The objective of the International Relations concentration is to foster creative thinking about pressing global problems and to equip students with the analytic tools, language expertise, and cross-cultural understanding to guide them in that process. To this end, the concentration draws on numerous departments including political science, history, economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, religious studies, and area studies. The IR concentration is organized around a multidisciplinary core and two sub-themes: security and society, and political economy and society. It has a three-year language requirement that must be linked to the student’s selected region of the world. All concentrators are required to undertake a capstone project using research in a second language. The International Relations concentration will only accept new declarations through the class of 2023. Students in any class year can learn more about the new concentration in International and Public Affairs.
Requirements
The IR concentration will be available to students graduating through the class of 2023.
The IR concentration requires 14 courses and the equivalent of 3 years study of a second language. Regardless of track, all IR concentrators must take all five core courses, research methods, regional focus, and capstone courses.
Security and Society track
| Core Courses | 5 | |
| Students must take 5 core courses, preferably during freshman or sophomore year. AP credit does not count toward the concentration. | ||
| Anthropology and Global Social Problems: Environment, Development, and Governance | ||
| Principles of Economics | ||
| Introduction to International Politics | ||
or POLS 0200 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | |
| Globalization and Social Conflict | ||
Plus 1 History course from the following: | ||
| History of Capitalism | ||
| Modern Africa: From Empire to Nation-State | ||
| The Making of Modern East Asia | ||
| Understanding the Middle East: 1800s to the Present | ||
| From the Columbian Exchange to Climate Change: Modern Global Environmental History | ||
| The Modern Chinese Nation: An Idea and Its Limits | ||
| Track Requirements (five courses distributed between the sub-themes): | 5 | |
| Governance and Diplomacy (two or three courses): | ||
| War, Anti-War, Postwar: Culture and Contestation in the Americas | ||
| Cybersecurity and International Relations | ||
| Migration and Borders in a Time of Climate Crisis | ||
| Engaged Climate Policy at the UN Climate Change Talks | ||
| La France en guerre | ||
| Sense and Scientific Sensibility: Beyond Vision, From the Scientific Revolution to Now | ||
| Locked Up: A Global History of Prison and Captivity | ||
| A Global History of the Atomic Age | ||
| State Surveillance in History | ||
| Culture and U.S. Empire | ||
| U.S. Human Rights in a Global Age | ||
| Law, Nationalism, and Colonialism | ||
| History of American Intervention | ||
| International Law | ||
| International Journalism: Foreign Reporting in Practice | ||
| History of American Intervention | ||
| Bilateral and Multilateral Policy and Diplomacy | ||
| Iran and the Islamic Revolution | ||
| Roots of Crisis in Central America | ||
| Computers, Freedom and Privacy: Current Topics in Law and Policy | ||
| When Leaders Lie: Machiavelli in International Context | ||
| From Dictatorship to Democracy in the Iberian Peninsula: Transformations and Current Challenges | ||
| Politics of the Illicit Global Economy | ||
| Politics in Russia and Eastern Europe | ||
| Maps and Politics | ||
| U.S. Gender Politics | ||
| Ethnic Politics and Conflict | ||
| Global Governance | ||
| International Security in a Changing World | ||
| Roots of Radical Islam | ||
| Security, Governance and Development in Africa | ||
| War and Peace | ||
| Theory of International Relations | ||
| Global Justice | ||
| The International Law and Politics of Human Rights | ||
| War and Politics | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| Contraband Capitalism: States and Illegal Global Markets | ||
| International Relations in Europe | ||
| War in Film and Literature | ||
| Political Psychology of International Relations | ||
| Nuclear Weapons and International Politics | ||
| Geopolitics of Oil and Energy | ||
| Ethics of War and Peace | ||
| Laws of Violence | ||
| Comparative Constitutional Law | ||
| The Politics of Food Security | ||
| War and Human Rights | ||
| Technology and International Politics | ||
| War and Peace in International Society | ||
| Market Democracy in Chile | ||
| Between Colonialism and Self-Determination: A History of the International Order | ||
| Democratic Theory and Globalization | ||
| Post Conflict Politics | ||
| Global Governance | ||
| The International Politics of Climate Change | ||
| US-China Relations | ||
| Populations in Danger | ||
| 20th Century World – A Sociology of States and Empires | ||
| Society (two or three courses): | ||
| The Anti-Trafficking Savior Complex: Saints, Sinners, and Modern-Day Slavery | ||
