An analysis of the modern Mexican nation-state organized around three major themes: the conflictive yet symbiotic relationship with the United States, from the war of the 1840s through NAFTA most recently; the succession of reformist and revolutionary upheavals in 1810-1821, 1856-1867, 1910-1917, the 1930s, and again today, seeking to resolve both problems of the colonial past and new conflicts traceable to the very reforms generated by earlier political and social struggles; and the meaning of Mexican nationality from different ethnic, gender, and class perspectives.

The course provides an overview of current and past social conditions of Latinas and Latinos within the U.S. We will address laws, policies and institutions that shape the complexity of Latinas'/os' social location and serve as critical sites of resistance. The course addresses legal constructions of race and citizenship, nomenclature, border politics, public health, education, and labor. We will consider the critical intersections of class, gender and sexuality as well as inequality in relation to other persons of color.

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.

A year-long introduction to modern Hebrew language and culture, with a focus on equal development of the four language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of the year, students will be able to comprehend short and adapted literary and journalistic texts, describe themselves and their environment, and express their thoughts and opinions. Learning will be amplified by use of online resources (YouTube, Facebook, newspapers) and examples from Hebrew song and television/film.

This course challenges students to explore and understand the Muslim world in a new era characterized by globalization, and to examine its various effects on the Islamic world. Though politics of the Muslim world has been largely studied with exclusive reference to states, the course encourages students to look beyond this statist paradigm to salient non-state actors.

This course provides a historical, theoretical, and empirical foundation to comprehend and question complex dynamics of political change and democratization in the Middle East. In Spring 2011, the region entered an irreversible process of political change and democratization despite strong authoritarian backlash. We will explore: What are the underlying socio-economic causes that led to the eruption of the revolution? What are the Islamic movements and what is their role in political change in the region?

How does culture influence cooperation and communication among NGOs and transnational social movements operating in world politics? In exploring this question, this course provides an introduction to the study of culture focusing on sociological theories of social movements, ethnography, sociolinguistics and narrative analysis. First, we will look at culture as a set of discourses and practices structuring inter-state relations and trans-national floats of communication.

An intensive reading course in theories of international society: the idea that states and peoples are or should be linked to each other through a web of shared values and institutions. It focuses on the work of Hedley Bull, Immanuel Kant, and John Rawls. How did these three men understand international society? What are or should be the values and institutions that give rise to it and support it? What implications do their visions of international society have for war and peace, state sovereignty, religion, democracy, capitalism, distributive justice, human rights, and international law?

In this examination of American foreign policy since 1898, topics include the emergence of the United States as a global power, its role in World War I and II, its conduct and interests in the cold war, and its possible objectives in a post-cold war world. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between domestic interests and foreign policy, the role of nuclear weapons in determining policy, and the special difficulties in implementing a democratic foreign policy.

Surveys the constants and variables in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and the Arabs since the end of World War II to the present. Analysis of domestic determinants of U.S. policy, including lobbies, ideology, and the international system. Consideration of U.S. policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict, intra-Arab disputes, and the Gulf War.