INTS 221-01, Global Ecopolitics, Fall 2009

Abstract

This course is designed to introduce you to the ecological politics paradigm in International Relations. We will explore how environmental issues, population, disease, technology, and globalization create solutions and problems for traditional questions of IR—like war and peace, sovereignty, development, and power—and raise new areas of inquiry. This course fulfills the F2i Writing Intensive foundation and will emphasize “writing to learn”. Over the semester you will build your reading and writing skills through short reaction assignments, longer papers, and regular revision of your work. This class is conducted as a seminar. Some students have jokingly referred to it as the “apocalypse course”, but in a way that’s the central question: Is apocalypse inevitable? How do we mobilize to save civilization (borrowing the subtitle from Lester Brown’s book)? We use writing as a process of intellectual inquiry to address these broad questions. The discussions and reaction writing assignments provide a forum for dealing with questions raised by the readings and lectures. Participation is essential both to demonstrate your journey towards understanding the readings, and to aid you in synthesizing the information.