2012-13 Catalog

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Title   Offering Standing Credits Credits When F W S Su Description Preparatory Faculty Days Multiple Standings Start Quarters Open Quarters
America Abroad
Stacey Davis, Samuel Schrager and Eric Stein
  Program SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter S 13Spring . -Ralph Ellison To educated Europeans around 1800 the new republic called The United States of America was founded on an incredible idea drawn from 18th century Enlightenment discourse: that human beings could govern themselves. The fraught implications of this democratic ideal have played out ever since. They loom large in the promise of a new start that drew 35,000,000 immigrants between the 1840s and the close of unrestricted immigration in the 1920s, and millions more who have continued to come; in the institutions that supported 19th century slavery, 20th century Jim Crow segregation, and subsequent Civil Rights movements; in the aspirations, past and present, of women and other lower-status groups. The meanings of American democracy, contested at home, have also been much scrutinized abroad. While American power has often been feared or resisted, other peoples often invoke or adapt democratic ideals to serve their own needs.This program will explore these complex relationships between the world-in-America and America-in-the-world. How, we will ask, are our identities as Americans shaped by ethnic, religious, gendered, class and place-based experiences--for example, by the cultural hybridizations and the real (and imagined) ties to home cultures endemic in American society? How do diverse Americans wrestle with democratic values in their ordinary lives? We will also consider some of the contemporary manifestations of American presence and power in various locations abroad. Using an anthropological lens, we will reflect on people's often ambivalent readings of tourists and soldiers, American aid organizations and NGOs, Hollywood mediascapes, and American commodities. How, we will ask, ought we to understand American representations of foreign "others" in travel writing, cinema, or museum display, and how have Americans themselves been represented as "others" in relationship to the larger world?Our program will provide strong contexts for students to study and work closely with faculty in the fields of history, anthropology, folklore, literature and creative non-fiction. In the fall and the first half of winter we will focus on in-depth readings of texts and training in the crafts of ethnography, writing and academic research in preparation for major independent research and senior theses. Students will undertake these projects on a topic of their choice, from mid-winter to mid-spring, either in the U.S. or abroad, in ongoing dialogue with peers and faculty. In the last half of spring the program will reconvene to review students' written work in light of the leading issues of our inquiry. There will be three main kinds of research projects.  can be conducted locally, or elsewhere, on topics involving cultures, identities, community or place; they will have an emphasis on creative non-fiction writing, and optional opportunity for internships.  can explore a historical, art historical, literary, or sociological topic, using primary or secondary resources.  will combine service learning with research on an aspect of American culture or on values and practices in another society. Service opportunities include include health, education, youth, agriculture, community development, women's empowerment and human rights. Thailand will be a featured destination, with faculty providing language training and in-country instruction and support.  While students can choose any location with faculty approval, there will be additional opportunities for students in Guatemala and Western Europe. Stacey Davis Samuel Schrager Eric Stein Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Business and Culture Along the Silk Roads
Thuy Vu, Bobbie McIntosh and Hirsh Diamant
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 12 12 Weekend F 12 Fall W 13Winter S 13Spring Good training in business management and cultural competence is an essential requirement for the development of successful and sustainable enterprises. This program will focus on the interconnections between business, economy, and culture, with a specific application to trade, cultural exchange, and community development along the Silk Roads. For centuries, the ancient Silk Roads moved ideas and goods between the great civilizations of Asia, Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and the New World. From the time of Marco Polo and Genghis Khan to Yo Yo Ma, the Silk Roads have connected empires and fostered the development of music, art, religion, and commerce. In this program we will study contemporary and historical Silk Roads to envision sustainable commerce of Silk Roads in the future. We will develop learning, skills, and practical knowledge that are necessary to provide a strong foundation and vision for understanding the business and economic development potential of selected cultures along the Silk Roads. We will examine how developing commerce of Pacific Rim can impact the economic future of Washington State. We will learn about international trade, socially responsible enterprises, and intercultural communication. We will learn about the use of money and alternative business financing models. The program will be foundational for forming business pathways to move toward greater cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability.In fall quarter, we will learn the skills necessary for understanding the historical, cultural, and economic significance of Silk Roads and for creating a sustainable business plan. Part of our study in fall quarter will include learning about community resources, business economics, and social/business enterprises along the Silk Roads. In winter quarter we will learn about intercultural communication, alternative business financing models, leadership, and application of business skills in non-profit and corporate enterprises. In spring quarter some students will have an opportunity to travel in China with faculty member Hirsh Diamant and study business, economy, culture, and education there. (Various credit options will be available for the spring travel.) Students continuing with the program on the Olympia campus will concentrate on intercultural leadership, international trade, marketing, and developing sustainable applications of their business plans.This 12-credit program will include a core of 8 credits plus 4 credits awarded for in-program modules that will focus on either Chinese language, cultural studies, sustainable businesses, or community leadership development. Thuy Vu Bobbie McIntosh Hirsh Diamant Sat Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter Spring
