INGS 100     Media and Globalization  (4)

This course introduces students to some of the most significant sources contributing to shared cultural patterns in our globalizing world. It uses a variety of contemporary media, including documentary and narrative film, digital media, hip hop music, and other cultural expressions to examine and explore local/global dynamics, cross-border flows, and changing identities and values. Students learn to analyze the relationship between media forms and cultural contexts in many different parts of the world. The preparation of multi-media projects enables students to understand the construction of such cultural expressions.

INGS 101     Geopolitics of Everyday Life  (4)

In this course, students examine ways that their day-to-day lives, including their activities, their relationships, and the spaces around them, are informed by international politics and territorial conflict. A variety of case studies supplement the course readings and help students analyze experiences of war, citizenship, migration, nationalism, security, and globalization in local contexts around the world, including their own.

INGS 200     Introduction to International and Global Studies  (4)

A course concerned with analyzing how international and global integration shape local development. After reflecting on this integration during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and its impact on nation-state formation and economic development, students analyze the construction of the post-World War II international system around the Bretton-Woods institutions. Attention is also given to how international norms pertaining to human rights and democracy apply to diverse countries during the current period of globalization, and to how transnational linkages shape economic and cultural transformations. The course concludes with discussion of living abroad­including topics such as language acquisition and personal transformation. Required core course for IGS majors. Open only to sophomores.

INGS 201     African Youth Cultures in Post-Colonial Urban Africa  (4)

This course focuses on how African urban youth confront the challenges of postcolonial life and the forces of globalization, through examination of local and global cultural and linguistic patterns in major African cities. It interrogates the social practices that characterize African urban youth culture, questioning how these practices and youth identities contrast with those socially-ascribed within local cultural frameworks. The course draws reading material from contemporary literature on youth culture, globalization, and social change in Africa. It also uses African films to showcase the opportunities and challenges brought about by the globalization of youth culture in Africa.

INGS 203     Sociolinguistics of Africa  (4)

This course introduces learners to key concepts and topics in sociolinguistics with a regional focus of Africa. The concept of globalization is at the core of this course, specifically looking at how African languages and cultures have been impacted by socio-political and economic forces of globalization such as colonialism, urbanization, mass and social media, formal education and market-economy. The course also focuses on the role of language in the formation of nation-states in Africa, the structural effects that African languages have on “foreign” languages like English and French, and what speakers of African languages think of their utility in the context of globalization. Reading materials focus on language communities living in Africa, in the diaspora and in the technology-mediated “virtual” world. No prior knowledge of sociolinguistics is required in order to enroll in this course, but some knowledge about African languages and cultures is an added advantage.

INGS 204     Representing Egypt  (4)

This course studies the role of representation in the negotiation of identity and power by mapping efforts across a variety of media to express and evaluate the dramatic developments in Egypt leading up to, and since, the “revolution” of 2011. The course introduces students to some of the most salient symbols, language, and narratives of the Arab Spring and their relationship to broader global discourses. Through the development of technical skills in photographic, video and audio acquisition, editing, and presentation, students deepen their understanding of how the structuring of content can shift the impact of a given piece.

INGS 207     Globalization, Popular Culture, and Politics in West Africa  (4)

This course explores the relationship between popular culture and politics in the context of globalization in West African societies. It focuses on how popular sport, music, dance, film and other forms of popular culture and recreation inform and shape political action and participation. Long a meeting point of global and local currents, West Africa allows for examining how the creative mixing of local and foreign ideas and practices facilitates nationalism and democratic citizenship, enables hitherto marginal political players such as youth, and offers the possibility of transformation in the social politics of gender and generational relations.

INGS 301     The Global Financial Crisis: Causes and Effects  (4)

This course introduces students to some prominent ways of theorizing the contemporary global financial architecture. It foregrounds global financial crisis in order to chart the historical role of finance, or investment capital, in shaping the economic forces of globalization. Exploring the theoretical and practical role that financial investment plays in capitalism and economic growth, the course investigates whether this role has changed with the greater economic integration and capital mobility associated with “neoliberal globalization.” This course has a strong theoretical and political economy orientation, while remaining in conversation with approaches represented in cultural studies, human geography, gender and postcolonial studies. Students can thus understand “capital investment” not merely as a financial bet on the future, but as an emotional and psychological one as well.

