East Asian Security
INST/PLSC 3650
T/Th 1:30-3:35
Dr Zhang

East Asia is one of the most important and dynamic regions in world politics. During the Cold War, the region went through intense ideological competition and armed conflicts. In the post-Cold War era, East Asian has seen major power shifts, with uncertain trajectories and outcomes. Through the theoretical lenses of International Relations, this course examines the key security issues (e.g., territorial disputes, armed conflicts, nuclear proliferation, and regional security architecture) and changing dynamics (e.g., power transition) in East Asia. With an understanding of how the regional security order is constructed and changing, the course also addresses the implications for the U.S.'s security policies and presence across East Asia. 

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US–Mexico Border
INST 3910-01 / UCOR 3600-04
T/Th 3:45–5:50
Dr Hudgins

US - Mexico Border: Contemporary Perspectives will examine the complexities of im/migration in the US-Mexico borderlands and beyond. The course is built on an understanding that borders are everywhere and are often conditional: between dominant and non-dominant cultures, peoples, and systems. Borders are both real and imagined, often a liminal space of othering that results from structural violence. Using a human security lens and an interdisciplinary (e.g. social, economic, cultural, historical, political, and environmental) approach, you will deepen your understanding of the existing contexts, consequences, and challenges of im/migration in a borderlands context. An explicit goal of the course is to contribute toward positive change in the dynamic reality faced by those who experience myriad forms of human insecurity. This will take the form of a quarter-long community-based participatory action research (CBPR) project in our local community that investigates the impact of borders on western Washington’s im/migrant population. 

Depending on university decisions on fall quarter study abroad programs, over winter break, you may choose to participate in the Global Citizenship Research Project, the purpose of which is to investigate the development global citizenship through empowerment of a community of learners consisting of Seattle University students and community members in Tijuana, Mexico, all of whom serve as participant-observers in the assessment process. This CBPR project was collaboratively constructed by faculty, staff, student, and community partners representing the 25-year campus-community partnership between Seattle University (SU) and Fundación Esperanza de Mexico (FEM), a non-governmental organization (NGO) that promotes empowered citizenship and responsible community development. Our goal is to better understand how the collaborative work of FEM and SU develop empowered global citizens. A one-credit companion course (HUMT 3910-02, (De)constructing Community Development in Mexico) provides a mixed methods research experience while offering a personal lens through which to view your own aspirations for social change and empowered global citizenship.

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Courses with the NWH designator may count as the INST Non-Western Humanities elective or as an INST Major elective. The others can count as an INST Major elective only.  PDF download:  21FQ 

UCOR 1600-03
T/Th 10:15–12:20
Dr Zhang

What is the United Nations (U.N.) and how does it work?  Within the historical, social, political, and economic contexts of the 20th and 21st centuries, we will examine the structure, function, and impact of the United Nations, one of the most important global institutions of our time.  We will explore the forces that contribute to interdependence and multilateral cooperation through the U.N. as well as those that divide and challenge the U.N.  We will also assess the legitimacy, effectiveness, and prospects of the U.N. through three themes: searching for peace and security, upholding human rights, and promoting sustainable development. 

» Find this course on MySU [opens new window]

INST 3910-01
T/Th 1:30-3:35
Dr Hudgins

Should we not have reason to value the same rights in all places? This interdisciplinary course explores contemporary international migration, a natural phenomenon restricted by the sovereign control of borders by nation-states. An historic preference for national security over human security  – privileging the security of the state over the individual – places migrants’ human rights in jeopardy in the face of myriad drivers such as conflict, poverty, structural violence, etc. We will explore im/migration contexts, challenges, and consequences using multidisciplinary social scientific analyses and other fields of knowledge.

The course offers the closest experience to study abroad we’ll get in the time of COVID-19: we will participate in a five-week Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience with students from Universidad Iberoamericana, a Jesuit university in Puebla, Mexico. Spanish language capacity is desirable but not required. When faculty-led study abroad begins again, you will not be required to re-take this course if you wish to participate in the program tentatively scheduled for June 2022.