| Anthropology of Gender and Globalization | ||
| Human Trafficking, Transnationalism, and the Law | ||
| Democracy and Difference: Political Anthropology, Citizenship and Multiculturalism | ||
| Political Anthropology | ||
| War and Society | ||
| Ethnographies of Global Connection: Politics, Culture and International Relations | ||
| Religion and Secularism: Affinities and Antagonisms | ||
| Violence and the Media | ||
| Global Health: Anthropological Perspectives | ||
| Nations within States | ||
| Anthropology of State Power and Powerlessness | ||
| Media and the Middle East | ||
| Senior Seminar: Politics and Symbols | ||
| 1948 Photo Album: From Palestine To Israel | ||
| Collective Struggles and Cultural Politics in the Global South | ||
| Literature and Revolutions, 1640-1840 | ||
| La France en guerre | ||
| Refugees: A Twentieth-Century History | ||
| Humanitarianism and Conflict in Africa | ||
| Israel-Palestine: Lands and Peoples II | ||
| Israel-Palestine: Lands and Peoples I | ||
| Decolonizing Minds: A People's History of the World | ||
| Law and Religion | ||
| Global Health, Humanitarianism, and Inequality | ||
| Rwanda Past and Present | ||
| Humanitarianism in Uniform | ||
| Revolutions that Changed the World | ||
| History of the Holocaust | ||
| Faking Globalization: Media, Piracy and Urbanism | ||
| Nation and Identity in Cinema | ||
| The Birth of the Modern World: A Global History of Empires | ||
| Ethnic Politics and Conflict | ||
| Gender, Slavery, and Freedom | ||
| Democratic Erosion | ||
| International Relations of Russia, Europe and Asia | ||
| Social Movements and Struggles for Justice | ||
| Women and War | ||
| Nationalism: Problems, Paradoxes and Power | ||
| Politics of Ethnic Conflict | ||
| Political Violence | ||
| Religion and Torture | ||
| Faith and Violence | ||
| Radical Islam (?) | ||
| Far-Right Religious Terrorism | ||
| Law and Religion | ||
| Sacred Sites: Law, Politics, Religion | ||
| Research Methods | 1 | |
| Prior to 7th semester. Quantitative or qualitative course from the following approved list. | ||
| Ethnographies of the Muslim Middle East | ||
| Ethnographic Research Methods | ||
| Essential Statistics | ||
| Statistical Inference I | ||
| Statistical Methods | ||
| Introduction to Econometrics | ||
| Mathematical Econometrics I | ||
| Foundations of Political Analysis | ||
| Political Research Methods | ||
| Methods of Social Research | ||
| Methods of Research in Organizations | ||
| Introductory Statistics for Social Research | ||
| Regional Focus | 2 | |
| Both courses must be on the same area. Students are required to link these to language study. | ||
| Language | ||
| Three years university study or equivalent. Must correspond to region. | ||
| Capstone Course, from the following options: | 1 | |
| Must be taken senior year. Must incorporate language skills. Students may choose from the following: | ||
| Senior Seminar: Politics and Symbols | ||
| La France en guerre | ||
| Israel-Palestine: Lands and Peoples II | ||
| Decolonizing Minds: A People's History of the World | ||
| Law and Religion | ||
| Iran and the Islamic Revolution | ||
| Diplomacy, Economics & Influence | ||
| Perspectives in Human Capital: Investing in Women as a Strategy for Global Growth | ||
| Risk, Regulation and the Comparative Politics of Finance | ||
| The International Politics of Organized Crime | ||
| Humanitarianism in Uniform | ||
| International Relations of Russia, Europe and Asia | ||
| Women and War | ||
| Senior Honors Seminar | ||
| Contraband Capitalism: States and Illegal Global Markets | ||
| Geopolitics of Oil and Energy | ||
| War and Human Rights | ||
| Technology and International Politics | ||
| Urban Politics and Policy | ||
| Democratic Theory and Globalization | ||
| Post Conflict Politics | ||
| Total Credits | 14 | |
Political Economy and Society Track
| Core Courses | 5 | |
| Students must take all 5 core courses, preferably during freshman or sophomore year. AP credit does not count toward the concentration. | ||
| Anthropology and Global Social Problems: Environment, Development, and Governance | ||
| Principles of Economics | ||
| Introduction to International Politics | ||
or POLS 0200 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | |
| Globalization and Social Conflict | ||
Plus 1 History course from the following: | ||
| History of Capitalism | ||
| Modern Africa: From Empire to Nation-State | ||
| The Making of Modern East Asia | ||
| Understanding the Middle East: 1800s to the Present | ||
| From the Columbian Exchange to Climate Change: Modern Global Environmental History | ||
| The Modern Chinese Nation: An Idea and Its Limits | ||
| Track Requirements (five courses from distributed between the sub-themes): | 5 | |
| Economics (two or three courses): All students MUST take Micro and Macro | ||
| Intermediate Microeconomics | ||
| Intermediate Macroeconomics | ||
Plus an International Economics course: | ||
| Development and the International Economy | ||
| The Economics of Gender Equality and Development | ||