INGS 302     Global Cities  (4)

This course reviews recent literature regarding the emergence of “global cities” as central nodes in the global network economy. Whether conceptualized as hubs for information technology circuits or as points of financial and cultural exchange and mediation, cities are being increasingly understood and analyzed in their own right, in a framework that foregrounds “the urban” as the primary unit of analysis (as opposed to the “national” or “international.”). The city, as a central site of socio-spatial transformation, is thus envisioned to be a central feature of globalization. This course considers the literature on “global cities” as well as writings that use “the urban” as a lens for analyzing global processes.

INGS 303     Transition to Democracy: The Case of East Germany, 1989  (4)

This course provides a complex picture of the stability and instability of political regimes, using the case of Germany in 1989 to illustrate larger issues raised by the Eastern European transition. Students are introduced to theories regarding the emergence of political protest and social movements, as well as the structural framework behind the rapid change. This course also examines the perspectives of actors such as the refugee movement, churches, the civil rights movement, the political elite, and reformers. Finally, students learn about contemporary views of the transition, especially levels of satisfaction with the achievements of Western society (in comparison to the past Eastern one) and future expectations.

INGS 304     Politics and Society in Modern India  (4)

This course introduces and contextualizes some major issues pertinent to understanding how politics and society function in contemporary India. Beginning with the historical encounter between the British and various groups on the Indian subcontinent, the course explores the development of anti-colonial nationalism and subsequent independence. Most attention, however, is focused on the postcolonial period, and particularly on problems of economic development, caste and religious identities, democratic politics in a pluralist society, secularism, rural and urban society, the advent of economic liberalization over the past quarter century, and the impact on India of globalization.

INGS 305     Narrating Place/Space in Contemporary World Film  (4)

This course examines some of the most acclaimed international feature films of the past decade, with focus on how geographical places and spaces are constructed, narrated, and visualized in cinema. Class films represent many cultures and languages from around the world, thus inviting students to ponder broader issues of multiculturalism, globalization, and otherness. Among topics discussed are the possibilities and limits of cinematic representation of places/spaces, cultures, nations, historical events, memory, gender, ethnicity, race, and private/public realms. Students also learn about basic film theory terms, chief critical approaches to film criticism, and ways of writing about film.

INGS 306     Spain in the European Union  (4)

A study of contemporary Spain and its participation in the European Community. Topics include sovereignty, national identity, and supranational governance; international organization theory; EU political organization, the role of the Parliament, Council, and commission; parties and elections; political economy, regional economic blocs, and the EU currency union with special attention given to the ongoing debt crisis; and immigration, and immigration policy. Attention is also given to Spain’s role as bridge between the European Union and Latin America.

INGS 307     Polish Film  (4)

An introduction to the history of Polish cinema, in historical and cultural context, from the 1950s to present day. In addition to discussing major schools such as the Cinema of Moral Anxiety, as well as influential directors such as Wajda, Pola?ski, and Kie?lowski, the course focuses on important issues of Polish culture: its location at the crossroads of East and West; its complex narratives of history, memory, and trauma; and its transformations in the aftermath of Communism’s fall in 1989. Polish cinema also serves as starting point for a broader discussion of the possibilities and limits of artistic representation of nations, cultures, historical events, and gender/class/ethnic relation. Finally, the course reviews basic film theory terms, main critical approaches to film criticism, and ways of writing about film.

INGS 308     Body Film: Representing the Body in Contemporary World Cinema  (4)

An exploration of diverse ways of representing and conceptualizing the human body in contemporary world cinema. Starting with the premise that the body is both the material reality experienced each day as well as an enigma impossible to capture through the intellectual discourses of philosophy/science or the creative endeavors of literature/arts, the course invites students to analyze the myriad of body images supplied by twenty-first-century films from around the globe. Main topics of interest are the body and mind/soul dichotomy, gendered bodies, body and the discourse of desire, body as text, body and cognition, body and trauma, politics of the body, metamorphoses of the body, persons and things, and bodies in the cybernetic age. The course’s theoretical component includes reading by Bakhtin, Baudrillard, Butler, Bourdieu, Foucault, Goffman, Grosz, and Haraway.

INGS 309     Society and Culture in Zambia  (4)

The course examines the major cultural traditions and historical trajectory of Zambia, a southern African country. Through lectures by Zambian professors and joint class sessions with Zambian students, the course covers Zambian history, cultural norms and gender relations. It also explores how ethnicity, class, and religion shape society and development. Students interact directly with social and cultural institutions through homestays with Zambian families, community engagement in rural and urban settings, and attendance at religious services. Visits to historical sites, cultural events, museums, and festivals in Zambia’s Central, Copperbelt, and Southern regions are included.