Critical Ethnography: Eyes in a Transnational World
Rita Pougiales
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 8 08 Day Su 13Summer Session I The processes of economic and political globalization reshape and undermine the lives of people and communities throughout the world. Some anthropologists have turned their attention to the effects of globalization on traditional and modern cultures, attempting to bring to light the full complexities and consequences of these transnational practices. For example, Joao Biehl develops an argument linking global economic activity in Brazil to what he calls the development of "zones of social abandonment" in most urban settings. Anthropologists conduct their studies through critical ethnographic research, gathering data, over long periods of time, as both "participant" and "observer" of those they are studying. Doing ethnographic research is simultaneously analytical and deeply embodied. This program includes an examination of and application of ethnographic research methods and methodologies, a study of varied theoretical frameworks used by anthropologists today to interpret and find meaning in data, and an opportunity to conduct an ethnographic project of interest. Students will read and explore a range of ethnographic studies that reveal what an anthropologist—whom Ruth Behar calls a "vulnerable observer"—can uncover about the lives of people today, and advocate on their behalf. Rita Pougiales Tue Thu Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Summer Summer
El Salvador Sustainability Field Studies
Paul Pickett
  Course SO–SRSophomore - Senior 2 02 Day, Evening and Weekend Su 13Summer Session I Participate in a week of sustainability field studies in Central America. Students will be working to support local efforts to improve the living conditions of both the people and wildlife of Jiquilisco Bay, an important mangrove ecosystem on the Pacific coast of El Salvador. Students will help researchers catch turtles in the bay to study and participate in a beach walk looking for nesting turtles. We will also take boat rides on the bay looking for wildlife, visit local towns, and immerse ourselves in the culture, and visit community development projects. Paul Pickett Mon Tue Wed Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Summer Summer
The Formation of the North American State
Jeanne Hahn
  Program SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall This program will examine the movement of the North American colonies in their separation from Britain to the emergence of the United States through the election of 1800. It will investigate the conflict; the social, racial and class divisions; and the distinctly different visions of the proper social, economic and political system that should predominate in the new nation.  Much conflict surrounded the separation of the settler colonies from Britain, including a transatlantic revolutionary movement, development of slave-based plantations and the birth of capitalism. Capitalism was not a foregone conclusion. We will study this process and pay close attention to the Articles of Confederation and the framing of the Constitution; in addition, we will investigate the federalist and anti-federalist debates surrounding the new framework, its ratification, and the political-economic relations accompanying the move from one governing structure to the other. This program will require close and careful reading, engaged seminar participation, and considered, well-grounded writing. Jeanne Hahn Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall
Global Meltdowns: Finance, Energy and Climate Change
Laurance Geri and Peter Dorman
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter In this program we will explore the interconnections between global finance, energy systems, and climate change.  We will seek to understand the causes of the 2008 financial collapse, the complexity of energy systems and their relationship to changes in the climate, and the range of actions that would stabilize the national and global economies and reduce the risks associated with a warmer planet.The program will include an introduction to micro and macro economics, the study of energy systems, and the science of climate change.  We will consider how international organizations influence national and global policies in the financial, energy and environmental spheres. Using these frameworks we will study the linkages between these phenomena and the actions we can take to speed the global energy transition and create a more stable and just international system.Program activities will include lectures, workshops, guest speakers, seminars on books and papers, films and possibly field trips.   Credit may be awarded in micro and macro economics, international political economy, energy policy, and energy and climate change.  Laurance Geri Peter Dorman Mon Wed Thu Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Human Rights and the Tragedies of History
Nancy Koppelman and Joseph Tougas
Signature Required: Winter 
