing. It then turns to estimation and inference in the simple and multiple regression models. The course places emphasis on data analysis, data visualization, and interpretation of quantitative results for global policy analysis.

Fracking, Water Wars, Deforestation of the Amazon, Droughts, Global Warming, Climate Change, Unsustainable Agriculture, Hurricanes, Pollution, Species Extinction, Invasive Species, Poaching, Overfishing, Depletion of Fossil Fuels, Overpopulation, Wastes, Ocean Acidification, Wildfires, Oil Spills, Overpopulation, Overconsumption, Land degradation —the list goes on! These complex environmental problems are occurring constantly and rapidly; their consequences are global in scope and transcend national boundaries; and they embody the complex relationship between humans and the natural environment. This course is about developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between humans (society) and the environment. We will examine the historical and contemporary environmental challenges of global concern, the underlying role of humans, and attempts by society to address, mitigate, and adapt to such complex problems through policies, institutions, and governance. We will pay attention to the roles of different state and non-state actors in environmental policy making. Overall, students will draw from both the social and natural sciences to develop a deeper understanding of how society—through consumption, culture, politics, power, ethics, values, economic growth, location, etc— contribute to, or solve, environmental problems.

The goal of the course is to compare the processes by which social scientists and filmmakers/photographers engage in social documentation. Students explore how global social problems such as rural and urban poverty, race and gender inequalities, immigration, and violence are analyzed across the social sciences and depicted in a variety of documentary film and photography genres. The course also explores the role that documentary photography and film play in promoting rights and advocating for social change, particularly in the realm of human rights and global inequality. It examines the history of documentary film and photography in relationship to politics and the development of concerns across the social sciences with inequality and social justice. It also looks at how individual documentarians, non-profit organizations, and social movements use film and photography to further their goals and causes as well as issues of representation their choices raise. The course is unique because it requires students to engage in the process of visual documentation themselves by incorporating an activity-based learning component. For their final project, students choose a human rights or social problem that concerns or interests them (and which they can document locally - no travel is required), prepare a documentary exhibit on the chosen topic (10-12 photographs), and write an essay analyzing how social scientists construct and frame the given problem. Students also have the option to produce a short documentary film.

This course will provide students with an overview of the current concepts, issues and trends associated with comparative and international education, paying particular attention to issues of education policy. Roughly half the course will focus on education and integral human development and international economic development, concerned with the trends, issues, and opportunities facing lower-income country contexts in terms of education policy and practice. This will cover issues such as funding policy, the role of international actors, global policy priorities, and effective programs and policies. The second half of the course will look more broadly at salient issues from comparative education, drawing from cross national studies and country case studies of notable policies and reforms in education systems globally.

How did East Asia emerge from war and poverty to become the world’s most economically dynamic region in the late 20th and early 21st century? This course examines the causes and consequences of East Asia’s “economic miracles,” exploring the development pathways of China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan in comparative and historical perspective. We consider both orthodox and heterodox accounts of East Asian growth, unpacking concepts such as "the developmental state," "state capitalism," and “state-led innovation” to make sense of East Asia’s successes (and failures). The course is structured around five key questions: (1) What did the East Asian economies accomplish, and just how “miraculous” are these achievements in hindsight? (2) What development strategies and policy tools did East Asian governments use in pursuit of rapid industrialization? (3) What social and political-institutional conditions enabled East Asian countries to successfully pursue such approaches, and how unique were these conditions to the region and the historical moment in question? (4) What economic tradeoffs and human and environmental costs have accompanied East Asia’s booming growth? (5) What lessons does East Asia's experience offer for the contemporary developing world? To address these questions, we engage with ideas from multiple theoretical traditions and draw on various resources, including academic, policy, and journalistic writings, videos, and podcasts.

As the quotation above suggests, an underlying assumption of this course is that ordinary people can, under certain circumstances, act in exceptionally violent and abhorrent ways. Indeed, violence deployed for political purposes is as old as humankind itself and its threat remains eerily relevant in our own era. How and to what end is violence practiced? Why are some societies plagued by recurrent violence while others appear to be mostly free of it? What explains who participates in violence and why? What are the consequences of violence for society? In answering these questions, we will visit examples from multiple continents and time periods, seeking to grasp the mechanisms at play and gaining an understanding of ongoing policy debates. Crucially, we will leave the classroom with a deeper appreciation of how difficult these questions are to answer. At the same time, we will lean on empirical evidence in order to evaluate competing theories that offer plausible answers.

The difference between rich and poor nations is not, as Ernest Hemingway once said, that the rich have more money than the poor, but is in part because the rich produce more goods and services. Industrialization, in other words, has often brought wealth (as well as social dislocation and protest) to those who have succeeded. This course examines the process of industrialization from a comparative perspective and integrates the history of industrialization and its social consequences for Western Europe (Britain and Germany), the United States, Latin America (Mexico), and East Asia (Japan and South Korea). We will concentrate on these countries' transition from agriculture-based societies to industrial societies. We will analyze the process of industrialization on two levels from above the role of political authority and from below a view of factory life, industrial relations, and protest from the perspective of workers and the working classes. No specific prerequisites in history or economics are necessary.

While there is a wealth of academic work on race, racism, and anti-racism in the domestic realm, there is less attention to them in the international context. This is unfortunate, because they cannot be domestically confined. United Nations resolutions against racism, debates about whether the International Criminal Court is racially biased, and the global wave of anti-racist protests in 2020 are a few examples. This course examines race in the international context, exploring how it affects, is affected by, and is intertwined with central topics in international relations, including human rights, war and peace, foreign policy, international law and international organizations.

The course will examine U.S. policies and practices to combat human trafficking including how U.S. policies advance the prevention of trafficking in persons, the protection of victims and survivors and the punishment of perpetrators as a foreign policy objective of the U.S. Students will develop a basic understanding of the various aspects of and perspectives in human trafficking including domestic and international law; foreign nationals and United States Citizens; victim services, survivor aftercare and law enforcement and sex and labor trafficking. Students will also analyze international trafficking prohibitions under the various international conventions and identify current trafficking issues in the United States, with a particular focus on commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor and involuntary servitude and the range of remedies available when rights have been violated. Finally, students will identify gaps in existing remedies and formulate policies to address them.

The application of artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly and has the potential to reshape many fields, including transportation, finance, health care, marketing, social media, criminal justice, and public policy, just to name a few. AI's ability to predict human preference and behavior or even substitute human judgement in these fields creates opportunities as well as concerns for safety, bias and discrimination, transparency, inequality, and job loss. Designed to serve students from no background in AI to those who have existing technical background, this course surveys current and emerging applications of AI in different fields and the related ethical issues and governance problems. The course targets students from different disciplines. Students from the humanities and social sciences will gain a deeper understanding of the technical aspects underpinning today's ethical and policy debates related to AI. Students with more technical background will better appreciate the ethical issues that arise in programming and engineering and understand how technology interacts with the broader societal contexts. The course's goal is to encourage students to become proactive in thinking of the societal implications of technological change and to incorporate such understanding in their education and careers.

Policymaking for a Global Era provides students with the intellectual foundations necessary to understand the dilemmas and opportunities faced by decision-makers during the policymaking process. The course has three modules. The first investigates how policymakers' world views and choices are shaped by experimental, cultural, normative and decision making structures. It also examines how regime type and country size constrain policymakers' options. The second module examines the numerous domestic and international actors and factors that influence the foreign policymaking process in the U.S. - including the presidency, intelligence services, the Congress, media, NGOs, international institutions, and foreign governments. In the third module we study policymaking in three Asian countries - China, India, and Vietnam. This comparative approach illustrates how elements such as culture, country size, and regime type, which were introduced in the first module, affect these countries foreign policymakers' decisions. The course concludes with a policymaking crisis simulation that employs the lessons learned throughout the course. The course assignments are three 5-page policy memoranda and robust class participation.

The foundation of this course is a standard international economics syllabus, which assumes a principles or a micro- and macroeconomics course as prerequisite and covers international trade (comparative advantage, trade and income distribution, economics of scale, migration, etc.), international finance (balance of payments, exchange rates, monetary policy, and flows of financial and human capital), and the institutions of the global economy. In addition, the course will connect these issues with real-world cases and settings.

This course introduces the foundational theories of human-centered design (HCD), its critiques, and the subsequent development of design principles, followed by a practical, hands-on exploration of HCD methods. It approaches design as a broadly applicable practice across multiple domains, including – but not limited to – social innovation and computing for social good. The course is organized into four modules. The first module examines the foundations of HCD, its critiques, and its evolution toward community-driven, value-aligned, and justice-oriented approaches. The next two modules provide hands-on experience in design research, prototyping, and reflection, where students learn to integrate technical, ethical, and social insights into actionable design strategies. In the final module, students will address real-world design challenges drawn from domains such as global development, sustainability, and public policy. The course welcomes students from the social entrepreneurship and innovation minor, global affairs, computer science and engineering, poverty studies, business, public policy, science-technology-values, and peace studies who are interested in designing for social impact.

Since the 2000s, countries across the world, have seen the rise of potential autocrats. Executives with hegemonic aspirations like Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey or Viktor Orbán in Hungary, have used their popularity to hinder free and fair elections, political rights, and civil liberties effectively eroding democracy. What circumstances bring these politicians to power? What factors allow them to undermine democratic regimes? What, if anything, can be done to stop them? In this course we will answer these questions. We will some of the causes of democratic backsliding, covering topics like weak institutions, polarization, populism, corruption, false or fake news, and opposition strategies using examples of different countries like Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States. This course is part of the Democratic Erosion Consortium. It is taught in universities across the country. The assignments include writing and publishing blog posts, collaborating with US and international agencies in creating reports on democratic backsliding, or participating and reporting on political events. Not only will it allow you to interact with your classmates, but also with students from other universities inside and outside the US.

The course adopts an entrepreneurial perspective in exploring the role of business in helping to address the poverty challenge in developing and developed economies. The multi-faceted nature of poverty and its implications when it comes to business and entrepreneurship are explored. Attention is devoted to venture creation as a pathway out of poverty, and to how the larger business community can be leveraged in poverty alleviation efforts. Students will examine case studies and meet low income entrepreneurs.

Social Entrepreneurship has sparked dialogue and debate for two decades. Its very definition is much debated, as well as its capacity to create sustainable, scalable, systems-changing impact. This course explores the theoretical concepts, practices and strategies associated with the dynamic discipline of social enterprise and innovation. For our purposes, social entrepreneurship is the landscape, of which paradigm-shifting solutions like microfinance, MSME (Micro-Small-Medium Enterprise) development, bottom of the pyramid, fair trade, impact investing, and the like, are components. This course will study many of these concepts, focusing on their opportunity for social impact, and as a vehicle for wealth creation in vulnerable and disenfranchised communities across the globe. Further, the course covers examples of various social enterprise models (for-profit, non-profit, hybrid), requiring students to analyze and devise strategies to improve the efficacy of these ventures. Finally, the course engages students in research seeking to advance the field of social entrepreneurship at the Keough School of Global Affairs and Notre Dame.

What role does international law have in the advancement of human rights, and how does human rights, in turn, advance international law? This course introduces university students to the general system of modern international law (e.g. its norm-generating framework involving States and non-State actors; the roles of many State and non-State authoritative decision-makers in shaping expectations of peaceful, just, and responsible behavior in the international system; its varied constellation of dispute settlement courts and tribunals, alongside the prospects and limits of enforcing State compliance with international decisions), specifically viewed from the lens of historic global, regional, and domestic challenges to human dignity that influenced the first global codification of human rights norms under the United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, up to the present development of the current international system of protection for human rights. The course situates the framework of modern international law and civil, political, economic, social, and cultural human rights, using five examples of the historic, defining, and 'constitutionalizing moments' for the international system: 1) the international abolition of slavery; 2) the evolution from classical to modern international law in dismantling colonial empires to enshrine the self-determination of all peoples and the equality of sovereignty of all nations; 3) the outlawing of the aggressive use of force since 1929, towards the peaceful settlement of maritime and territorial disputes and the humanitarian rules applicable to armed conflict situations; 4) the establishment of international accountability of individuals and States for genocide, crimes against humanity and other human rights atrocities; and 5) the global regulation for sustainable use, shared protection, and intergenerational responsibility over natural resources (land, oceans, atmosphere, outer space).