INGS 310     Brazilian Tropicália: The Myth and Reality of an Emerging Power  (4)

A comprehensive study of perhaps the most democratic and developed of the so-called BRIC nations. Readings and topics include Brazilian history; political institutions and parties; the economy; social movements; ethnic diversity (including indigenous, Portuguese and African influences on Brazilian culture and society); sustainability and the environment; the planned city of Brasilia; literature; music; art; salient political and cultural figures. Conducted as an on-site, study abroad summer offering.

INGS 311     Islam and Ecology  (4)

Based on a study of classical and contemporary Islamic texts, this course considers how narrative and language contribute to shaping distinct ecological world views. The course raises questions of how sacred narratives and concepts shape the way that Muslims experience the natural world and value different elements of their environment. The course also considers the efforts of contemporary Muslim environmental activists to change the relationship of humanity to natural resources and surroundings with reference to the Islamic faith.

INGS 312     Africa and the West Since 1800  (4)

This course surveys the historical relationship between Africa and the West from the age of Abolition in the early 19th century through the colonial and post-colonial periods. Several broad questions are addressed including: What were the political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual implications of this relationship? To what extent and in what ways is this historical relationship implicated in Africa's postcolonial, but some would argue, neocolonial present? Has Africa played any role in the evolution of the cultural and geo-political phenomenon called the West? This course emphasizes the agency of Africans in their interactions with the West even as it delves into how Africans have been shaped by this relationship.

INGS 313     "Foreigners" of the Middle East  (4)

With a focus on the Arab Middle East, Turkey, and Iran during the late Ottoman and colonial eras, this course asks questions about belonging. In particular, it looks at the relationships between national, ethnic, religious, racial, gender and/or socio-economic affiliations in creating and concretizing "foreignness" and minorities. This course considers what categorized a community or persons as "foreign", when and how these categories changed, and how "foreign" communities and individuals influenced the changing political, economic, and cultural landscape of the Middle East.

INGS 314     The History of Current Events in the Middle East  (4)

This course uses current events in the Middle East as a framework through which to think about global history and its impact on the present day. This course focuses on the news through both an international and an American lens alongside historical questions and scholarship that illuminate present-day events. Course goals include a mastery of key global issues in the Middle East as well as the tools to interact with newsmakers and policy makers through interrogation and discussion of the interconnected world around us.

INGS 315     Borders, Mobilities, and Resistance in the Arab World  (4)

In this course, students look at the colonial imposition of borders in and around the Arab World and their effects on identity, mobility, rights, and bodily security for people of the region. Students also examine how borders, walls, and other barriers have become key sites at which artists, activists, and social movements contest and transgress regimes of separation and control. The course is framed around case studies of barriers experienced and resisted in the region. Students conduct research, analyze cultural productions, and consider linkages between borders and movements in the Arab World and those in other settings.

INGS 400     Senior Seminar  (4)

An interdisciplinary seminar required of all seniors in international and global studies. Shared readings on key topics and concepts in globalization are discussed in relation to students’ geographic concentration and abroad experiences. Additionally, each student produces and presents a major research paper related to the student’s course work as well as abroad experience and language study. This seminar is normally offered in the fall, in part to reintegrate majors who were abroad in the spring or summer as well as to draw best on the abroad experience while still fresh. This course also serves as the writing intensive credit within the major. Open only to seniors pursuing majors in international and global studies.

INGS 405     Honors Thesis  (4)

An independently-configured course that students undertake for the purpose of writing an Honors Thesis with direction from an honors advisor and further advice from a second reader. Requires also a public presentation of the thesis. Prerequisite: Professor consent and prerequisite override required.

INGS 406     From Berlin to Addis Ababa: Africa and International Summitry  (4)

This course explores the significance of international summitry for Africa, from the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 to the 1963 founding conference of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa. The course brings into conversation different traditions and moments in this long history of summitry. The course examines the origins, activities, key actors, and afterlives of these summits. The summits will also be focal points for examining how their attendant international movements and themes have shaped the evolution of international society and global politics.

INGS 444     Independent Study  (2 or 4)

An independent study offered in the international and global studies program may not be counted toward the major. May be repeated for credit. Open only to students pursuing majors in international and global studies. Prerequisite: Professor consent and prerequisite override required.