  Program JR–SRJunior - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter History is unkind. This program will consider the possibilities for human rights in light of the tragedies of history.The phrase "human rights" suggests high moral principles and political ideals. It champions the dignity of all persons who have ever lived based solely on their humanity. It calls forth an image of a world better than the one we are in now--a world in which ideals have become realities and people can hold high moral principles with complete integrity. But humanity existed long before human rights.Historians show that in any particular historical moment, people can think and act only with the conceptual tools they have. Structural realities can cause people to harm one another because they do not have the ability or desire to challenge or resist them. As a result, violence, racism, anti-Semitism and sexism are central to our history. For most people who have ever lived, there was no hope for their human rights. What are we to make of these tragic features of history?What if Hegel is right, and "history is the slaughter-bench of happiness"? Are suffering and injustice the costs of making progress toward a better world? When and how does moral idealism help or hinder aims of "social justice"? If we can find out, how might that knowledge shape efforts to make a better world in our own time?Before human rights, suffering was thought to be caused by mysterious forces - divine or human. For example, when John Adams defended British soldiers who fired into an angry mob during the Boston Massacre of 1770, he noted that there are "state-quakes in the moral and political world" akin to earthquakes in the physical world. Our program will examine a range of "state-quakes," and particularly those that shaped the lot of Native peoples, the Puritans, American slaves and their owners, and generations of women, immigrants, and people devoted to the life of the mind. We will learn about the philosophical history of human rights from its precursors in the ancient world through the Enlightenment. We will consider the rise of the nation-state in the 19th and 20th centuries, tensions between political liberalism and pluralism, and the emergence of 21st century internationalism which seems to eclipse mutual obligations tethering citizens to states. Writing will focus on employing the skills of close analysis and developing sound arguments informed by our texts. Students will write lengthy term papers that could serve as writing samples in graduate school applications.Students who have completed substantial studies in the humanities and social sciences and who are prepared for advanced level work are warmly invited to join this program. Nancy Koppelman Joseph Tougas Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Individual Study: East-West Psychology
Ryo Imamura
Signature Required: Spring 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring This is an opportunity for sophomore, junior and senior students to create their own course of study and research, including internship, community service, and study abroad options. Before the beginning of spring quarter, interested students should submit an Individual Learning or Internship Contract to Ryo Imamura, which clearly states the work to be completed. Possible areas of study are Western psychology, Asian psychology, Buddhism, counseling, social work, cross-cultural studies, Asian-American studies, religious studies, nonprofit organizations, aging, death and dying, deep ecology and peace studies. Areas of study other than those listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Ryo Imamura Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Individual Study: Performing Arts and Humanities
Ratna Roy
Signature Required: Spring 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring I am interested in working with students who wish to do independent work in the Performing Arts and the Humanities. I am broadly interested in the intersections between the social and the creative worlds, as my own creative work has explicitly dealt with this intersection. As well, since my Ph.D. is in African-American Literature, I am deeply interested in minority arts, be they defined by race, gender or sexual orientation, and whether they be in writing, or in the visual or performing arts.As an artist, I have concentrated in the world of choreography, in particular, in Orissi dance from India. A strong influence on my work has been the ancient mythologies of the Indian sub-continent, and the contemporary realities of neo-colonialism and its consequences. Students interested in working with me should submit an on-line Independent Study form, available at: Click on "Online Contract Process", create a contract, then submit it to me for my review. Ratna Roy Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Individual Study: Performing Arts and Humanities
Ratna Roy
Signature Required: Winter 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day W 13Winter I am interested in working with students who wish to do independent work in the Performing Arts and the Humanities. I am broadly interested in the intersections between the social and the creative worlds, as my own creative work has explicitly dealt with this intersection. As well, since my Ph.D. is in African-American Literature, I am deeply interested in minority arts, be they defined by race, gender or sexual orientation, and whether they be in writing, or in the visual or performing arts.As an artist, I have concentrated in the world of choreography, in particular, in Orissi dance from India. A strong influence on my work has been the ancient mythologies of the Indian sub-continent, and the contemporary realities of neo-colonialism and its consequences. Students interested in working with me should submit an on-line Independent Study form, available at: .  Click on "Online Contract Process", create a contract, then submit it to me for my review. Ratna Roy Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Winter Winter
Individual Study: Performing Arts and Humanities
Ratna Roy