| Economic Organizations and Economic Systems | ||
| Current Global Macroeconomic Challenges | ||
| Economic Development | ||
| Health, Hunger and the Household in Developing Countries | ||
| International Trade | ||
| International Finance | ||
| Economic Growth | ||
| The Economics of Latin Americans | ||
| The Economy of China since 1949 | ||
| Financial Institutions | ||
| Theory of Economic Growth | ||
| Political Economy (two or three courses): | ||
| Inequality, Sustainability, and Mobility in a Car-Clogged World | ||
| AIDS in Global Perspective | ||
| Anthropology and International Development: Ethnographic Perspectives on Poverty and Progress | ||
| Money, Work, and Power: Culture and Economics | ||
| Environmental Economics and Policy | ||
| International Environmental Law and Policy | ||
| Environmental Economics and Policy | ||
| Environmental Issues in Development Economics (ECON 1355) | ||
| Environmental Justice: The Science and Political Economy of Environmental Health and Social Justice | ||
| Globalization and the Environment | ||
| Energy Policy and Politics | ||
| Business, Culture, and Globalization: An Ethnographic Perspective | ||
| History of Capitalism | ||
| International Perspectives on NGOs, Public Health, and Health Care Inequalities | ||
| Economic Development in Latin America | ||
| Diplomacy, Economics & Influence | ||
| The Political Economy of Strategy: From the Financial Revolution to the Revolution in Military Affa | ||
| Politics of International Finance | ||
| Risk, Regulation and the Comparative Politics of Finance | ||
| Perspectives in Human Capital: Investing in Women as a Strategy for Global Growth | ||
| Politics of the Illicit Global Economy | ||
| Prosperity: The Ethics and Economics of Wealth Creation | ||
| Reimagining Capitalism | ||
| Latin American Politics | ||
| Politics, Markets and States in Developing Countries | ||
| Politics, Economy and Society in India | ||
| Classics of Political Economy | ||
| Money and Power in the International Political Economy | ||
| Development in Theory and Practice | ||
| International Political Economy | ||
| Introduction to Political Economy | ||
| Building a Better World: Film and Social Change | ||
| Politics of Nuclear Weapons | ||
| Politics of Globalization | ||
| Contraband Capitalism: States and Illegal Global Markets | ||
| Politics of Economic Development in Asia | ||
| The Politics of Social Welfare in the Middle East | ||
| Social Movements and Struggles for Justice | ||
| Corruption and Governance Across Democracies | ||
| Geopolitics of Oil and Energy | ||
| Capitalism: For and Against | ||
| Politics of Health in the Global South | ||
| The Political Economy of Renewable Energy | ||
| Culture, Identity and Development | ||
| Comparative Development | ||
| Unequal Societies | ||
| Demographics and Development | ||
| The Economic Foundations of Everyday Life | ||
| Knowledge Networks and Global Transformation | ||
| Sociology of Money | ||
| Research Methods | 1 | |
| Prior to 7th semester. Quantitative or qualitative course from the following approved list. | ||
| Ethnographies of the Muslim Middle East | ||
| Ethnographic Research Methods | ||
| Essential Statistics | ||
| Statistical Inference I | ||
| Statistical Methods | ||
| Introduction to Econometrics | ||
| Mathematical Econometrics I | ||
| Foundations of Political Analysis | ||
| Political Research Methods | ||
| Methods of Social Research | ||
| Methods of Research in Organizations | ||
| Introductory Statistics for Social Research | ||
| Regional Focus | 2 | |
| Both courses must be on the same area. Students are required to link these to language study. | ||
| Language | ||
| Three years university study or equivalent. Must correspond to region. | ||
| Capstone Course, from the following options: | 1 | |
| Must be taken senior year. Must incorporate language skills. Students may choose from the following: | ||
| Senior Seminar: Politics and Symbols | ||
| La France en guerre | ||
| Israel-Palestine: Lands and Peoples II | ||
| Decolonizing Minds: A People's History of the World | ||
| Law and Religion | ||
| Iran and the Islamic Revolution | ||
| Diplomacy, Economics & Influence | ||
| Risk, Regulation and the Comparative Politics of Finance | ||
| The International Politics of Organized Crime | ||
| Perspectives in Human Capital: Investing in Women as a Strategy for Global Growth | ||
| Humanitarianism in Uniform | ||
| Senior Honors Seminar | ||
| Contraband Capitalism: States and Illegal Global Markets | ||
| International Relations of Russia, Europe and Asia | ||
| Geopolitics of Oil and Energy | ||
| War and Human Rights | ||
| Technology and International Politics | ||
| Market Democracy in Chile | ||
| Women and War | ||
| Democratic Theory and Globalization | ||
| Post Conflict Politics | ||
| Culture, Identity and Development | ||
| Total Credits | 14 | |
The program has a director/concentration advisor and two faculty track advisors to assist students in planning their academic programs.