PAGE FORTNA          Teaching                                                                                                              

Students enrolled in the classes below should link to CourseWorks for the most up-to-date information

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Courses

Undergraduate

    POLS V1601  Introduction to International Politics

This course provides an introduction to the study of international politics. We cover the central concepts and theories used to understand topics in international relations, including the causes of war and peace, economic relations among states, intervention in civil conflicts, human rights, and the environment.
                    last taught Fall 2000     syllabus (pdf)

    POLS W3961/2 Seminar: Ending Wars and Keeping Peace

The study of war in international relations has traditionally focused on its causes, but less attention has been paid to ending wars once they begin, and to keeping peace in their aftermath. This course addresses: the process by which belligerents in international and civil wars reach cease-fires and negotiate peace; why peace sometimes lasts and sometimes falls apart and what can be done to make peace more stable; as well as the longer-term the prospects for reconciliation among adversaries and for rebuilding after war. We examine both international and civil conflicts. Students write a research paper and present it to the class.

                    last taught Spring 2008   syllabus (pdf)

Graduate

    POLS G8864 Colloquium on Cooperation and Security

The study of cooperation is fundamental to the study of international relations. In the absence of a higher authority to enforce agreements, how do states manage to cooperate? This course examines theoretical approaches to conflict and cooperation in international relations, including the obstacles to cooperation under anarchy, and the possibility of surmounting those obstacles. The empirical focus of the course is on issues of cooperation in peace and security, for example, deterrence and crisis bargaining, the outbreak and conduct of war, war termination and maintaining peace, and alliance politics.

                last taught Fall 2008    syllabus (pdf)

    POLS G6802  Theory Building and Comparative Methods (with Tanisha Fazal)

This course covers research methods and research design in political science, focusing on concrete issues of conducting research: picking a topic, generating hypotheses, case selection, measurement issues, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, designing and conducting experiments, working with data sets, and archival research, etc.  The course is designed primarily for PhD students in their third or fourth years working on dissertation proposals or early stages of dissertation research, but may be helpful for students at other stages as well.

                last taught Fall 2007   syllabus (pdf)

    SIPA INAFU 8561   War Termination and the Stability of Peace

The study of war in international relations has traditionally focused on its causes, but less attention has been paid to ending wars once they begin, and to keeping peace in their aftermath. This course addresses: the process by which belligerents in international and civil wars reach cease-fires and negotiate peace; why peace sometimes lasts and sometimes falls apart and what can be done to make peace more stable; as well as the longer-term the prospects for reconciliation among adversaries and for rebuilding after war. We will examine both international and civil conflicts with an eye toward policy choices and dilemmas.   (Note this is a Masters level version of Pols3961/2).

                last taught Spring 2008    syllabus (pdf)