Signature Required: Fall 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall I am interested in working with students who wish to do independent work in the Performing Arts and the Humanities. I am broadly interested in the intersections between the social and the creative worlds, as my own creative work has explicitly dealt with this intersection. As well, since my Ph.D. is in African-American Literature, I am deeply interested in minority arts, be they defined by race, gender or sexual orientation, and whether they be in writing, or in the visual or performing arts.As an artist, I have concentrated in the world of choreography, in particular, in Orissi dance from India. A strong influence on my work has been the ancient mythologies of the Indian sub-continent, and the contemporary realities of neo-colonialism and its consequences. Students interested in working with me should submit an on-line Independent Study form, available at: Click on "Online Contract Process", create a contract, then submit it to me for my review. Ratna Roy Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall
Individual Study: Political Economy, Economics and Global Challenges
Peter Dorman
Signature Required: Fall 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall Peter Dorman will sponsor independent learning contracts that draw on economics and political economy, particularly in an international context.  Proposals do not have to be restricted to economics-related questions, but should touch on them in some way.  Introductory economics is best learned in a classroom setting, but the faculty is open to contracts in any area of advanced economics, political economy or econometrics. Peter Dorman Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall
Individual Study: Political Economy, Globalization, Historical Capitalism, Contemporary India, and travel abroad
Jeanne Hahn
Signature Required: Spring 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring Individual study offers opportunities for advanced students to create their own course of study and research.  Prior to the beginning of the quarter, interested individual students (or a cluster group) must consult with Jeanne about their proposed projects.  The project is then described in an Independent Learning Contract.  She will sponsor student research and reading in political economy, US history (especially the "founding period"), various topics in globalization, historical capitalism, and contemporary India.  She will also sponsor travel abroad contracts that focus on the above subjects. Jeanne Hahn Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Movements and Migrations: Sustainable Communities in a Transnational World
Karen Gaul and Therese Saliba
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter From Yoga to Facebook, transnational cultural and economic practices and new information technologies are creating an increasingly interconnected world. A central question for this program is, how do highly mobile transnational relationships such as these affect the integrity, identity, and sustainability of local communities?We will examine how particular resources (such as oil, textiles, and food) as well as technologies, labor, and ideas, have propelled migrations, cultural transformations, and movements for sustainability and justice. Tourism, for example, generates the production and consumption of cultural heritage, eco-tourism, and yoga vacations that draw millions of people to new destinations around the world, and are major economic forces, raising urgent questions about cultural sustainability in the face of globalization. At the same time, Facebook has played an instrumental role for Arab youth in organizing revolutions, highlighting the ways people may use foreign technologies to fuel movements for political and social justice.Migrations of peoples, materials, and ideas have been around for millenia, often producing vibrant cultural practices based on adaptation and innovation. Yet colonization, empire, and capitalist globalization have also contributed to the systematic destruction of indigenous and non-Western cultures, inciting various forms of resistance. Focusing on South Asia and the Middle East, we will explore the ways communities and cultures are disproportionately affected by conditions and by-products of resource extraction, unjust labor conditions, pollutants, waste disposal and broader climate change. We will consider lessons that can be learned from their movements to create sustainable and just futures in a transnational world.Through the lenses of cultural studies, cultural anthropology and sustainability studies, we will explore the tensions between movement and rootedness, the familiar and unfamiliar, and how movements for justice are conditioned by both individual and systemic change. We will draw on yoga, both as an example of cultural exchange that has fueled debates about authenticity and appropriation, and as a practice of sustainability from the inside out. Through the writings of Gandhi, Alice Walker, and Arundhati Roy, and a range of cultural, feminist, and postcolonial theories, we will explore the connections between individual and social transformation, as we seek to build communities rooted in the concepts of sustainability and justice.In fall quarter we will develop an intentional learning community, and explore program themes through lectures, films, shared readings, field trips, and workshops. We will build skills in cultural analysis through critical reading, creative writing, ethnographic methods, visual literacy, and seminar discussions. In winter quarter, students will begin to frame projects focusing on program themes in particular cultural areas, which they will develop and research. Karen Gaul Therese Saliba Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Nonprofits and Society: Introduction to Nonprofit Management
Laurance Geri
