The Mediterranean world from the fall of Rome to the age of conversion. The emergence of the Islamic world, the Byzantine state and the Germanic empire. Topics include the monastic ideal, Sufism and the cult of saints; the emergence of the papacy; kinship and kingship: Charlemagne and the Carolingian renaissance, the high caliphate, and the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire; literacy and learning. The decline of public authority and the dominance of personal power in societies built on local relations.

Examination of the factors leading to the war in Asia, the nature of the conflict and the legacy of the war for all those involved. Topics include Japan's seizure of Korea, the invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war in the Pacific, the racial dimensions of the Japanese empire, the comfort women, biological warfare, the dropping of the atomic bombs and the complicated relationship between history and memory.

Following Alexander of Macedon's conquest of the Persian Empire, a Greek-speaking commonwealth stretched from the Mediterranean to India. This course examines this dynamic period of history to the coming of the Romans. Main topics include Alexander and his legacy; Greek conquerors and native peoples in contact and conflict; kings, cities and experimentation with multi-ethnic society; unity and diversity in Hellenistic Egypt, Syria and Judea; new developments in science and religion.

The sociology of a multiracial and ethnically diverse society. Comparative examinations of several American groups and subcultures. Enrollment limited to 35.

Topics Course The status of Native Americans in the American political system is dizzyingly complicated. This course explores tribes in the U.S., looking at relationships among and within tribes and tribal members, those between tribes and states, and those between tribes and the federal government. The first part of the course looks at the constitutional status of Native Americans and explores the meaning of treaty-based guarantees and then briefly cover the historical development of tribal relationships.

Political theory is, in many respects, a speculative exercise; that is, in order to theorize about politics, and particularly about the possibilities of future politics, we must be capable of imagining how things might be otherwise. One popular arena for such an exercise can be found in science fiction, much of which is dedicated to imagining how human society might be altered by advances in technological capacity.

What is democracy? We begin with readings of Aristotle, Rousseau and Mill to introduce some issues associated with the ideal of democratic self-government: participation, equality, majority rule vs. minority rights, the common good, pluralism, community. Readings include selections from liberal, radical, socialist, libertarian, multiculturalist and feminist political thought. Not open to first-year students.

An examination of political thought in America from the colonial period to the present. Prominent themes include politics and religion, constitutional structures, political parties, slavery, industrialization, welfare, foreign policy and liberalism-conservatism.

This course examines refugees-i.e., people displaced within their country, to another country or, perhaps, somewhere "in between." Refugee politics prompt a consideration of the cause of refugee movements; persecution, flight, asylum and resettlement dynamics; the international response to humanitarian crises; and the "position" of refugees in the international system.

What can international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank do about corruption? This course explores the theoretical and practical dimensions of the problem of corruption and analyzes how states and international organizations have attempted to combat the problem.