 Cross-listed with UCOR 3600-08

» Find this course on MySU [opens new window]

Courses with the NWH designator may count as the INST Non-Western Humanities elective or as an INST Major elective. The others can count as an INST Major elective only.  PDF download:21SQ

UCOR 1400-06
T/Th 10:15–12:20
Dr Robinson

This course will explore the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1890 to present. It will chart how the creation of Israel in 1948 altered the political landscape of the Middle East. Using a range of sources—films, poetry, fiction, political speeches, and treaties—the course will compare and contrast Palestinian, Arab, and international responses to the creation of Israel and how those responses have changed over time through periods of war and peace.

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UCOR 3600-02
M/W/F 10:55–12:20
Dr Zhang

As the world’s two most powerful and important players, the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China hold the key to collectively solving many of the global challenges we face in the 21st century. This course explores this most important and complex strategic relationship through an examination of the basic dynamics of strategic thinking and policy‐making in the U.S. and China and a theory‐informed analysis of key contemporary issues in the bilateral relations, including security, arms control, trade, human rights, energy, and the environment, from a variety of perspectives of International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. No prior background on China, U.S. foreign policy, or International Relations is assumed or required.

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INST 3200-01 / PLSC 3350-01
Latin American Politics
T/Th 10:15-12:20
Dr Andolina

Major challenges facing Latin American countries include development stimulation, inequality reduction, security provision, and rights expansion. Students in this course analyze the reasons for these challenges, and examine how Latin Americans attempt to address them through democratic and authoritarian government, state-led and market-led economic policies, and revolutionary and non-revolutionary citizen action.

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INST 3910-01 / HIST 3910-01 / PLSC 3910-01
Middle East and US Since 1776
M/W 3:40–5:45
Dr Robinson

The Middle East and the United States have a long and interconnected history. Starting with the slave trade and the Barbary Wars and ending with the present-day military engagement in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, the course traces how Americans and the US government have engaged the Middle East since 1776. Not all of the United States’ interactions with the region have been led by military strategy or geopolitical objectives; we study religious, cultural, and social exchanges as well. The course also examines how the diverse populations of the region view the US, and how those perceptions have changed over time.

• Find this course on MySeattleU [opens new window]

Courses with the NWH designator may count as the INST Non-Western Humanities elective or as an INST Major elective. The others can count as an INST Major elective only.  PDF download: 21WQ

UCOR 1600-05
T/Th 10:15–12:20
Dr Zhang

What is the United Nations (U.N.) and how does it work?  Within the historical, social, political, and economic contexts of the 20th and 21st centuries, we will examine the structure, function, and impact of the United Nations, one of the most important global institutions of our time.  We will explore the forces that contribute to interdependence and multilateral cooperation through the U.N. as well as those that divide and challenge the U.N.  We will also assess the legitimacy, effectiveness, and prospects of the U.N. through three themes: searching for peace and security, upholding human rights, and promoting sustainable development. 

» Find this course on MySU [opens new window]

UCOR 1400-04
T/Th 3:45–5:50
Dr Green

What is a nation and what is national identity? How does a nation express and “brand” itself in the most watched TV entertainment show in the world? For over 60 years, countries in the European Broadcasting Union have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, where they perform for up to three minutes and award points to crown a winning song. In this UCOR humanities seminar, we’ll be drawing initially on history, geography, and politics, and then moving into the intellectual toolbox and methods of cultural and literary studies to dig into the ideas of nation, identity, and representation. We’ll learn of tenderness and menace, prejudice and triumph, genocide and reconciliation, hatred and love. Eurovision is full of surprises, confusions, and above all, hidden depths.

» Find this course on MySU [opens new window]

Courses with the NWH designator may count as the INST Non-Western Humanities elective or as an INST Major elective. The others can count as an INST Major elective only.  PDF download: 20FQ