The landscape of contemporary political violence is marked by a dizzying array of actors, including rebel groups, militias, gangs, and state governments. In this graduate-level class, students will develop a better understanding of belligerents in modern conflicts, how they relate to one another, and the tactics at their disposal. Students will also develop an in-depth understanding of a non-state armed group or conflict of their choice. 

This course is intended to i) introduce students to some of the most prominent theories in the security studies/international relations field, ii) imbue students with the skills to analyze current world events using each of these lenses, and iii) improve their ability to write about these theories and events for a variety of audiences. 

My earnest hope is that students walk away from this class with a better understanding of how decisions about world events and security are made and that they can attend dinner parties with bigwigs in DC, London, Geneva, Nairobi, Hong Kong, etc and feel like they have something to contribute.

Some have described war as “long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” In these periods of ennui, combatants have often found themselves filling the time with affairs of the heart (and other, less PG organs). This course considers how armed groups - ranging from state militaries to non-state armed groups - manage romance, sex, and family within their ranks. Examining these subjects is not an exercise in voyeurism, but rather a means by which we can better understand the quotidian operations of armed groups and thus, the conduct of war. 

Students will leave this classroom with a greater understanding of how armed groups operate on a day-to-day basis and their management of libidinal and family concerns. Students will also develop keener oral presentation skills and cultivate their authorial voice. 

Conflict is gendered: it both shapes and is shaped by the gendered roles people play in society. Traditionally, men fight while women play supportive roles, men are perpetrators of violence while women are victims of this violence. However, this simple story is not only inaccurate, it limits our capacity to identify and analyze the full range of activities that men and women pursue during conflict.

This undergraduate class will explore a range of issues guided by the question: how are conflict and post-conflict processes gendered? The focus will be primarily on women but in understanding the constraints of social structure on women, we also better understand the constraints on men and the implications for people who challenge these categories. This class focuses on the gender elements of these processes through a range of mostly recent cases. Furthermore, students will walk away from this class more confident and capable writers.

* A team-taught course

We have three sets of objectives for this course.  

1. To understand key issues in the international arena. For each:  Why is this a critical issue? What is at stake?   What are the causes of the problem/issue, what forces are at play?  What options do key actors (states, international organizations, NGOs, private firms) have for addressing the issue?  

2. To gain familiarity with key frameworks for analyzing global affairs.  What are the key concepts and theoretical frameworks we have for addressing the above questions?  How does each contribute to our understanding, lead to different answers about how and why we are in our current situation, and imply different pathways forward?  

3. To take stock of – and improve – your abilities to master key questions in international affairs. The course will emphasize analytical and communication skills. 

This course examines the gendered dimensions of security and human rights, with a particular focus on periods of violence and insecurity. Gender equality has been at the heart of human rights and development efforts over the past half-century. Legal and normative instruments have been created to address the ongoing marginalization of women and girls around the world, including the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 1995 Beijing Platform of Action. More recently there has been increasing attention to the importance of “gendering” discussions of international security. For instance, UN Security Council Resolution 1325, passed in 2000, is widely seen as a landmark framework for ensuring women’s inclusion in the post-war peace process. 

In this class, students will encounter a variety of perspectives on the gendered dimensions of security. They will develop the ability not only to critique existing policies that address the gendered dimensions of conflict and instability, but also gain experience articulating policy recommendations. Though this is not a ‘skills’ class, the course is designed to make you a stronger and more confident writer.