In June 2020, prompted by the horrific killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, our nation awakened to the brutality of institutional racism and the violence to human dignity it has wrought in communities of color throughout America's history. The movement for racial justice was renewed in vigor with nationwide protests and calls for action. Although the protests of 2020 have largely been a response to a crisis surrounding police violence, the calls to action have focused attention on the breadth of systemic racism in all facets of American life. In this course, students will engage weekly with a single event or concept, drawn from a variety of disciplines, necessary to understand and dismantle systemic racism. The course centers around a weekly guest-lecture series featuring authors, public intellectuals, faith leaders, and external and internal members of the academy. In each class period, the guest expert provides a sophisticated introduction to a discrete racial justice topic. Some lectures address historical events not widely known (e.g., the Tulsa massacre or the arrival of the first slave ship in the Americas in 1619); others address current racial inequities (e.g., the wealth gap, health outcomes, criminal justice, voter suppression); still others examine broad concepts (e.g., intersectionality, Catholic teaching on racism). Specific topics to be determined by expert availability. Students prepare for the sessions by researching the speaker or topic and preparing thoughtful questions to be posed during the guest's visit. Students also participate in at least two small group discussions and, at the conclusion of the semester, are required to produce a short reflective writing piece. The entire course will be offered via zoom for all participants.

Civil Rights in the US is a living tradition that students can both understand and engage with. This course traces the non-linear, contested and ongoing history of Civil Rights in the US from the founding period to the present. It employs the perspectives of a lawyer and historian to illustrate how: the Civil War and the end of slavery made Civil Rights in the US possible, international human rights and Civil Rights in the US have interacted over time; the complicated relationship between the definition of Civil Rights and the realization of these rights played out over time, and the tensions between the federal government and the states continue to shape Civil Rights down to the present. The course is structured around three key historical periods in which Civil Rights in the US developed and the divisive legacy of these periods of possibility: The Founding and Constitutional period 1776-1790, Civil War and Reconstruction, 1863-1883 and the Civil Rights Era 1945-1991. Through an examination of social movements, Supreme Court cases, and congressional action the course illustrates how the meaning of citizenship and civil rights, who constituted a citizen, and what institutions—state and local government, private individuals, and so on—posed the biggest threat to equal treatment under the law changed over time. Finally, the course provides opportunities for students to actively participate in the US Civil Rights tradition.

This class examines the history of technology over the last 250 years. This history has gifted many of us with long lives, an abundance of tools and toys, and immense power at our fingertips. It also means that we live in a fully engineered world: from the food we eat to the ways we move through space, the places we live and work, and many of the ways we interact with our fellow humans. It has left us with alternate visions of technological utopia (a world without work?) or of technological apocalypse (climate change and AI). Technology--that is, humans' effort to manipulate the world around us--touches touches nearly every aspect of our lives. This course focuses on the interaction between technological innovation and social, economic, and political contexts in countries and places around the world. We will examine specific issues and episodes in the global history of technology in the modern world, with some attention to engineers and engineering. Engineers came to design, implement, and manage nearly all elements of the modern world from their positions within corporations and state bureaucracies; they quickly became the primary agents of "development" in the twentieth century. The class assumes no prior knowledge and is designed for students with majors in the humanities, social science, and STEM disciplines.

Fracking, Water Wars, Deforestation of the Amazon, Droughts, Global Warming, Climate Change, Unsustainable Agriculture, Hurricanes, Pollution, Species Extinction, Invasive Species, Poaching, Overfishing, Depletion of Fossil Fuels, Overpopulation, Wastes, Ocean Acidification, Wildfires, Oil Spills, Overpopulation, Overconsumption, Land degradation —the list goes on! These complex environmental problems are occurring constantly and rapidly; their consequences are global in scope and transcend national boundaries; and they embody the complex relationship between humans and the natural environment. This course is about developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between humans (society) and the environment. We will examine the historical and contemporary environmental challenges of global concern, the underlying role of humans, and attempts by society to address, mitigate, and adapt to such complex problems through policies, institutions, and governance. We will pay attention to the roles of different state and non-state actors in environmental policy making. Overall, students will draw from both the social and natural sciences to develop a deeper understanding of how society—through consumption, culture, politics, power, ethics, values, economic growth, location, etc— contribute to, or solve, environmental problems.

In a religiously diverse and vastly troubled world, how do religious traditions motivate believers to work toward the common good? "Engaging World Religions," the course title, refers to three things we will examine. First, it describes how religions are intrinsically engaging: they draw in adherents by fulfilling their material, intellectual, and spiritual needs. Second, it specifies what various secular institutions like governments and development organizations must do in pursuing the common good across our planet -- most of whose inhabitants are religious. Finally, it characterizes our work in this class: exploring how various religious traditions conceptualize and work toward the common good in a global context. We will read historians, social scientists, philosophers, and critical theorists on how to analyze and interpret the role of religion in contemporary life, while examining case studies of how religious practices, beliefs, and identities intersect with issues in global affairs such as inequality, armed conflict, and climate change. In doing so, we will engage how religious traditions from the East and West -- from Asian and Abrahamic "world" religions, to a variety of indigenous "local" religions -- complicate or complement modern Catholicism's emphasis on Integral Human Development.

This class aspires to develop relevant knowledge and practical skills for students interested in engaging in positive change in a complex world. In this course on international development, students will: 1) examine the processes that bring about individual and societal change in an international context;2) explore the roles, complexities, opportunities and constraints of development projects in areas such as poverty reduction, social development, health and education; and, 3) develop practical skills related to project design, planning, management, negotiations, communications, and the evaluation of international development projects. A central theme of the course is to understand what have we learned over the past decades from systematic research and from experience in the field about "what works." The course makes use of cases studies and draws lessons from instructive stories of failure as well as inspirational stories of change. The course focuses significant attention on "bright spots" in development- specific interventions that have made meaningful contributions. The course aspires to help train students to think like creative, effective, and thoughtful development professionals. A central feature of the course will be the opportunity to work throughout the semester as a member of a "Development Advisory Team" directly with an international development organization client who has identified a specific problem or opportunity. Development clients for the class are organizations in Bangladesh, Chile, Haiti, and India, among others.

This course introduces the role of economics in environmental issues and in the formation of environmental policy. Topics covered include choice, externalities, market failure, cost-benefit and environmental valuation analyses, and climate change. The course aims to encourage students to think about pressing environmental issues in economic terms and equip students with the diverse set of economics tools to contribute to the evaluation and implementation of wise policy choices. There is no prior knowledge of economics required, and students will have the opportunity to learn basic economic principles and frameworks that guide decision-making regarding environmental issues.

This class analyzes the politics and cultures of remembrance in Europe from the late nineteenth century to today. Taking examples such as the politicization of Holocaust memory in Europe or the grassroots removal of monuments in Britain as points of departure, students will learn about processes of remembering and forgetting, and how memories of the past have shaped European identity and culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will pay particular attention to the mobilization and commemoration of Europe's traumatic pasts, including the World Wars, imperialism and decolonization, the Cold War, and histories of genocide, to investigate how Europeans have remembered these difficult histories and how these memories have shifted over time. We will look not only at how the traumatic past is represented today; but how memory work was enacted at the time and how Europeans have fought to revise these representations and demand new recognition of alternative visions of the past. In its focus on memory, broadly defined, this course will deeply explore how representations of the past have shaped European identity, culture, and politics both at the time and today. In its focus on memory and memorialization, this class also attends to the visuality and material culture of history and historical research. Students will learn to read visual and material sources as sources akin to political tracts, diaries, and memoirs. We will engage with sources including photo albums, monuments, memorials, museum spaces, memorial landscapes, film, cultural kitsch, and art all as critical primary sources to understanding the production and circulation of memory. We will read foundational texts on collective memory and remembrance to understand how scholars and theorists have defined and conceptualized memory. Students will also conduct an original research project on a topic of their choosing by exploring a case study of memory work or collective memory in the context of Modern Europe.

The main objective of the course is to analyze the position of Central Europe within the framework of transatlantic security relations after the end of the Cold War, taking into account the changing international order, the strategies of the major players in the Atlantic community (the United States, major European countries, the European Union, NATO), policy of revisionist powers (Russia, China) and the nature of contemporary security challenges and threats. Although the emphasis will be on the presentation and analysis of the situation from the beginning of the 1990s to the present day, the broader historical perspective covering the Cold War period will also be taken into account. The course will be empirical and theoretical as the key theories of international relations will be used in the analyzes and discussions. Nowadays, from the geopolitical point of view, Central Europe may include, in the narrowest sense, the countries of the Visegrad Group or, more broadly, the countries of the Three Seas Initiative or the Bucharest 9.

The history of Christian Apocalypse is about trying to place humanity in linear time. It is about bodily death, the end of the world, and immortality of the soul. But it is also about rebirth. These concepts have shaped European cultures, societies, and discourse for centuries. Apocalypse has been used to help us make sense of the events unfolding around us, from the turn of the Millennium, to the Black Death, to Y2K and COVID-19. This course will ask where our images of Apocalypse come from, why it exploded in popularity during the Middle Ages, and how those medieval developments in apocalypticism remain deeply ingrained in our world today.

Diplomacy in its many forms is a way of doing politics: the established method of negotiating inter-state relations and of influencing the decisions and behavior of foreign governments and peoples through presence and engagement, dialogue, and negotiation. Diplomats are committed to their home country, but also their host country and the bigger picture of the common good. Contributors to peace building and peacekeeping, diplomats, serve political purposes through cultural engagement. In this way, they contribute to "integral human development" in the design of international relations. The Nanovic Institute invites undergraduate and graduate students to join our Diplomacy Scholars Program through Deep Dive Into Diplomacy. This course will examine diplomacy as a tool for social justice while providing students the opportunity to hone diplomatic skills such as conflict mediation, judgement and decision making, intercultural competencies, and written and oral communication. Students will learn from present and former diplomats about the diplomatic way of life and participate in a number of simulations and activities beyond the classroom. Enrollment in this course is by application only.

Where do regional and national identities collide? Has the rise of the internet and globalization made national borders increasingly obsolete? Or, has it ironically caused people to embrace ultra-nationalism and xenophobia? This class analyzes these questions within the context of East Asia. We will study the growing impact of cultural hybridization—and in particular, the soft power of K-Pop boy bands and Korean soap operas—on fan culture, online communities, and migratory patterns. We will then juxtapose these trends with more sobering evidence of the lingering effects of Cold War politics, the Japanese empire, and territorial disputes in Korea, China, and Japan in the past decade. By using materials from history, anthropology, and literature, students will explore the influence of colonialism, nationalism, and globalization on everyday life across the continent. All majors and backgrounds are welcome. No prior knowledge about Asian languages or topics is required.

Are human rights modern inventions or are they as old as humankind? Are they universal or culturally specific? How much progress, if any, has transnational human rights advocacy achieved? How and to what extent should human rights influence foreign policy? What are the advantages and disadvantages of encoding human rights in international law? By examining these and similar questions, this course initiates students in the study of international human rights. In addition to informative readings, intriguing podcasts, and interactive lectures the course features in-class debates on the most pressing human rights problems.

Market-oriented reforms known as ‘neoliberalism’ have dominated the reform agenda across the world. These reforms were passed amidst tremendous political contestations and have delivered varying degrees of success. For the developing countries that faced the additional/simultaneous challenges of building ‘good’ institutions and governance systems, these reforms have resulted in questionable outcomes. Given this, today’s emerging economies have been forced to re-assess the benefits of market-oriented reforms, and those with policy space and political will/capacity have embarked on new reform experiments. The module introduces the students to the complexities and challenges of economic reforms in the fast-growing economies by placing politics at the heart of the analysis. The course is comprised of two parts. The first part provides the theoretical and conceptual foundations for examining the processes and outcomes of economic reforms. It discusses the limitations and dangers of designing and implementing reforms without consideration of the broader concept of states and markets or sufficient engagement with politics. This is because policy always produces new winners and losers, and as a result provokes resistance from those who believe they will lose wealth, status, or power. The second part investigates reforms in key areas of the political economy where there have been significant reforms and where distributive tension and conflicts are rampant. These include privatization, trade liberalization, industrial policies, debt and macroeconomic stabilization, tax and fiscal, and social policy reforms, food and nutrition, among others. Given the importance of national and regional contexts when discussing politics, the course draws cases from a wide range of geographical areas including East Asia, Latin American and Sub-Saharan Africa. The module concludes by examining the implications of factoring politics and local contexts into economic reforms for development policy and management and discusses whether new development paradigms and models exist for emerging economies.

