This course presents the rise (and sometimes collapse) of modern states in the Middle East; the nature of legitimacy, modernization, state-civil society relations, and political culture and economy; and the role of religion with specific reference to Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey.

How do multinational corporations, interest groups, NGOs, and social movements engage in world politics? In exploring this question, this course provides an introduction to the study of transnationally operating non-state actors and transnational social movements. First, we will look at the influence of movements on inter-state relations and on inter-national organizations. Second, we will investigate their increasing involvement in global governance.

Explores America's relationship with Iran from the end of World War II to the present. Examines America's close ties to the Shah and the political, social, and economic causes of the Iranian revolution, with emphasis on the role of Shi'ite Islam. Concludes with analysis of politics and society in the Islamic Republic under Khomeini and his successors.

An introduction to the study of history through law, using a comparative approach to group rights. Case studies, rooted in landmark court decisions and legislation, concern racial segregation in America before the civil rights era ('separate but equal') and in Europe during the Nazi era (the Nuremberg Laws, German 'national groups' in the East), as well as affirmative action in America and attempts at promoting equality among national groups in Austria before the First World War.

Examines the confrontation, assimilation, and transformation of Amerindian, African, and European cultures in Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present. Focuses on the processes in which distinctive self-images emerged in the region and how these images have been challenged and changed over time. Uses films, literature, and folk traditions to complement scholarly analysis of the emergence of a New World mentality.

Every society is held together by systems of interpersonal and institutional communication. This course examines the nature of communication codes, including those based on language (speaking and writing) and those based on visual images (art, advertising, television). To understand communication in its social and historical dimensions, we study the psychological and cultural impact of media revolutions and then look at ways communication systems manipulate individual consciousness. Illustrative examples are drawn from Western and non-Western societies.

This course examines the diverse cultures and peoples--Indian, African, and European--that from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, through combat and cooperation, forged North American societies. Topics include the indigenous societies of the Americas; the age of colonialism; slavery; the American Revolution; the creation of the American political system; expansion and industrialization; and the coming of the Civil War.

Surveys the major movements and developments in Europe during the era of European expansion and dominance--from the devastations of the Thirty Years War to the Second World War--and up to the current era of European Union. Topics include: the French Revolution and the birth of nationalism; the scientific and industrial revolutions; the modern history of international relations; imperialism, fascism, the Holocaust, the two World Wars, and the present and potential roles of Europe at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Americans have viewed Japan as the Orient's most exotic and mysterious recess, alternately enticing and frightening in its difference. Intense economic relations and cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S. have not dispelled the image of Japanese society and culture as fundamentally different from our own. In this course, we will strive for greater understanding of shared experiences as well as historical particularities. Issues covered may vary from one semester to another, but frequently focus on work, women, minorities, and popular culture.

A comparative history of China, Japan, and Korea from the early seventeenth century to the present, with strong focus on regional interaction. After an introduction to early modern histories and cultures, we will examine the struggles of these countries to preserve or regain their independence and establish their national identities in a rapidly changing, often violent modern world order. While each of these countries has its own distinctive identity, their overlapping histories (and dilemmas) give the region a coherent shape.