  Program JR–SRJunior - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring “Third Sector” organizations that do not aim to create an economic surplus lie at the heart of the social and health services network in the U.S., and are also essential to the arts, advocacy, and religion.  These organizations work within legal and managerial structures much different than those for business or public administration.  Yet the rules of the game for nonprofits are in flux, and now place more emphasis on evaluation, accountability, and encouraging the trend toward professionalization of the sector.  In this program students will be introduced to the purpose, size and structure of the nonprofit sector in the U.S.  We will study the leadership, management, and governance issues making this sector unique, and how the sector is responding to its changing environment. We will also explore the philanthropic sector in detail, as well as the evolution of global civil society and the various forms that “nonprofits” take in other countries. In this program, students will gain: 1. knowledge of the nature of the nonprofit sector and the context within which it operates, including its role in public policy advocacy; 2. understanding of governance issues relevant to nonprofit organizations; 3. an improved understanding of essential management skills related to nonprofit organizations, including strategy, human resources, marketing, financial management, and fundraising; 4. understanding of the relationship between philanthropy and nonprofits; 5. an introduction to issues of global civil society and nonprofit forms used in other countries; and 6. improved analytical, writing and presentation skills. We will read a series of texts plus articles, governmental reports, and research studies, and discuss these in class.  Lectures, films, guest presentations and workshops will be featured during our class sessions.  Students will complete a series of written and research assignments, and will have the option of performing an internship with a local nonprofit. Laurance Geri Mon Mon Wed Thu Thu Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Public Health and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Tom Womeldorff and Nancy Anderson
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter For generations, individuals from "richer countries" have travelled to "poorer countries" to help improve local living conditions, not always with positive or even measurable results. How do well-intentioned outsiders know if they are helping or hindering the progress of a community? We will critically assess the effectiveness of outsiders--individuals, organizations and governments--with particular focus on issues of public health and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Is there a constructive role for "richer countries" in promoting and facilitating equitable development in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa or does the history of colonialism doom any possibility of constructive interaction?We will begin by examining the systematic underdevelopment of Africa by European colonial powers, and analyze the continent's historical and current place in the capitalist world-system. We will develop an understanding of the complexities, paradoxes and contradictions shaping the possibilities for equitable development in post-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. We will consider the evolution of theories of economic development and public health perspectives on human development. We will explore the forces that have shaped the health and human development of Sub Saharan Africa since World War II. How do we know that models designed to improve human development actually forward the stated goals? Does economic growth now followed by later income redistribution work or must equity be incorporated into economic goals from the outset? How do we measure success? Can governmental aid organizations, acting in the name of the "richer countries", serve the best interests of the "poorer countries"? How can we best work with governments that do not promote equity or the well-being of their populations? We will consider the role of governmental aid, multilateral agencies, and non-governmental organizations. We will consider a range of economic development initiatives from the World Bank to Kiva.org. The role of the World Health Organization, the relevance of the primary health care model, and the potential of the campaigns will be considered in the context of ongoing inequality and continuing indicators of poor health in several parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. We will use a case study format to analyze the variation in equitable economic development and public health among several Sub-Saharan African countries, examining the influence of foreign aid in the achievement of these objectives. Students completing this program will have a foundation in economic development and public health that will help them critically assess community needs, strengths, and deficits. They will have the skills necessary to answer the question "Am I making a difference?" both at home and abroad. Tom Womeldorff Nancy Anderson Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Russia and Eurasia: Empires and Enduring Legacies
Patricia Krafcik and Robert Smurr
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter S 13Spring Join us on an extraordinary virtual journey as we explore the diverse peoples, cultures and histories of the region that was once demarcated by the borders of the Russian and Soviet empires. We will take a multicultural approach in our examination of Russians and numerous other indigenous peoples who from ancient times have populated the vast expanses of Eurasian and Siberian steppe and forests.In fall quarter we investigate Slavic, Scandinavian, Persian, Mongol and Turkic contributions to early Russian society and examine both the region's pre-Christian pagan animistic cultures and the rich Byzantine cultural legacy of Orthodox Christianity with its associated art and architectural forms, literature and music. Our fall journey takes us from the vibrant culture of Kievan Rus', through the development of the Muscovite state, imperial expansion and westernization during the reigns of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, and on to the start of the 19th century with Russia's emergence as a major world power. Medieval epics and chronicles as well as diverse films and readings enhance our study of this early turbulent history. Special geography workshops in both fall and winter terms help students