Ireland’s changing political landscape and evolving sociology, throughout the 1900s and 2000s, tell the story of a country undergoing a turbulent century of conflict and unity, protest and peace, hope for the future while lamenting the past. To understand Ireland’s development more fully then, this course considers the political and sociological, as well as infrastructural and financial factors affecting Ireland as it is increasingly impacted by a changing international context. Two examples include Ireland’s accession and membership of the European Union (EU) and the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country. The course asks questions such as: to what extent did Ireland’s famous - yet often misinterpreted culture – contribute to facilitating and/or hindering development? To what extent can we attribute Ireland’s rapid economic growth to the “luck of the Irish”? Is this development specific to Ireland or are there lessons to be drawn from the Irish context that can be applied to currently developing nations?

Underwriting Action takes students through the creation of the key components of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as it moves towards Integral Human Development (IHD). The course uses case studies to examine the context behind the creation of key writings and principles in CST, as well as to understand how CST is interpreted, used, and understood by people around the world. The “correct” interpretations of CST are often debated in various circles, emphasizing different elements of the teachings without reference to their context; the case studies will thus enable students to understand CST in its complexity, priming them to make their own informed decisions about CST and Integral Human Development in their own work and practice. By taking students through the contextual developments and applications of CST from its inception in the 1890s to the present day’s understanding of IHD by looking at diverse topics such as Polish positivism, the Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement, the Colombian Civil War and Liberation Theology, and Indigenous Restitution Movements, the course weaves together a truly global story of the influences and impacts of belief on policy and community through the lens of CST and IHD.

“Energy Systems for Decarbonization” is a lecture-based class primarily targeted at undergraduates. It is designed to introduce you to our energy system as it currently exists, then to the work we have ahead of us to transform it for justice and decarbonization to address climate change and other issues. Energy systems are crucial drivers of both social and environmental outcomes. Structural transformation of both supply and demand side energy systems is necessary for climate change mitigation, with a number of other major implications that will vary based on the transition approach. Transforming these systems in a way that centers justice and human dignity is possible, but not guaranteed. This course will cover both supply and demand-side energy systems, including fossil, nuclear, and renewable fuels, and buildings, transportation, industry, and infrastructure energy uses, with an emphasis on what exists today and what would need to happen for decarbonization to proceed. The course will also address policy and emphasize cobenefits and disbenefits of specific paths forward, for US and international contexts.

This course provides an introduction to mixed methods research in global affairs and prepares undergraduate students to design and conduct independent research. Students will learn how rigorous qualitative and quantitative information can be integrated to answer complex research questions. It will also strengthen student's ability to be informed consumers of research presented in academic publications and the media.

This course is designed to introduce students to a wide range of health issues affecting women globally, with particular emphasis on Africa, Asia, and the United States. The topics will focus on a woman's life, from infancy and childhood, through adolescence and reproductive years, to old age. We will examine the physiological, social, psychological, economic, cultural, political, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence women's health, and the role of poverty, discrimination, and unequal health access. Topics such as determinants of women's health, reproductive health, sexual health, cardiovascular health, maternal health, cancers of the reproductive tract, mental and emotional health, substance use and abuse, and various forms of violence against women will be discussed. At the end of the course, students should have a solid grasp of key issues affecting the health of women in different cultural contexts globally, and how women can be empowered to take actions that positively influence their health.

The aim of this 1-credit course is to investigate the dynamics of the uses and abuses of memory in the post-conflict Western Balkans. The main challenges and obstacles in the process of reconciliation and management of memories of the Second World War and the Balkan wars of the 1990s will be considered. The law on lustration, the school curriculum, the nature of transitional justice, the role of the media, but also inclusive positive memory initiatives that contribute to the process of stabilization and dialogue in the Western Balkans will be discussed.

This seminar will provide an overview of and framework to understand the global refugee crisis. We will trace the evolution of international refugee law and policy dealing with this ever-growing population. Central are the ethical challenges that refugees pose for the international community. What is the nature of our collective obligation to refugees? What determines the extent of this obligation? Through a series of legal and sociological case studies, students will also grapple with the social, legal , political and ethical challenges posed by humanitarian intervention on behalf of refugees and the often unintended consequences of such policies. How do the different models for dealing with refugee resettlement affect the life chances of refugees? This project-based course will pair students with a refugee community to address a pressing social concern.

How has the Internet changed the ways people voice their opinions, gather information, and organize social movements? Have marginalized groups become more empowered by mobilizing online? Why does increased social media activity often exacerbate political polarization and populism? How has social media affected national elections? This course will analyze these questions and more within the context of East Asia. In analyzing the impact of the Internet on state-society relations, students will analyze state attempts to control media consumption and surveil Internet-use in Communist regimes like North Korea and China. We will compare these trends with similar efforts made by state actors in advanced industrialized countries such as Japan and South Korea. While the Internet-usage is in many ways, still tightly regulated by the state, the Web has in many ways, also empowered people formerly detached from politics to become politically engaged. This has led to both political polarization (and the influx of political extremist groups), as well as large-scale grassroots movements for democratization. Along these lines, we will examine the growth of far-right "netizen" groups in Japan, South Korea, and China and the subsequent proliferation of hate crimes, populism, and ultra-nationalism. We will also read studies of how teenagers used their presence on social media and the blogosphere to eventually lead large-scaled national protests like the 2016 Candlelight Movement in Seoul and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Finally, in studying the global diffusion of social protests in the digital age, we will analyze how the #MeToo movement reignited new waves of feminism in South Korea, Japan, and China. What implications does the Internet have for the future democracy?

This course examines the most important bilateral relationship in the world today. It begins with an overview of the major historic episodes in U.S.-China relations, then, adopting a theme-based approach, it examines the relationship among important topics in the contemporary bilateral relationship across the overlapping political, economic and security spheres. The course will stress the importance of perceptions in policymaking, and use student presentations and a crisis simulation to allow students to understand the problem from various perspectives.

Enrolling in school does not guarantee that children acquire the human capital that their schooling should provide. Also, in some countries a large fraction of children still are not finishing primary school, and there are still millions of children who never attend school at all. In this course, we will review the impact of various types of educational interventions on schooling in the Global South. We explore the rationale behind specific policies and the evidence (or lack of) in support of their effectiveness in improving education outcomes. The aim is to engage in broader debates on the challenges facing effective education policy. Students will critically evaluate real-life policy options in different contexts, as well as propose potential innovations. By the end of the course, students will possess an analytical framework that allows them to think clearly about the impacts of alternative education policies, as well as be able to judge the quality of existing evidence.

The claim that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, “a single whole,” has been resounding in Russian mass media, film, and other discourses for the last two decades. Putin took a pronounced colonial turn with his return to the Presidency in 2012, describing Russia as a state-civilization, in which Russians and Ukrainians are joined in “spiritual unity.” History thus serves as a justification for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This course will look at historical facts and cultural artifacts of Russia and Ukraine to determine the roots of Russia’s current aggression in Ukraine. Among others, the course will discuss the following questions. Is Kyivan Rus part of Russian or Ukrainian history, or neither? Does Ukraine have its own history and culture that is distinct from Russian? Are Ukrainians divided into Russian-speakers (aspiring to join Russia) and Ukrainian-speaking nationalists (aspiring to EU)? The course will examine the origins, points of intersection and divergence of Ukrainian and Russian cultures through the lens of history, art, and literature from the Christianization of Rus (10th century) to the present time. We will look at the history of Russian imperialism, centuries of appropriation of Ukrainian cultural achievements, annihilation of Ukrainian traditions, extermination of Ukrainian intellectuals, and the politics of Russification with the purpose to see how the current events reflect a tendency that has already existed for centuries.

In 2007, after decades of organizing on the part of indigenous activists, the United Nations issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration was the result of years of work by people from particular communities--each with its own history, culture, language, and home--who decided to call themselves, and work together as, Indigenous people. This creative step allowed indigenous peoples to work collectively for justice on a global scale, rather than individually and in confrontation with single states. This class explores the concept, and reality, of Indigeneity in both historical and contemporary perspective: we will consider the many shared struggles and opportunities of indigenous peoples around the globe today and the ways that similar (or distinct) histories have led to similar (or distinct) present realities.

This course examines the origins and development of contemporary opinions and policies concerning migrations and migrants. It does so by looking backward to the age when transoceanic mobility became more frequent and increasingly more accessible before moving forward to our own times. It is the central claim of this course that it is impossible to understand what drives policy today without first surveying the changing ideas of migration and the movement of people over time. It will therefore take students through the history of migration in the modern world, as well as studying the migrant journey, connections to home, the process and difficulties of assimilation and community creation, and the problems or opportunities that could arise for migrants from characteristics like race, religion, ethnicity, or language. Also considered will be the complex relationship between colonization and migration. In the process, Migrants and Mobility will also examine how different societies place value judgments upon migrants and analyze how and why migration/migrants have been categorized as “good” or “bad” over time. Students will also encounter and consider the effects of growing urbanization and industrialization, changing demography and global trade patterns, and, more recently, the impact of climate change. Migrants and Mobility will be primarily seminar based, placing a premium on participation and analytical discussion.

Politics, markets, and the environment are all spheres of development that are fundamentally shaped by the action and interaction of many individuals over time. For example, the Arab Spring protests, the shortage of medicines in Caracas, and the rising water temperatures of the Baltic Sea are all system-level outcomes arising from the individual actions of thousands or even billions of people. In these spheres, leadership is often weak or non-existent. Scientists call these "complex systems." Complexity is difficult to study in the real world. Instead, scientists often approach these phenomenon using computer simulations (sometimes called agent-based models, social network models, and computational models). The goal is to build computer models of development that link the actions and interactions of individuals to the system-level outcomes. This class will use the perspective, literature, and tools of complexity science to approach core questions in the field of development. No programming experience is required, but students should be prepared to learn a new language called Netlogo. It is a free program which is described as having a "low threshold" (easy to get started) and "high ceiling" (many capabilities).

Conserving the earth's rich biological heritage while enhancing the well-being of some of the world's poorest people stands as a critical global challenge. This course examines this complex issue using the lens of political science and related fields such as political ecology, gender studies, and sustainability science. It will demonstrate how insights and approaches from these areas of scholarship can help understand and address the twin problems of biodiversity loss and poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Examples will focus on forest and wildlife conservation and management. This course will be of interest to students from a wide range of natural and social science disciplines.

This course examines the interplay between history, memory and violence in the modern Middle East. We will discuss specific case studies of wars and other forms of violence and their social, political and cultural dynamics of commemoration, forgetfulness and silence. The course will start with an overview of theories and concepts from the field of Memory Studies and follow with our case studies. These will include Zionist and Palestinian national myths, the 1948 war that led to the establishment of Israel and to Palestinian displacement, the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1989, the Armenian genocide during World War I, the Algerian War of Independence (1955-1962) and the Syrian civil war (2011- ?).

Politics of Latin America is intended to be a multi-disciplinary introduction to critical issues within contemporary Latin American culture, society, politics, and economy. An assumption behind the organization of this course is that many of the traditional boundaries between different disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities are drawn somewhat arbitrarily, and that a more comprehensive understanding of Latin America can, and even should, be approached from a number of different analytic and disciplinary lenses. Thus, we will trespass traditional disciplinary boundaries from time to time over the course of the semester. The course is divided into two major parts. The first part is organized around a number of key analytic lenses, which we will employ sequentially with an aim to gaining a deeper appreciation of important aspects of contemporary Latin America. We will begin with a discussion of the utility of "culture" as a tool for understanding Latin America. Is there such a thing as "Latin America" understood as a discrete category of countries, and if so, what do they share in common? We will follow this discussion with an exploration of what is certainly a chief cultural expression among any people, an exploration of levels of religiosity and their relationship to social and political behavior. Other key features of culture will be woven into the analyses of the case studies we will undertake for the remainder of the course. We will explore the wide variation in the quality of democratic governance in different Latin American countries. And we will we look to some of the sources of that variation, including democratic institution building, economic and social policy making, and the persistence of populist politics, and forces in the international arena, such as U.S Foreign Policy, among other factors. In the remainder of the course, we will look specifically at country-cases in comparative perspective, in particular Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. In selecting these cases, I have made a conscious decision to sacrifice breadth for greater depth. An effort will be made throughout the discussion of the cases to make broader comparisons with a wider range of Latin American cases.

This course examines how gender and sexuality are understood, constructed, and implicated in relations of social power in various regions of the world. It will integrate scholarship from anthropology and women and gender studies to explore how ideas of maleness, femaleness, trans, queer, and heterosexual are reproduced, contested, and transgressed within different social contexts and the everydayness of these categories. We will learn about cultural changes in conceptions of gender and sexuality in North and South America, SWANA (South West Asia/North Africa), Southeast and East Asia, Central and Southern Africa, and Europe. In the first half of this course, we will consider traditional themes in cultural anthropology, including kinship, morality, ritual, emotion, politics, and the circulation of goods and labor, to examine how different communities produce cultural knowledge about gender and sexuality. The second half of this course will address contemporary themes such as activism, violence, and gender and sexual oppression. Using our knowledge of anthropological theories developed in the first half of the course, we will take up topics of concern such as masculinity and violence, LGBTQ rights and pinkwashing, and gender and nationalism to understand how gender and sexuality are relevant to post-colonial contexts and settler-colonial resistance movements.

As we move deeper into the 21st century the global community faces mass language extinction. While languages have always changed, died, and been born, the scale of the contemporary threat is unprecedented. The Endangered Languages Project estimates that more than 40% of the world's 7,000 languages are in danger of disappearing. As it becomes increasingly clear that language rights are closely connected to other human rights, and that indigenous languages in particular hold traditional environmental knowledge crucial for the creation of a sustainable future, the fate of these languages has become a matter of global concern. In 2019 the UN declared a year of Indigenous Languages and in 2022 kicked off IDIL, the International Decade for Indigenous Languages. Partly because of these new collaborations, the story of endangered languages is not all doom and gloom. In this class we will explore the past, present, and future of endangered languages, with cases drawn in particular from Ireland, New Zealand/Maori, Bangladesh, Africa, and the Indigenous communities of the South Bend region. We will ask what languages do and what is lost when they disappear; why some languages become endangered and others do not; and what contemporary realities speakers and learners of such languages face as they seek schooling, entertainment, self-expression, and community in their language. Most importantly, we will also consider the reasons for language optimism by learning about the ways many endangered languages--even those once thought "dead"--are being revived by dedicated communities of language activists, often working in collaboration with each other. Over the course of the semester, students will choose an endangered language and create a policy paper for the government(s) and communities responsible for that language laying out the language’s history, present conditions, and future needs; the class will include multiple rounds of revision and workshopping of this policy paper. The course culminates with an event in which students put a poster version of their paper on display.

In 2022 Pope Francis visited Canada to formally apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system established there, a system responsible for immense harm to Indigenous communities and cultures in that country. In doing so, he drew attention to the complex and painful entanglement of education, religion, and colonialism in the history of North America and the world. This class explores both that painful history and the possibilities for reconciliation and accountability in our present moment. Taking the Canadian case as a jumping off point, the class explores the historical role of missionaries and other educators in colonized communities in North and South America as well as Ireland. We will explore the way many churches participated in colonialism, creating educational and missionizing programs that relied on and reinforced imperial power and inflicted severe trauma on Indigenous communities. We will also, however, explore the ways colonized peoples used these religions to critique colonial exploitation and preserve their communities, as well as how many members of churches from colonizing nations embraced anticolonial visions of their faiths. These stories lead the way into the second part of the class, which explores contemporary efforts by Indigenous and other colonized communities to seek accountability from churches and educational institutions associated with them as well as the efforts made by those institutions at reconciliation. Over the course of the semester students will research and write a policy paper dealing with a church of their choosing and a people, or set of peoples, affected by that church’s colonial history.

This course provides students with a critical understanding of how South Korean society is organized, the major social issues that have dominated the contemporary era, and how systems of social inequality have changed since the postwar period. We will analyze in particular, three major periods of social change, including 1) the democratization movement of the 1970s and 1980s, 2) the Asian financial crisis and its impact on social inequality and poverty, and finally, 3) South Korea’s aging crisis and its implications for the future. No prior knowledge of Asian languages or topics is required.

This rigorous, hands-on, interdisciplinary seminar prepares students to design and execute an independent international field research project. The course enhances your ability to conduct your own research, but also teaches techniques that will be useful for the rest of your academic studies, and for understanding research results presented to you through popular press in your life after college. This class is unique because throughout, your learning and work are geared specifically to your selected research interests. The first part of the class guides students through the steps of refining a research project and preparing a research proposal. The second part of the class will help students hone their ability to conduct research through a series of research practicums: students get hands-on experience in a variety of methodological approaches through research conducted in the local area. Because of the over-arching nature of the course, we will touch on topics of research design, such as developing a research question, a theoretical framework, and hypothesis testing, as well as analysis of data and evidence. However, we encourage students to see this course as a complement, rather than a substitute, for discipline specific research methods and analysis courses.

This course examines how gender and sexuality are understood, constructed, and implicated in relations of social power in various regions of the world. It will integrate scholarship from anthropology and women and gender studies to explore how ideas of maleness, femaleness, trans, queer, and heterosexual are reproduced, contested, and transgressed within different social contexts and the everydayness of these categories. We will learn about cultural changes in conceptions of gender and sexuality in North and South America, SWANA (South West Asia/North Africa), Southeast and East Asia, Central and Southern Africa, and Europe. In the first half of this course, we will consider traditional themes in cultural anthropology, including kinship, morality, ritual, emotion, politics, and the circulation of goods and labor, to examine how different communities produce cultural knowledge about gender and sexuality. The second half of this course will address contemporary themes such as activism, violence, and gender and sexual oppression. Using our knowledge of anthropological theories developed in the first half of the course, we will take up topics of concern such as masculinity and violence, LGBTQ rights and pinkwashing, and gender and nationalism to understand how gender and sexuality are relevant to post-colonial contexts and settler-colonial resistance movements.

This course investigates modern genocide. We will consider several cases: Armenia, the Jewish Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, and possibly Darfur and/or Gaza, and examine the conditions that lead to genocidal violence. We will also examine the uses of humanitarian interventions, trials, and strategies of societal reconciliation, and relevant conceptions of justice, guilt, forgiveness and moral responsibility.

This course offers a chronological survey of Ireland and the Irish from the Act of Union with Great Britain to the present day. It will consider the social, political, religious, gendered, cultural and economic aspects of that history, and will place the island of Ireland within its wider contexts, as part of the United Kingdom, as part of Europe, as part of the British Empire, and as the source of the global Irish Diaspora. The course will focus on a number of central issues, including: how enduring sectarian divisions have influenced the development of Irish history; the Famine, mass emigration, and the rise of the Diaspora; the development and course of both Ulster and Southern unionism, and of Irish nationalism; the relationship of Ireland and the Irish to the British Empire and the wider Anglo-world; the Irish revolution, counter-revolution, and partition; the development of the Irish Free State, and Republic of Ireland; the history of Northern Ireland, the Troubles, and the peace process; the collapse of the "Celtic Tiger".

Humans are social creatures, dwelling in “imagined communities” of various forms across the world. Since the French Revolution, philosophers, politicians, and the politics of the masses have increasingly chosen “the nation” as the form their communities take. But what is nationalism? What is the nation-state? As the ideology behind many democracies, nationalism has waxed and waned in popularity at various times; for example, it reached new heights in mid-nineteenth century Italy, with Woodrow Wilson’s conceptualization of self-determination (1918), in Nazi Germany, and in our own contemporary political arena. The concept of the nation appears ever popular, yet its form and meaning shift over time and geographically. This course explores what nationalism is and to whom, moving from the French Revolution to contemporary politics, asking students fundamental questions about the relationship between citizens, democracy, governance, and the rule of law. The course will also challenge students to explore fundamental questions about identity, belonging, and the power of nationalism as an ideology in creating politically-motivated communities, sometimes in cooperation with other ideologies, such as religions. While the course approaches these topics first from a history of ideas and political philosophy approach, the ideas will meet the masses in global case studies that reveal the reality of nationalism as lived by citizens across time and place. Students will explore these questions primarily through reading-based seminar discussions, and their own writing and research to meet in three interdisciplinary ways of knowing: political philosophy, writing, and historical inquiry.

What is the relationship between development projects, which often pursue universal goals and scalable approaches, and cultural differences? How does culture shape the impact of development projects? How are development practitioners themselves shaped by culture? In this course, we use materials from anthropology, sociology, and history to explore how development processes shape, and are shaped by, culture. Approaching culture in terms of the meanings, values, practices, and norms that shape social life in both overt and subtle ways, we will focus on how different actors in the development world create and communicate knowledge about social issues and their potential solutions. Along the way, we will draw on different theories about culture, power, and inequality to analyze mainstream development approaches to data, expertise, and social transformation.

What are Beijing's objectives towards the developing world and how have they have evolved and been pursued over time? In light of China's unprecedented Belt and Road Initiative and increasingly assertive military activities far from its shores, the answer to this question is perhaps more important than ever before. This course analyzes and explains China's strategies in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, and evaluates their effectiveness. It is informed by the functionally organized academic literature, but uses a regional approach that allows for comparisons among regions based on their economic, political, military, and social characteristics. Topics will cut across the overlapping political, economic and security spheres, with particular attention paid to how different developing countries have perceived and responded to China's rapidly growing engagement and influence. This structure allows us to consider not only the unique features of Chinese engagement in each region, but also place them in the larger context of Beijing's strategy towards other developing regions and the developing world as a whole. This course will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in international development, Chinese foreign policy, comparative political economy, and international relations.

Democracies strive to hold governments accountable to their citizens. But how, in practice, can citizens influence political outcomes? And under what conditions do citizens help sustain or undermine democracy? This course explores the role of public opinion, electoral behavior, and elite responsiveness in shaping democratic accountability. In the first half, we examine how voters' preferences and behaviors influence political elites, drawing on comparative research and case studies from Europe, Latin America, and the United States. In the second half, we turn to the citizen-side of democratic stability: What kinds of attitudes and forms of engagement foster democratic resilience? What makes citizens withdraw support from, or remain loyal to, anti-democratic leaders? Throughout the class, students will engage with canonical and recent advances in social science, public-facing books and newspaper articles, as well as practitioners.

This course explores the interconnections between health, nutrition, and poverty in low- and middle-income countries. The course will examine how poor health and malnutrition perpetuate poverty, and how poverty in turn undermines health and nutritional outcomes. Drawing on perspectives from economics, public health, and development studies, the course introduces theoretical and empirical evidence to analyze interventions such as nutrition programs, cash transfers, agricultural policies, and health systems reforms. Students will engage with both academic literature and real-world case studies, with an emphasis on understanding policy design and evaluation.

Many approaches to policy, development, and governance emphasize universal goals and patterns. In practice, however, all policies and processes of social development unfold in specific places, at specific historical moments. In this course, we will explore a vibrant body of scholarship from multiple disciplines, called “critical policy studies,” that combines social and cultural analysis with policy studies. Students will learn how to analyze global policy interventions and outcomes as the products of specific communities, cultural contexts, and historical settings. We will examine the history of core categories in policy, like “poverty,” “growth,” “progress,” and even “development” itself. We will then use case studies to explore specific examples of how cultural and historical context shape policy interventions and outcomes. In so doing, students will learn the core methods of critical and interpretive policy studies, in order to develop valuable skills for analyzing how policies are shaped by, and act on, social life in unexpected ways.

In this course, we will examine how policy frameworks around the world address patterns of gender difference and gender inequality. While policy experts often assume that gender and sexuality are stable, coherent categories of identity, scholars have long shown that both take socially and historically specific forms. In this course we will read a range of critical case studies that demonstrate the complicated ways that local and global beliefs about gender, sexuality, and development intersect in everyday life around the world. This course will help you approach "gender" and "sexuality"—two key terms in development discourse and global affairs—with an understanding of how these categories shape not just individuals but institutions, processes, and practices.

This course examines the financial and economic tools that support sustainable solutions to social challenges, with a focus beyond traditional government aid and philanthropy. Students will explore the rapidly expanding fields of impact investing and microfinance, evaluating their roles in advancing social entrepreneurship, broad-based wealth creation, and equality of opportunity. Topics include emerging approaches to microcredit, the benefits and limitations of financial innovations, and the role of public policy in fostering effective initiatives. Through a combination of case studies, critical analyses, and applied projects, students will engage directly with real-world challenges such as poverty alleviation and inclusive economic development. No prior background in business or finance is required; the course is designed for students from all disciplines who bring curiosity, creativity, and a commitment to social problem-solving.

From ancient myths to Pixar films, from Superbowl commercials to political campaigns, we understand our world through stories and take actions because of stories. In this course we will examine the major components of narrative by viewing storytelling through a global lens. We will study how narrative works, link narrative analysis and practices across professions, and explore narrative effects across cultures. With the storytelling we practice every day we will learn to tell a story of “self,” of “us,” of “them,” of “now.” To craft compelling narratives on topics such as “change” and “difference,” and create powerful accounts by means of data, visual tools and on social media. By the end of the semester, we will develop skills to understand the power of stories more profoundly; to use them in our own lives and within the frameworks of organizations, marketing and advertising; to identify better social change strategies; and to become aware of all the new professional and academic fields that are recognizing the importance of storytelling to enhance effectiveness and emotional connection.

Is Islam a religion or political ideology? Where do Muslims live? What do they look like? Do all Muslims want to live according to the Sharia? Is the Clash of Civilizations real? Can Muslims share the planet with non-Muslims in permanent peace? Do Muslims have anything akin to Catholic Social Teaching? If you are interested in these kinds of questions, you need to take this course. A journey through the scripture and scholarly traditions of Islam, the course engages multiple overlapping and intersecting themes of relevance to global affairs, including geography and demographics; governance and political thought; international relations and organizations; civil society and social teachings; knowledge and education; ecology and climate change; migration and identity; human rights and dignity; war and peace; and development and progress. We will also look at contemporary debates surrounding Islam and religious freedom. The course provides a snapshot of the "Muslim world" in the heartlands where Islam originated, where it thrives in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and in places where Muslims live as influential minorities in Europe and North America, based on the latest available data and representative case studies. Designed as survey course with ample time for discussion, students with no prior exposure to Islam are welcome alongside more advanced students who wish to bring their knowledge of Islamic thought into conversation with the conditions of the contemporary world. graduate students with an interest in Religion may enroll with instructor permission.

To understand religion, we should go to Asia: Asia boasts the majority of the world's religions and religious people. In this class, we look at what Asian religious traditions are up to today, and how they inform everyday social and political life. How might religious traditions as diverse as Zen Buddhism and Zoroastrianism inform conflict, coexistence, and cooperation? What is it to be human within worldviews that seem to depart from our own with respect to gender, sexuality, ethnicity, dis/ability, and the natural world? How might society, culture, or economy develop in Sunni Muslim, humanistic Buddhist, or atheist Maoist terms? How might we learn to "scale up" spiritual practices such as shamanism, ancestor worship, radical nonviolence, and mindfulness meditation to solve global problems? We read historians, anthropologists, and other scholars of religion to explore Asian spiritual routes and roots, from Iraq to Japan and beyond.

This course examines US engagement in hotspots across the Muslim world before and after 9/11. In particular focus are nations in South Asia and the Middle East: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq. We will also look at US relations with important Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as policies toward Israel-Palestine and the Bosnian War in Europe. US engagement abroad takes many forms, including public diplomacy, trade, sanctions, alliances, covert operations, financial and military aid, and direct military intervention. What are the drivers of American decision-making in the region? Why is there so much anti-American sentiment in Muslim societies? Does peace depend on a critical reassessment of US foreign policy or the reform of a radical Islamist theology? Do certain interpretations of religion make conflict inevitable, or is it possible to attain reasonable outcomes even when dealing with extremists? Through a blend of history, investigative journalism, case studies, opinion polls, literature, and film, this course broadens our perspectives on some of America's longest wars in the Muslim world.

Since the end of the Cold War, American Evangelicals' political influence has increased significantly. For example, Christian Zionist have continued to contribute meaningfully to American political support for the state of Israel. Additionally, to improve human dignity, Evangelicals have established schools and promoted literacy, built clinics and dispensaries, promoted agricultural development and distributed food aid, created orphanages, and propagated values about the inherent worth of all persons. Twenty-five to thirty percent of the US population is neo-evangelical and another five to ten percent adheres to some form of evangelical theology. That means that 100 million Americans are in one way or another tied to evangelical theology and they seem to pray, think, vote, and lobby as a coalition. This course will examine the rise of American Evangelicalism and explore matters deemed important to Evangelicals: social and political affairs, global engagement, participation in public affairs, international affairs, support of Israel, political and economic development. More generally, this course offers a compelling account of Evangelicals' influence on America's role in the world. Students will learn how to engage more thoughtfully and productively with this influential religious group - a group that has been called political kingmakers! Students will also learn about the largest protestant denomination in the world - Southern Baptists - from the professor, who was a former Southern Baptist Minister and church planter.

Co-led by two Notre Dame faculty members, one Jewish and one Muslim, this one-credit course will enable a multi-narrative lens on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to understand how we got to October 7 and its aftermath, and to think about where we go from here. Alongside the class sessions, students will be expected to attend public lectures addressing issues such as international law; the distinctive vision of a Catholic university in relation to the conflict; peacebuilding in the midst of extreme polarization; and possible ways forward. In some cases, we will have the opportunity to meet separately with the speakers at these events. We hope that passionate advocates on either side of the conflict will feel welcome in this course alongside others who are simply curious and wish to learn more about one of the most important conflicts in the world. The fall and spring semesters offer distinct readings and events; thus, both new students and those who participated in the fall are eligible to register in the spring. This course will only meet 10 times.

A total of approximately 1.4 billion Catholics are found in virtually every country in the world. Since the 1960s their global religious community, the Roman Catholic Church, has embraced the mission of advancing integral human development as a comprehensive approach to Catholicism's commitment to upholding the God-given dignity of every person, regardless of race, religion, creed or any other marker of identity. What difference do Catholics make in a world beset by growing inequality, human rights violations, poverty, war, and the environmental and refugee crises? Focusing on the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, Uganda and Italy, this course examines the impact of Catholics and the Church in these countries, with an emphasis on the modern history and contemporary social, political, cultural and interreligious dynamics of each. Students will be expected to master the comparative narratives of regions and countries where Catholics might be expected to make a difference, and to focus on one country in depth.

Enrolling in school does not guarantee that children acquire the human capital that their schooling should provide. Also, in some countries a large fraction of children still are not finishing primary school, and there are still millions of children who never attend school at all. In this lab we will review the impact of various types of educational interventions on schooling in the Global South. We explore the rationale behind specific policies and the evidence (or lack of) in support of their effectiveness in improving education outcomes. The aim is to engage the broader debates on the challenges facing effective education policy. Students will critically evaluate real-life policy options in different contexts, as well as propose potential innovations. By the lab's end, students will possess an analytical framework that allows them to think clearly about the impacts of alternative education policies, as well as be able to judge the quality of existing evidence.

This course explores the myriad of national security policy challenges facing the United States and the policy options to address these challenges. The course will explore security issues with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as well as climate change, global health/pandemics, cyber threats/security and terrorism/extremism. The course will include lectures by policy experts and student engagement with these experts to explore policy options and their potential for success. Students will conduct research of primary source policy documents to develop a policy memorandum for the US National Security Council that will outline a policy challenge for the United States and recommend policy options for consideration.

This course will examine the compounding challenges and injustices affecting the most fragile countries in the world, including extreme poverty, forced migration, climate change, violent conflict, economic collapse, and corruption. Students will analyze diplomatic, development and national security policies of the United States to respond. One specific policy students will study is the Global Fragility Act of 2019 now being implemented by the Department of State and other federal agencies. Students will navigate the legal, political and media contexts in which policies to address global fragility are shaped; analyze the policymaking process within the U.S.; and employ strategies for communicating about policy. Understanding the role of evidence-based research to influence interagency policy will be a primary focus. In this regard, students will sharpen their ability to analyze primary source policy documents and formulate key questions at the center of global policy development. They will grapple with existing and proposed laws, evaluate current policy debates, and produce policy materials. This course is not a lecture class. It will be interactive, include instruction based on current and historical policy initiatives, and welcome guest speakers who are current or former practitioners in US government agencies, international humanitarian organizations, multilateral organizations, or policy think tanks.

This course will explore the role of global business in reducing poverty, inequality and attending to the needs of all stakeholders. Students will be introduced to the rapidly growing fields of impact investing and sustainable finance which support socially conscious and environmentally friendly innovations. Students will gain a broad overview of the financial and economic tools available, beyond government assistance and philanthropy, to support broad based wealth creation, equality of opportunity and natural resource preservation. Students will be invited to participate in policy debates on certain topics and will read mini case studies on subjects such as microfinance, "place based" community investment and the role of CDFIs, and the issuance of green/blue sustainability bonds. Guest speakers/practitioners will be invited to engage the students in real world problem solving. The course will culminate in a small group project or paper to "reexamine business" as a force for good, which will be presented in class. It is open to students of all intended majors with no prerequisites, and should serve as a foray to several future areas of study such as global affairs, social entrepreneurship and sustainability.

In this one-credit seminar, students will learn about the US Intelligence Community and its key roles: collecting and disseminating intelligence, providing all-source analysis of foreign developments and threats, and undertaking covert action at the request of the President. They will develop a deep understanding of how senior US policymakers and military officials use intelligence collection and analysis, as well as covert action, in shaping US foreign policy. Students will focus on driving discussions through an in-depth understanding of the course materials, respectful discourse and debate, and concise writing in the manner US policymakers prefer.

This course explores innovation as it emerges from poverty and resource constraints, challenging views of "the poor" as mere targets for or recipients of technological change. Instead we analyze and contribute to building concrete case studies of ingenuity from marginalized individuals and communities (for instance, early open platforms for knowledge exchange such as hip hop's OK Player, or secure indigenous-led servers for governance of vulnerable communities' biomedical or ecological data). We review concepts from economics, sociology and geography such as "core" and "periphery" in globalized world economies, or "bottom of the pyramid" marketing and scale models for innovations that occur in the top wealth percentiles of society. Through a combination of reading and discussion, and hands-on contributions to an emerging open source software and content platform as it integrates with the platforms of global partner institutions learners will: 1) develop robust current conceptual models for innovation, 2) contribute as co-authors with senior researchers media and data rich interactive online content, and 3) acquire communications and technical skills for collaborative and individual innovation in tomorrow's digital and actual ecosystems.

This course explores the relationship between democratic governance and technological innovation. From the printing press to artificial intelligence, technology has transformed how societies deliberate, mobilize, surveil, and govern. We will examine the positive and negative impacts of technology on democratic practice. The course will begin with lectures covering the negative impacts of technology on governance by fueling disinformation, deepening polarization, amplifying prejudices and hate speech, enabling surveillance and algorithmic manipulation, enabling foreign election interference, eroding trust in institutions, concentrating corporate power, and weakening the capacity for collective deliberation. Next, the course will build on this understanding to explore how the design of technology platforms relate to these harms and what prosocial tech design looks like. Students will learn to use at least four different "democracy technologies" also known as "deliberative technologies" to support "Participatory, Reflective, Impactful, Meaningful Everyday Democracy." The main project will be designing and carrying out a PRIMED project on campus using these democracy platforms to foster campus deliberation. Students will work with campus organizations to develop the project into a policy brief that meets the needs of the ND community.

The United Kingdom’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union came as a surprise: few expected the referendum to pass, and little or no planning had been done for what would come next if it did. In Ireland it was a shock. Since the Good Friday Agreement there had been peace on the island of Ireland. The gun had largely been removed from Irish politics. Key to this was the joint membership of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in the European Union. People could move freely - that had been true for years - but so could goods. The border itself was increasingly vestigial: a change in mobile phone provider; signage in miles not kilometer; pounds not Euro. Unification remained an aspiration for many but few thought it imminent. Brexit called all of this into question. Would there have to be a ‘hard’ border? Customs checks at Newry and Dundalk? No one knew. Certainly, the British did not. Resolving these questions fell to a great extent to the Irish government, led between 2017 and 2020 (and again 2022-2024) by Leo Varadkar. How this process was navigated is the subject of this course: how did the Republic of Ireland seek to maintain its position in the face of British indifference, and at times hostility? What role did the European Union play? How did the Irish ‘win Brexit’, as the New Statesman recently put it?

This course prepares students for their semester of study in Washington D.C., including their internship search.

What do terms like “structural,” “systemic,” or “institutional” racism mean? What are the structures, systems, and institutions that historically have contributed, and continue to contribute, to racial injustice in the United States? Most importantly, how can understanding these concepts help us dismantle the barriers to racial justice in America? This course will focus on the ways that the law and the legal system in the United States has been a tool to create and sustain racial inequity, as well as the reforms, both historic and ongoing, to redress them. Course materials will include cases and commentary. Together, we will examine legal structures in the areas of housing, education, banking and finance, voting, employment discrimination, criminal law, and environmental justice, among others. The course will draw from the Klau Institute’s archives in its five-year long Building and Anti-Racist Vocabulary lecture series featuring authors, public intellectuals, faith leaders, and external and internal members of the academy. Throughout the course of the semester, students will compose a variety of short papers, lead classroom discussions, and complete a final project incorporating independent research on related topics.

This course provides students with a unique introduction to Asia in all its diversity, ranging from its languages, cultures, and histories to its political and economic systems and its relations with the US. As the global balance of power is shifting towards Asia, it is more important than ever for Notre Dame students to have more than just basic knowledge about the continent. This course provides just that: an opportunity to take your understanding of Asia beyond the level of what you read in the newspapers, providing you with the knowledge and the tools to formulate your own critical understanding of the region and its global environment. Different types of writing about Asia – academic, journalistic, diplomatic, political, popular – will be examined alongside different ways in which Asia has been and continues to be represented in the western imagination. Asian perspectives will be accessed through English-language writings and English-language media published in Asia. Guest lecturers with specific expertise on individual Asian countries will join the class at regular intervals. Assessment methods will include both written work and classroom (group) presentations.

This interdisciplinary course explores the intersection of early childhood development (ECD) science and poverty alleviation initiatives in low- and middle-income countries. It provides students with an understanding of how early brain development is influenced by socio-economic factors and how evidence-based interventions can promote brain health and school readiness while also addressing developmental disparities. Early childhood years are a time of heightened biological and environmental responsiveness that coincides with the most rapid period of neurological growth in human development. They build the foundation for cognitive, emotional, and social competencies; failure to thrive in the early years is associated with not only short-term physical, cognitive, and social-emotional maladjustment but also poor adult health and labor market outcomes. Investing in ECD is one of the most cost-effective ways to address the negative individual and societal effects of poverty, and can significantly enhance developmental outcomes. Students will engage with current research, theoretical frameworks, and practical strategies to promote optimal development in impoverished and crisis-affected contexts and prevent intergenerational poverty. This course is relevant for students interested in applying the science of early child development to social issues and working in fields related to psychology, neuroscience, education, public health, or social policy.

This course takes youth as the central focus for investigations into schooling, society, and policy. Children and youth are often the object of international development programs and national policies that recognize the promise of youth when channeled toward productive ends and the problem of youth when familial, social supports and formal structures break down. Many of these programs and policies argue youth are “idle” and the solution is empowerment through hard work, education, self-improvement, and formal employment. Consequently, youth have received much attention from NGOs, governments, media, and local organizations–all aim to shape youth into their version of ideal, self-empowered adults. As a result, youth are confronted with different versions of who they can and should become, contributing to the already ambiguous nature of what it means to be youth and to become an adult. Throughout the course we will investigate the various ways in which youth are constructed as both the problem and the solution. We will also interrogate the various representations of youth in cross-cultural contexts, and how these representations shape experiences in the context of schooling, the role of youth in society, and in public policy in urban cities in the U.S. and in urban contexts across Africa.

This seminar takes a close look at the historical foundations of U.S. foreign assistance and considers what a more effective, responsible American global engagement might look like in the future. Students explore major milestones in U.S. foreign assistance including, the German Marshall Plan, Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and establishment of the United States Agency for International Development alongside major reform efforts from the past thirty years. Throughout the course, students will engage with foreign policy professionals in Washington, D.C., representing think tanks, non-governmental organizations and government agencies. Students will also produce policy briefs, conduct interviews and present final recommendations to experienced foreign policy leaders. Readings draw from legislation, policy analyses, news articles, government reports and academic texts.

One of the factors that strike many about the African continent generally is the role that religion seems to play in all spheres of life. Africa thus remains a religiously diverse and dynamic continent, where not only Catholicism, but also Christianity in general, Islam, and African indigenous traditions are at home. While this is the case, on the political and economic front, things do not seem to be so positive. Political instability, civil wars, poverty, and increasingly ecological degradation are ever growing challenges. How do we understand and account for this apparent contradiction between a culturally and religiously rich continent and an economically and politically distressed continent? What role does religion—Christianity in particular—play in development? Religion, Peace and Development engages these and similar questions through a three-week immersive cultural, international, and educational experience in Uganda. The overall objectives of the course are to: 1) enable students to learn about Uganda's cultural, religious and political history as an introduction to the broader trends that shape history in sub-Saharan Africa; 2) offer students an immersive experience into the natural, cultural and social dimensions of African life; and 3) provide students with an opportunity for community engagement as a way to deepen their understanding of the challenges and possibilities of peace and development in rural Uganda.

The Catholic Church boasts a rich tradition of reflection and action on war and peace. This course introduces students to Catholic teaching on war and peace and how it applies to a range of pressing international issues. It introduces students to the most well-known and well-developed part of the tradition: just war and pacifism (or principled nonviolence). But it goes further and considers how the just war-pacifism debate must be considered in the wider context of a theology, ethics and praxis of peacebuilding - i.e., the Church's approach to conflict prevention, conflict transformation, and post-conflict reconciliation. While lived Catholic peacebuilding is most evident in the midst of conflicts from Colombia and Congo to South Sudan and Ukraine, Rome offers a global perspective on the Church's teaching and action related to peace. This course introduces students to the peacebuilding role of the Holy See/Vatican - the source of official Church teaching, a respected diplomatic actor on a wide range of justice and peace issues, and a catalyst for a proliferation of Catholic peacebuilding activities around the world. It also introduces students to the peacebuilding work of other key Catholic actors, such as Caritas Internationalis, the Sant'Egidio Community, the Focolare Movement, and religious orders.

This module provides an introduction to the main areas of contemporary Irish social policy. This includes the 'four pillars' of the system (social protection; health; education; and housing) but also an overview of key aspects of social work as they relate to social policy. The module presents an overview of current policy in each of the areas and students are required to think analytically about each of the key policies, assessing their performance relative to particular goals. Students are introduced to key data sources (mainly on-line) to enable you to draw on readily available sources of information to update your knowledge and assessment of various social policy schemes and programmes.

This module provides an introduction to the main areas of contemporary Irish social policy. This includes the 'four pillars' of the system (social protection; health; education; and housing) but also an overview of key aspects of social work as they relate to social policy.

This course focuses on the interrelation between geography, demography, ecology, environmental ethics, and sustainability studies. In particular, the class will deal with issues concerning the Anthropocene, sustainable development and policies, demographic evolution and transitions, ecosystems and renewable resources, global migration flows, circular economy, and climate justice.

In this course, participants will analyze how ideas about gender and sexuality influenced left-wing revolutionary movements and right-wing military dictatorships in Latin America since 1959, considering both the political history and the experiences of contemporaries in cases such as Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Nicaragua, among others. The class methodology is based on lectures, reading of bibliography and historical documents, and analysis of historical films and documentaries. Students in this course will demonstrate their comprehension and capacity for analytical interpretation through the writing of reports on course materials and, as a final project, the creation of a scrapbook of a historical figure, recounting their experiences from a gender and sexuality perspective.

In this course, students will analyze some practical tools that are currently being implemented in different parts of the world in order to incorporate a gender perspective in issues and initiatives related to war and peace. Through case studies, team-based learning and lectures, among others, they will address the participation that women have in each international phenomenon studied, as active and passive agents.

This course covers a wide number of topics related to ethnic politics in Latin America, focusing on the main theoretical and empirical debates on the political participation of Latin American indigenous peoples. Thus, students will learn topics that include: political participation of indigenous peoples, domestic and international ethnic social mobilization, and the relationship between indigenous peoples and extractive industries.

This course introduces Asia's quest for nation-building and global modernity to students without prior knowledge of the region and its people. How did Asia since the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries pursue modernity on national and global levels? How and why did those pursuits connect Asian societies and states to the wider world? What motivated Asians to situate themselves within worlds beyond than the family, the village, the city, the nation, the empire or the region? What were the professional channels that connected the emergence of modern Asia to developments overseas? Themes involve systematic comparisons of a wide array of nation-building programs in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and India. Case studies include how Asian pioneers such as Sun Yat-sen, Ho Chi Minh and many others embraced global connections as a necessity for their professional work, their personal identities and their political causes. Thinking through global Asia since the 1870s ranges across social history, cultural history, political history, economic history, the history of religions, the history of mobility, institutional history and global history. The course will feature classic readings on these topics as well as brand new publications.

By 2050, more than two-thirds of the world population will live in cities across the globe generating multifarious urban challenges. Cities are therefore very important spaces within which complex economic, political, cultural, and environmental processes are produced and experienced. This module will introduce you to urbanisation from a global perspective. The objective is to understand contemporary processes of urban change in historical perspective from both the global north and the global south. The module will draw on case studies and examples from Asia, South America, Africa, North America, Europe, and Australia to exemplify key themes in urbanism. There is a specific focus on Dublin with associated fieldwork in the inner city.

This course explores Africa's evolution from a natural resource supplier to a key global player, emphasizing its growing political, economic, and financial influence amidst rapid globalization. It challenges outdated European stereotypes and examines the new wave of global competition in Africa, highlighting diverse international partnerships beyond traditional European dominance. The course delves into Africa's political and economic integration processes, considering historical, cultural, and societal contexts. It addresses critical themes like development aid, financial cooperation for sustainable development, and the impact of African diaspora remittances. Environmental challenges, particularly in relation to renewable energy and climate change, are emphasized. Furthermore, the course analyzes the structure of African institutions responsible for continental integration and their response to destabilization threats. It concludes with discussions on European Union policies and global interests in Africa, underscoring the continent's strategic importance as a future economic frontier.

This course is team-taught by foreign policy practitioners who will offer firsthand insight from their experiences shaping and implementing U.S. and international policies. Students will be challenged to think critically about the roles of diverse policy actors and institutions in driving—or impeding—change. They will also hone practical skills by analyzing current policies and crafting targeted recommendations for future U.S. foreign policy. Coursework will include writing policy memos, engaging with policy experts, and refining presentation skills.

As the global population hits 8 billion, approximately one out of every seven people on the face of the planet is Indian. The current Prime Minister of Great Britain and many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are of Indian origin. India boasts a democratic system of governance and a robust economy that is thriving, despite a history of colonialism. At the same time, however, majoritarian tendencies that are communal in nature, influenced heavily by Hindu nationalist politics, and often supported financially by the Indian diaspora, threaten to tarnish what could be India's century. In order to understand these dynamics, students will learn about Political Science more generally and about how Comparative Politics approaches the study of India both theoretically and methodologically. Students will learn about open questions in Political Science's understanding of contemporary India and about how scholars are engaged in answering those questions. Students will also learn to identify the problems associated with a purely disciplinary approach. The course will then expose students to alternative approaches, as any attempt to understand modern India requires that one use a variety of tools and draw from a diverse array of disciplines. While grounded in Political Science as a discipline, it will also pull from Anthropology, History, Sociology and Economics to help students make sense of contemporary developments. Finally, the course is experiential in nature. Students will engage with scholarly material, but also use Mumbai as their classroom, using the real world to find answers to answer intellectual questions and illuminate disciplinary theories, but also to investigate disciplinary concerns and generate new lines of inquiry. The course will include classroom instruction at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai on three separate topics: 1) "India and the World - A Shared Past"; 2) "Development, Diversity and Pluralism: Challenges for India Today"; and 3) "A Critical Review of Globalizing India." It will also include a variety of field experiences designed to familiarize students with the city/region and to explore topics raised through classroom instruction. To bring together the diverse array of learning materials presented in the course, students will be required to submit a final paper that asks a question that is both grounded in the Political Science literature and informed by field experience. They will then review relevant literature and develop an empirical strategy that could be used to answer their own question.

Embark on a transformative three-week cultural immersion trip through Türkiye (Turkey), a land where civilizations have converged for millennia, bridging Europe and Asia. This “integration” course explores the confluence of religion and geopolitics through Türkiye’s rich tapestry of history encoded in iconic sites. With two weeks in Istanbul and one on the road, students will explore the secular vision of Atatürk, Byzantine marvels like Aya Sofia, Ottoman splendors at Topkapi Palace, and spiritual centers such as Konya and Ephesus. Students will engage with pivotal moments in recent and deep history like the origin of religion in the Stone Age, fall/conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War, while reflecting on Türkiye’s role as a cultural crossroads through ancient and contemporary migrations. What does it mean for Türkiye, a predominantly Muslim nation and former center of the great Ottoman Empire, to be a NATO ally of the West? How has Türkiye managed its relations with its neighbors, caught between the European war of Ukraine/Russia and Middle Eastern conflicts of the Levant/Israel? This epic learning tour will lead us through encounters with ancient civilizations of the Hellenes and the wonderous heritages of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Of special interest for Notre Dame students will be experiencing the otherworldly landscapes of Cappadocia and a pilgrimage to the House of Mary in Ephesus. With ample time for independent exploration, this cultural odyssey through time connects past and present through multi- and trans-disciplinary lenses.

Students, in a structured format, are involved in assessing, prioritizing and creatively solving problems encountered by low-income and other disadvantaged South Bend entrepreneurs. A process consulting approach is employed and a number of useful tools and frameworks are introduced. Students work with both for-profit and non-profit enterprises, producing tangible deliverables that help clients launch, grow and sustain their ventures. In addition to class time, students will meet with clients on a weekly basis at a Notre Dame facility located downtown. Assistance with transportation will be available for students needing it. Class will meet on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, students will consult with local entrepreneurs in one hour blocks during the hours of 5p to 9p at the Center for Civic Innovation. This consulting time is flexible with students' schedules and based on appointments made by local entrepreneurs.

Under what conditions do governments comply with international norms? How can international courts secure respect for their orders? Because international courts lack effective means of enforcement, governments often defy their rulings. We will analyze why governments adhere to court orders and how international bodies can become more effective. We will also introduce advanced methodological tools to analyze and predict compliance. Students in the seminar will have the opportunity to participate in research projects integrated to the Notre Dame Reparations Design and Compliance Lab (NDRL). Participants will be able to use the tools acquired in the course to analyze compliance with the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the World Bank Inspection Panel, and other international bodies.

What is the relationship between the Jewish tradition and Israeli politics? Why can't we talk about Jewish modernity without talking about Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and the occupation of Palestine? What are the legacies of Jewish social justice activism and Jewish anti-racism in Israel and the diasporas? What are the intersectional experiences of Jews of Color, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, and other non-European Jews and how do they challenge normative accounts of Jewish modernity and Jewish assimilation into "whiteness"? This course will examine Jewish modernity with a special focus on the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Muslim racism in Euro-America and shifts from Jewish powerlessness to Jewish power as they manifest in cases from Jewish anti-apartheid activism in South Africa and solidarity during the Civil Rights Movement in the US to the Israeli regime which has been defined by multiple Jewish and non-Jewish organizations such as Amnesty International as "apartheid." The course will examine narratives of Jewish displacement, belonging, and de/coloniality and will centralize approaches and experiences of marginalized communities as a way to interrogate Jewish modernity and politics.

Together with Nobel Peace Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, in this course we will explore, analyze and reflect on the peace process between the Colombian government and the former guerrillas FARC-EP between 2012 and 2016. Students will tap into the potential for identifying and disseminating best practices for peacemaking to support conflict transformation efforts in other countries. Undergraduates will need approval from the professor in order to register.

Is religion an obstacle or opportunity for women's empowerment? Religion is often seen as institutionalizing and perpetuating patriarchy and thus operating in contradiction to women's agency, rights, and equality. This course will grapple with the tensions and contradictions between the imperative of gender justice foregrounded in the Sustainable Development Goals and religions' competing conceptions of women's roles. The course will overcome some of this dichotomizing of secular and religious paradigms of development by looking at the theoretical and practical work of religious feminists. In responding to the question "is religion an obstacle or opportunity for women's empowerment?" we will debate why feminists and religious actors are hesitant to collaborate on development agenda and what does this indicate about the potential relations between development and religious reform. We will also examine feminist and queer theologies to the degree they contribute to reimagining international development praxis and the intersections of feminist theologies and environmental and decolonial justice.

The new wave of technologies, such as robotics and AI, will have long-lasting impacts on the labor market. Jobs will be displaced, new tasks created, different skills demanded, teams reshaped, and new management practices will emerge. Organizations and the broader economy will also change. These technologies may benefit and disadvantage workers unevenly, potentially increasing inequality. Education and training systems, along with the institutions that support them, must adapt. At the same time, demographic challenges driven by aging populations and declining fertility will significantly affect labor. How will these forces shape the future of work, and how should we prepare for them? How might the meaning of work evolve, and what policies will be needed to ensure the dignity of workers? We are entering a new era of increasing uncertainty regarding labor and work. Addressing these challenges requires a holistic understanding. This course will be interdisciplinary—grounded in economics but also drawing on insights from history, philosophy, public policy, computer science, and related disciplines. The goal of this course is to provide students with a framework for understanding and analyzing how new technologies like robotics and AI are affecting and will affect the labor market. Students will (1) read and discuss both economics and less quantitative materials, (2) conduct original research by collecting and analyzing data on the labor market, and (3) experiment with AI agents to gain firsthand experience of the future of work. Ultimately, students will develop perspectives on how cognitive and physical AI may impact jobs, occupations, income distribution, and social institutions. They will also consider how education, training, and redistribution policies can help mitigate the disruptions created by technological change.

Truth commissions have been established around the world to uncover, document, and recognize human rights violations and atrocities as well as to honor victims at moments of transition from dictatorships to democracies and from wars to post-war contexts. In most cases, expectations about their results are set high: victims, the international community, prosecutors, and civil society organizations expect that the truths uncovered become undeniable. As a result, for many people truth commissions stand as an act of reparation in and of themselves, and also serve as catalysts for larger processes of reconciliation and the dignification of victims. In this course, we will study the conceptual foundations of truth commissions and learn from different case studies, including Colombia, Guatemala, Northern Ireland, Kenya, and South Africa. We will seek to comprehend truth commissions' contributions to processes of peacebuilding and reconciliation, analyze their implementation and identify gaps and opportunities to advance peacebuilding, and engage in conversation about the challenges of creating a "never again" culture.

What is the Palestine/Israel conflict about? How did it start? How might it be resolved? Some interpretations rely on claims of ancient hatreds. Others invoke sacred and biblical narratives as their authority for claims to a land deemed holy by many different religions. Still others underscore the ills and legacies of settler colonialism and indigenous accounts of historical presence. Some invoke international law and human rights to make their claims. This course will explore these arguments surrounding the Palestine/Israel conflict through screening and discussion of cinematic representation, narrative argument, and documentary films. Multiple genres provide powerful tools to introduce students to multiple perspectives, conceptions of history, experiences of injustice and grievances and loss, and imagining peace and justice. Each screening will be paired with relevant and interdisciplinary reading material. The students will emerge from this course with a detailed and complex understanding of the Palestine/Israel conflict from the present dating back to the late Ottoman period, the British control of historic Palestine, and the definitional moment of 1948 which is marked both as Israeli independence and the Palestinian catastrophe (the Nakba).

The course applies the tools of economic and public policy analysis to the study of poverty. There will be an emphasis throughout on existing research in economics, using theoretical tools and micro-econometric methods, as well as policy examples from a variety of contexts worldwide. The course aims to give students an understanding of the existing epistemological definitions and measurements of poverty; the causes and self-reinforcement mechanisms of deprivation; the prevalence of poverty and severity trends worldwide; existing best practices for poverty reduction, and modern principles of poverty policy design. By the end of the course, students should (i) have an overview of the global trends and characteristics of poverty; (ii) read specialized literature and apply their knowledge of economic theory and econometrics to the design, implementation, and evaluation of poverty policy; and (iii) understand the critical debates in thinking about deprivation at a global scale.

Since the dawn of history, human beings have been telling stories about their origin and destiny. From the Dreamtime of Aboriginals to the gods of the Hellenes, Norse tales to Abrahamic revelations, our ability to weave imagination and reason, tradition and experience, has underpinned our collective identity and shaped our history. Today, we are increasingly turning to science to tell these stories of origin and destiny. Concepts like entropy and evolution are giving us cosmic and biological arrows of history, one inexorably tending to disorder, the other to ever-increasing complexity. Unfolding across a series of identifiable thresholds, the budding field of Big History combines our nature as storytellers with our skill as scientists to provide a coherent narrative of life and the universe from the big bang to the present, offering what has been called a new creation story for our time. What tale does Big History tell, what sources of knowledge does it draw on, in what ways does it challenge traditional beliefs, and what futures does it imagine? Bridging the chasm between C.P. Snow's Two Cultures of the sciences and humanities, this interdisciplinary course engages big questions about religion, nature, science, culture, and meaning through great books in popular science with the help of theoretical contributions from science and technology studies. The class welcomes non-scientists who are interested in acquiring scientific literacy as well as scientists seeking to acquire religious and social science literacy. We will look for the best descriptions of nature available to us today (the "is") to draw inspiration for unique insights on how to be (the "ought"). The readings and discussions of this class will provide global citizens in the twenty-first century of diverse religious, theological, or philosophical persuasions a common framework of the past, a sense of presence in the Anthropocene, and conceptual tools to imagine a shared future.

This class explores the use of marketing principles and concepts to support initiatives, causes and ventures that are social in nature. Attention is devoted to the marketing and communication challenges involved when attempting to do good, and how these issues can be overcome without spending large amounts of money. Sample topics include identifying and understanding target markets for social initiatives, constructing a value proposition, developing positioning approaches, designing communication programs, use of guerrilla techniques, the roles of price and place, and how to set goals and measure performance.

International organizations (IOs) are now ubiquitous actors in world politics. Whether in the realm of security, environmental affairs, health, development, or economics, IOs are involved in coordinating state action and in addressing global problems. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theory and practice of international organizations. It is focused on three broad questions: First, do international organizations matter? Second, how do they matter, And third, should they matter? The class begins with an overview of how the major perspectives from international relations understand the role, function, and effects of IOs. While considering these questions, students will learn about the inner-workings of major international organizations, including the United Nations, World Bank and IMF, WTO, World Health Organization and others.

Could business be an instrument of peace or is it more likely to be an agent of division that foments conflict? While the course will touch on questions of whether trade and economic development as well as different economic systems impact causes of violence, the class focuses specifically on the role of for-profit and non-profit institutions within the context of current economic systems. This course draws upon three perspectives to undertake a 360-degree assessment of this question about business's role. First, it will examine the ways in which the actions of business exploit populations, profit from war-making, and sometimes actively engage in the promotion of violence. Second, it looks at an area of academic inquiry sometimes called Business For Peace, in which the ways in which businesses can be instruments of peace have been explored. The ways businesses might do this include being more actively involved in peacemaking and peacekeeping in zones of conflict as well as more general, incremental forms of peace building that could occur both in and outside of zones of conflict. Third, the course looks at newer, nuanced theories from political theorists that assess the positives and negatives of the role of business in engagement in peace.

“Climate and Environmental Justice” is a lecture- and discussion-based class primarily targeted at undergraduates. It is designed to introduce you to the core and crucial concepts of climate justice and environmental justice, with a particular emphasis on existing legacy injustices and the injustices we are currently creating as environmental pollution, climate change, and human systems interact. We will discuss existing patterns of burden, inequality, poverty, and threats to human dignity, and discuss opportunities and mechanisms to repair and avoid injustice. In particular we will discuss environmental injustice as a widely experienced but largely localized experience of disproportionate burden (e.g., on the basis of race and class) associated with extraction, industrialization, and non-greenhouse gas environmental pollution, alongside climate injustice as a global and emergent phenomenon of severe and disproportionate impacts from climate change. We will address concepts of reparations and remediation, as well as governance and other strategies for enacting justice. We will also address links between climate and environmental justice with related movements focused on adaptation, energy, housing, transportation, health, and land. Our focus will be both domestic and international, with attention directed to power dynamics, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for corrective action. Climate change and the energy transition will be major themes given their deep relationship with both climate and environmental justice, particularly as processes of industrialization and deindustrialization associated with decarbonization proceed. Overall, the course will focus on patterns, drivers, and opportunities for corrective action associated with severe injustices associated with climate change and environmental burden.

This five-week course will examine forced migration from the perspective of the beliefs, teachings, and programmatic commitments of faith communities. The first week will be devoted to identifying the causes of and global trends in forced migration, as well as the categories of forced migrants. It will also explore the “law of migration”; that is, the diverse legal systems that migrants must negotiate on their journeys and that religious actors use to assess migration policies. The second week will explore the teachings of diverse faith communities on forced migration, their understanding of this immense and growing phenomenon, and their programmatic and policy responses. The third week will segue to state-centered approaches to the governance and management of migration, with a focus on the concepts of sovereignty and the rule of law. It will also consider ideologies such as nativism and exclusionary nationalism that are in tension with the beliefs, policy positions, and programs of religious actors. The fourth week will be devoted to guest speakers and student presentation on situations of protracted displacement throughout the world. Persons in protracted displacement have lived in exile for at least five years and have no viable course out of their “long lasting and intractable status of limbo.” The fifth week will be devoted to US refugee protection trends and policies.

At a moment when global challenges - from climate change to inclusive development to public health threats - loom large, many nation-states seem unable to come together to address them. In what ways are the world's cities and subnational governments working on their own and in concert to meet these challenges? This course examines the distinctive roles and capacities of cities, provinces, and states in managing global policy issues and explores different modes of trans-local cooperation and coordination. We start by considering the global governance shortcomings of nation-states and exploring the multilevel character of key policy challenges. We next use case studies from different issue-areas to assess how action by subnational governments is contributing to but also complicating solutions. We conclude by discussing the limitations of subnational approaches to global challenges and considering the most appropriate policy roles and portfolios for subnational actors in the 21st century.

Under increasing pressure from consumers, investors, stakeholders and activists, corporate leaders are reconsidering their core value proposition and operating principles. A narrow focus on the shareholder alone is no longer a defensible position for corporate CEOs who are reimagining the core purpose of their firm in terms of their environmental contribution and social impact. Focusing on sustainability, corporate CEOs try to redesign their operations to reflect new norms and values. How do corporate leaders assess what is at stake for their corporation while engaging with corporate social responsibility? What are the challenges they face, and what are the successful and failed cases we see? What should global business look like in the 21st century when the world is becoming increasingly interconnected? Using case studies, this class will present a range of sustainability challenges faced by corporate leaders and at times their adversaries about what it costs to transition toward a more sustainable and yet profitable business model. It addresses issues such as new corporate values, investment of time and money to drive change, building the organizational culture and customer trust and loyalty that sustain the change, all of which point to a mindset shift in the way that we think about global business.

Using the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the course will introduce students to the 17 SDGs adopted by 193 member countries in 2015. The SDGs provide a shared blueprint for ending poverty while improving health and education, reducing inequality, and spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change and protecting the global commons. The course then will turn to the role of Bretton Woods institutions — particularly the World Bank Group — in promoting sustainable development, especially the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework and IFC’s Performance Standards, which have been insufficient to effectively end extreme poverty. The final third of the course will examine emerging challenges, including fragility and conflict, natural disasters, and economic downturns, which have derailed development efforts, impacted global supply chains, and exacerbated poverty in affected regions.

This interdisciplinary course will examine the conceptual logic of using a settler-colonial lens to interpret the history and politics of Palestine/Israel. We will explore the religious dimensions of settler colonial narratives and practices and their intersections with secular, religious, and apocalyptic nationalisms. We will ask what the deployment of a settler-colonial lens illuminates, what it obscures, and why. We will scrutinize the recent proliferation of scholarship that has taken a comparative settler colonial approach. We will triangulate it with the literature on Israel’s Jewish identity, its meaning, and how and why it shifted over the decades. We will likewise engage in another set of conversations on nationalism and political theologies and identify the relevance of global anti-racism social movements and their uses and abuses of Palestinian struggles and Israeli narratives.

This course will explore how to solve complex development problems in the real world in development contexts. It will focus on case studies from international education and draw upon the work of pioneering organizations, leaders, scholars, and practitioners engaged in improving educational outcomes and opportunities for children, schools, and systems in Africa. The course will engage and integrate the experiences and problems of practice of top education NGOs and policy leaders to understand and explore the problems of innovation, scaling, sustainability, and government take-up and policy impact. It will draw upon systems thinking, various types of applied research, and policy analysis, and engage with the efforts of global and local institutions seeking to drive sustainable change.

The course will cover the important and unique elements of diplomacy in today’s world. Today, diplomacy not only involves relations between states, but also with non-state actors, non-government organizations, and others. We will also have a number of political and diplomatic guests speak to the class either in-person or via video.

Most economists continue to believe that a certain level of inequality is the price of doing business in a market economy. They presume that the clever entrepreneur should be rewarded for their ingenuity and ability to create value. Today, however, the world is seeing unprecedented levels of inequality and concentrations of wealth that are distorting markets, undermining democratic institutions, polarizing citizens, and driving increasing unemployment, homelessness and deaths of despair. Such concentrations of wealth have not been seen since the eve of the Great Depression. Suddenly, political leaders and economists are worried. Why? This course will try to answer the following questions: 1) What were the factors that have created the accelerating growth of inequality both domestically and globally?; 2) What are its most significant manifestations and distributional impacts?; 3) And what policy choices might address the challenges of growing inequality both at home and abroad? Our focus will be on the growth and impacts of extreme wealth concentration and our approach will be interdisciplinary drawing on economics, history, political science and sociological perspectives. We will challenge ourselves to reflect upon the moral and ethical implications and potential consequences of policy choices. Our central question will be how do we achieve the “Good Society”? What are alternative policies and perspectives on the relationship between state and markets that might best serve the common good?

U.S. government (USG) global health efforts aim to help improve the health of people in low- and middle-income countries while also contributing to broader U.S. global development goals, foreign policy priorities, and national security concerns including safeguarding the health of Americans. The U.S. role in global health is multifaceted and includes a broad range of activities. Its primary roles are as a supporter of bilateral efforts, directly funding implementation of global health efforts in partner countries, and as a donor to multilateral health institutions The U.S. also engages in global health diplomacy through its relationships with other governments, multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Key principles of global health include: an emphasis on addressing inequities in health status within and between countries and a recognition that the health of people around the world is highly interconnected.

This course will review how U.S. government policy is developed. It will explore the interplay between the Executive Branch and Congress, between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and the role of the U.S. Supreme Court. The course will also include the role of State, County, and City government in U.S. policy development. We will have approximately four guest speakers from various government areas during the semester.

The humanitarian enterprise has grown into a complex global practice involving government aid agencies, multilateral agencies, NGOs, religious organizations, and a wide range of global professionals and individual and institutional donors. As humanitarians seek to respond to contemporary crises around the globe, they face a number of ethical challenges. Do ethical principles designed for twentieth century warfare apply to twenty-first century conflicts? How should humanitarian initiatives prioritize needs, as government funding grows increasingly politicized? And what ethical standards should guide humanitarians in using social media for fundraising or program initiatives? This course will provide tools to navigate these and other ethical challenges in the contemporary context. After exploring the history of the humanitarian enterprise and the humanitarian principles, the course will examine attempts by the humanitarian community to articulate and revise ethical principles and practices in light of current political, cultural, and fiscal realities. The course will draw on scholarly literature, publications by humanitarian practitioners, and case studies of humanitarian action.

In this course, we will examine the particular social, cultural, and political positions occupied by children and youth in contexts of violence, which constitutes direct violence, structural violence, and cultural violence. We will examine how their identities are molded by and mold their experiences of violence, and the practices in which they engage to survive. Children have inhabited a position in popular imagination as unmitigated victims of violence—as refugees, child laborers, kidnapped child soldiers—while “youth” have contrarily been portrayed as the willing perpetrators of violence: its rebels, gang members, and “troublemakers”. These positions have become more mutable as stories emanating from around the world and domestically show both the agency of young people and their unique vulnerabilities. Is the “problem” of children and violence one of turning victims into killers, or is the position taken by other cultures—that children are “unfinished” and therefore inherently unpredictable—more likely to provide answers? What is the role of structures of violence and cultural expectations of the young in creating these cultural frameworks, and in creating possible futures for young people? In this course we will investigate notions of child and youth autonomy, gendering, socialization, liminality and resistance through case studies ranging from “at risk” youth in the US, to child prostitutes in Thailand, to juvenile courts in France in order to understand how ideas of violence and the “unfinished” age of humans are entangled.

This course is designed for Global Affairs students who are completing a paper Capstone that focuses on a topic in the field of global affairs. It typically answers a question of practical importance and results in a research paper that draws upon from one or more modes of research with primary sources that could include library, digital, archival, field-based research, data analysis, etc. The class aims to give students an opportunity to conduct independent research while moving as a group through the normal stages of developing, managing, and completing a project and bringing student research into dialogue with trends in the field of Global Affairs. By the end of the semester, students are expected to complete a research paper of 20-35 pages.

This course is designed for Global Affairs students who are completing an internship Capstone that treats an internship as the focal point, provides students with the experience of applying the concepts learned in the classroom to workplace settings and the opportunity of reflecting on, synthesizing, and conceptualizing their real-world practice. Internships must receive prior approval from the Global Affairs program. By the end of the semester, students are expected to complete a substantial deliverable based on their internship experience.

This course is designed for Global Affairs students who are completing a policy Capstone that is a team-based and client-oriented project. Through working with an external organization, students are expected to conduct research and analysis as a team and complete a high-quality report at the end of the semester, for the purpose of helping the partner organization solve a policy problem or a practical challenge. Organizations may be from the public, private, or non-profit sectors, in the US or globally. The policy Capstone is designed to be mutually beneficial for students and partner organizations.

Directed Readings in Global Affairs are courses in which students meet with a faculty member to discuss, analyze, and interpret a set of agreed-upon texts in a given field of study. The proposed course or study may not duplicate or reflect content or regularly offered courses, and the work should reflect the intellectual challenge, intensity, and time commitment reflected in the number of credit hours awarded. The Keough School will normally limit to two the number of Directed Readings that may fulfill the requirements of its degree program, and students pursuing Directed Readings should have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in their major. A formal application is required, which must include a syllabus and justification statement. Students should have a clear topic they want to pursue and have identified and spoken with a faculty member before requesting a copy of the application form from the Keough School Dean's Office.

This course provides students the opportunity to undertake research projects directly with and for the U.S. Department of State through the Keough School’s participation in the agency’s Academic Centers for Conflict Anticipation and Prevention (ACCAP) initiative led by its Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations (CSO). Projects will address current, real-world conflict-related issues from across the globe and students will be given access to US government data sets in order to conduct their analysis. Specific topics may include: climate and fragility, electoral violence, US Women, Peace and Security Strategy, Global Fragility Act implementation, diplomatic negotiations support, Russian mercenary activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, conflict forecasting models, and near/long term threats to US diplomatic installations. Students will have the opportunity to and directly engage with State Department officials and produce timely and practical policy products with a specific audience with the agency. Students receive access to CSO’s data experts as they explore the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), and Instability Monitoring and Analysis Platform (data/visualizations tool) for purposes of their research.