identify fluently the location of cities and landmarks throughout the Russian and Soviet empires, as well as understand more profoundly the relationship between the various peoples of the empire and their environment.Winter quarter concentrates on some of the world's greatest literature from Russia's 19th-century Golden Age, all read in tandem with vibrant historical accounts of the era. Works by Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and others enable us to explore Russia's provocative social, religious and revolutionary ideologies. We examine the rise of the Russian Empire's radical intelligentsia who rebelled against autocratic tsarist policies and the institution of serfdom, and also emphasize the diverse ways in which these activities led to the world-changing revolutions of the early 20th century.Spring quarter focuses on the tumultuous events of the 20th century, from the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 through the post-Soviet period. We investigate the legacy of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, including the horrific Stalin era with its purges, Gulag prison camps, brutal industrialization policies and devastating environmental practices. We place special emphasis on how writers, artists and filmmakers interpreted, influenced and survived the Soviet regime. Included in this emphasis is a detailed examination of the enormous sacrifices that the Soviet people experienced at the hands of their own communist dictatorship, as well as under Nazi occupation during the Second World War. This term ends with a review of events resulting in the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the emergence of the fifteen independent states that arose from its ashes.Students will write short papers in fall and winter quarters and have the opportunity to explore in depth a topic of their choice for a final research paper in spring. They will also create professionally produced posters based on their research and participate in a series of term-end exhibits of their posters as a way to share their research with their faculty and peers. Those who opt not to participate in the Beginning Russian Language portion within our program will have the option of completing additional research and writing projects within their respective seminars for full credit. education, diplomatic and security services, film, music, art, writing, international business, and graduate studies in international affairs and in Russian and Slavic literary, historical, political and area studies. Patricia Krafcik Robert Smurr Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter Spring
Tomorrow Today: Political Economy and Culture of the Future
Anthony Zaragoza
  Course FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 4 04 Day Su 13Summer Session II 2113: Can we see the future in the present? In this class we won't become psychics, but we will use developments, trends, and "futurecasting" to offer informed assessments of life and the economy in 50-100 years. Futuristic movies will allow us to examine concerns about the future as a window into present-day culture. We will converse via Skype with Japanese students to exchange views. Final projects will offer projections of the future with the option of making a short movie. What will the future bring in your life, your community, and your world? No books or special software will be required. Anthony Zaragoza Tue Thu Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Summer Summer
Transforming the Art of War: From Industrial to Asymmetric Warfare, and Beyond
Steven Niva
  Program JR–SRJunior - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter This program will examine the transformation of the practice of warfare in the late modern period, from the rise of modern industrial war to the proliferation of guerilla insurgencies, transnational terrorism and asymmetric wars that we are seeing today. The program will primarily focus on the emergence and transformation of modern war at the level of form—the changing nature, actors and strategies of war. We will explore the work of military theorists such as Clausewitz, Mao, Virilio and others who have theorized the changing nature of war. We will examine key historical turning points in the nature and strategies of war that include Napoleon’s wars in Europe, World War I and World War II, Maoist guerilla war, and the rise of unconventional and asymmetric wars today that many claim signal a new “generation” of warfare. In this context, we will focus on the rise of unconventional tactics such as suicide bombings and truck bombings among insurgent groups and also examine contending theories about how best to respond to these unconventional tactics. We will read and critically analyze the new Army/Marines Counterinsurgency Field Manual in the context of the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as current debates over the strategies and tactics of counter-terrorism following the 9/11 terror attacks. Finally, we will examine how the rise in new forms of warfare mirror broader changes in international society, with the rise of new social media, networked communications technologies and late capitalist globalization.The primary learning goals of the program include: obtaining a thorough knowledge of the modern history of war; developing an understanding of contending theories and strategic approaches to war; understanding the diversity and strategies of guerilla and insurgent groups; and developing an ability to engage in critical thinking, analytical writing and informed opinions regarding these topics. The program will be organized around a series of texts, exercises, films and assignments, including several class presentations, role-plays and several analytical papers. We will watch films and documentaries to supplement our learning, including , , , and others. This program will demand a serious commitment by students to all of the work within the program and will focus on skill development in writing, analysis and public speaking. Steven Niva Tue Wed Fri Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter