Peace & Global Studies

Courses

PAGS 118: Inequalities, Power & Society

Credits 4
Introduces students to the sociological perspective and focuses on the connections between major social institutions and social inequality. Also listed as SOAN 118

PAGS 124: Strike: Labor and Capitalism in U.S. History

Credits 3

We live in an era of labor conflict when strikes make headlines. This U.S. history class explains how anarchists,
communists, reactionaries, Black nationalists, radical feminists, and other dissidents have built a movement to
challenge the capitalist system.

PAGS 214: Jerusalem: City of Peace, City of Conflict

Credits 3
Jerusalem is sacred for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We will examine Jerusalem's long history, divisive politics, contested character, and possible futures from different disciplinary perspectives. The course attends to Jerusalem's place in the “Abrahamic” faiths, and explores how religion, nationalism, and identity shape the city in war and in peace. Also listed as REL 214

PAGS 215: Identities & Social Movement

Credits 4
Explores contemporary social movements organized around gender, sexuality, ethnicity and place. Examines the pivotal role of culture in shaping identities and structuring relations of inequality. Explores empirical case studies of social movements and theories that have emerged to grapple with the place of these movements in creating social change. Particular attention to tensions between class-based analyses of social movements.

PAGS 221: Peace & Reconciliation in East Asia

Credits 3

A survey of peacebuilding and reconciliation in East Asia with global comparisons to conflict resolution studies and transitional justice. Students will seek a formula for sustainable peace for conflicts between Japan and China, Japan and Korea, and North and South Korea. Topics include imperialism and colonialism, war crimes and atrocities, territorial disputes, colonial and forced migration, and international relations.

PAGS 225: Race & Judaism

Credits 3
Are European Jews white? Is Zionism racism? Is Judaism just a religion? This course surveys Jewish history, religion and politics through the lens of race in Israel, Europe, and America. Topics include: race and difference in the Bible, Africa and Asian Jews, antisemitism, Jews and/in Black freedom struggles.

PAGS 240: Global Dynamics and World Peace

Credits 4

Builds upon the introductory sequence in PAGS and addresses the question of how to define what constitutes "peace," whether and how sustainable peace might be possible, and how to best contribute to peacebuilding efforts. Uses a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to explore the root causes of various forms of violence, including war, terrorism, ecological destruction and poverty, and in what ways these forms of violence are related.

PAGS 270: Intro to Diplomacy

Credits 3
An experiential course that examines political, economic and social issues in world politics by simulating the work of states in U.N. committees and organizations. Students serve as delegates to a regional Model UN. Scholarly readings on the practice of diplomacy.

PAGS 290: Cuban History

Credits 3
The historical experience of Cuba is unique in the western hemisphere, and indeed in the world, for only Cuba underwent transformation from being a colony of Spain to being a neocolonial U.S. protectorate, then an independent republic, and finally a socialist country, all within less than a century. This course will neither praise or condemn Cuban socialism or U.S. imperialism, but instead help students appreciate and understand the complexities of the historical dynamics that gave rise to the current contours of the Cuban Revolution.

PAGS 302: Genealogies of Nationalism in the Muslim MENA

Credits 4
This course brings together a set of texts that attend to questions of power and politics in the MENA region, and particularly as pertain to nationalism. While many of these texts are at the margins of the discipline of political science, indeed, some are written by anthropologists, historians, and philosophers, they nevertheless address questions about politics/questions that have become increasingly important to understanding the complexities of the contemporary MENA.

PAGS 303: Human Rights in the Muslim World

Credits 4

This course is motivated by several questions to which students will be trusted to develop their own answers. Questions include: What is Islam? What are human rights? How do Muslims embody human rights? How much variation is there in how Muslims articulate and enact human rights? Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar and POLS 111. 

PAGS 306: History of Union Organizing

Credits 4
This course prepares students for work as labor and community organizing through a combined practice of historical case studies and hands on fieldwork. Each course meeting examines a dispute over work, ranging from political mobilization among enslaved people in the 18th century to resistance movements among factory workers in the 19th century to contemporary activism among undocumented workers in the food service and technology industries. Students will apply this knowledge to their own grassroots labor organizing project that will be carried out throughout the semester. Every student will come out of the class with grassroots labor organizing skills and a thorough, interdisciplinary knowledge of the history of workplace mobilization.

PAGS 311: Anthropology in the Middle East

Credits 4
In this course, we will use anthropological approaches to the Middle East to combat commonplace narratives of timeless antagonisms, irrational and violent religiosity, and prehistoric misogyny. Historicizing and problematizing these assumptions opens us up to different kinds of questions: not, why is this region so much more violent than other places, but why do we consider this a region at all? What counts as Middle East/and why? Following a historical exploration of these issues, we will read contemporary ethnographic accounts of life in different parts of the Middle East, with particular attention to Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon. This is a survey course; it should leave you with more questions than you started with. But at the same time, it aims to provide you with the tools to think critically about news coming out of the Middle East/whether on Fox News or in the New York Times/including a basic background on Islam, questions of gender, and, topically, Israel-Palestine and the Arab Spring and its fallout.

PAGS 314: Colonialism, Post Colonialism & Settler Colonialism

Credits 4
We live in a postcolonial world — or is it still a colonial one? This course will explore the different forms that colonialism has taken across the globe. It will also interrogate the historical relationship between colonialism and anthropology. Is it possible to practice anthropology today without reproducing it as a colonial discourse?

PAGS 329: Social Science Research Method

Credits 3
In this course, students will think systematically about ways to answer questions with different foci, but the skills developed will help students think more productively about the academic questions students find most pressing.

PAGS 330: Postcolonial Theory

Credits 4
A study of selected topics in Postcolonial Theory. Investigates the philosophical presuppositions of these topics and the relationship between modern philosophy and European Colonialism.

PAGS 331: Mass Incarceration & Moral Vision

Credits 4
A critical examination of the social functions and theories of contemporary criminal justice in the United States. Special attention to the collateral social consequences of the "prison industrial complex," paramilitary policing and the death penalty. Fosters moral interpretations that contribute to popular movements for positive change.

PAGS 332: Pan Africanism

Credits 4
In the context of the philosophical paradigm of Afrocentricity, this course traces and interrogates the trans-National solidarity activism of Africans and their descendants in the diaspora (North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia) towards their political, economic, social and psychological freedom and/or unity from the 19th century to present. Some of its major themes include: Black Nationalism, Black Power, Ethiopianism, Negritude, Rastafarianism and Black Consciousness. The primary instructional methodology is the interpretation and critical analysis of Pan-African literature and films.

PAGS 341: Contemporary Social Thought

Credits 4
Explores emerging trends in social theory and their relation to classical theory. Each year emphasizes a different problem such as power, culture, structure and agency, or determinism and anti-essentialism. Readings and discussion focus on developing the students' ability to recognize subtle differences that define theoretical perspective.

PAGS 343: Conflict Resolution

Credits 3
Examines the problem of conflict in social theory and practice. Readings introduce types of alternative dispute resolution. Students practice mediation and negotiation skills through simulated conflicts. class and gender perspectives are presented in class activities, readings and films.

PAGS 343: Conflict Resolution

Credits 3

Examines the problem of conflict in social theory and practice. Readings introduce types of alternative dispute resolution. Students practice mediation and negotiation skills through simulated conflicts. Class and gender perspectives are presented in class activities, readings, and films. 

PAGS 345: Urban Political Economy

Credits 4
A look at the political and economic processes that shape the uses of urban space. Attention to the rise of suburbanization in the United States and the problems of urban poverty, race and class segregation associated with it. Examines historical analysis and issues relating to the "revitalization" of older urban centers.

PAGS 347: Marxism

Credits 4

An examination of Marxist intellectual traditions with heavy emphasis on the writings of Marx. Examines Marx's critique of capitalism and alienation in his early writing to his more formal analysis of capitalism in his work Capital. Looks at how later Marxists and critics of capitalism have used, criticized and reworked elements of the Marxian analysis to continue developing contemporary conceptions of a non-capitalist or classless society.

PAGS 351: Workplace Justice: Readings in U.S. Labor History

Credits 3
Economic inequality in the United States has soared to its highest level since the "Gilded Age" of the 1880s. This course explores the social movement that, for two centuries, has aimed to close the gap between rich and poor: the labor movement. The class has two intellectual goals. First, it examines how historical phenomena like industrialization, urbanization, and racialization have shaped the work process. Second, it traces the theories and practices that working people have used to build a movement for economic justice. Prerequisite: Earlham Seminar or consent of the instructor.

PAGS 353: Latin America to 1825

Credits 3
Examines the origin and development of Latin American civilization, with particular attention to the European Conquest and its effect on Native Americans; and the origin and development of colonial institutions and conditions which led finally to the demise of the colonial system.

PAGS 354: Latin America since 1825

Credits 3
Emphasizes the 20th century, examining particularly patterns of modernization, development and resistance. Sources include literature, religion and popular culture.

PAGS 364: Power, Politics, Theory

Credits 3
This course surveys the classical texts and themes of political theory. Students will read selections of both the Western and Eastern canonical works in order to investigate a wide range of issues related to politics — power, state, citizen, justice, community, identity, rights, liberty, etc.

PAGS 365: Contemporary European Thought

Credits 3
An intensive study of a significant concept, set of ideas or philosopher. Recent topics include the search for utopia, Hobbes and Rousseau, contemporary political theory and freedom.

PAGS 367: Non-Western Political Theory

Credits 3
Surveys the canonical texts from the non-Western tradition for political thinking. The course investigates how notions, concepts and theories that arise from the texts challenge the Western writings.

PAGS 368: Political Economy of Development: Discourse & Desire: Latin America

Credits 4
Using an anthropological lens, examines "development" as a type of discourse formed under specific historical and sociological conditions. Examines the way relations between nations are imagined, the kinds of institutions that are born in the context of development, and the roles of those institutions in structuring power relations.

PAGS 371: Theories of International Relations

Credits 3
Examines classics, trends and innovations in empirical and normative theories of international relations, from Thucydides and Machiavelli to Galtung and beyond. Reading and writing intensive. Provides opportunities for students to apply theoretical perspectives to problems and issues of particular salience to them (e.g. questions raised by off-campus study). Designed for juniors and seniors.

PAGS 374: Methods of Peacemaking

Credits 4

A practical course teaching methods for community organizing through interaction with Richmond community groups and educational centers. Analyzes influence of national and international popular culture within Richmond.

PAGS 375: Topics in International Relations

Credits 3
Offers an in-depth study of a current controversy or theoretical problem in IR. Past topics have included feminist theories of IR, the Bomb, and the Responsibility to Protect. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor.

PAGS 377: Politics of Global Inequality

Credits 3

Explores the problem of global inequality, its implications for human development, and possible solutions. Builds on concepts from International Political Economy and Comparative Politics. Defines inequality and development and discusses how to measure these phenomena. Explores competing explanations for the existence and persistence of global inequality and tackles issues important in the developing world. 

PAGS 440: Research Seminar: Cooperation

Credits 4
An advanced research seminar that focuses on the process of developing, researching and writing a substantial historical research paper. This year's seminar is devoted to the subject of Fascism. We will tackle the subject from theoretical perspectives, consider historiographical and methodological questions, and examine case studies. Student research projects will be historical in nature and might include such themes as spectacle, propaganda, the media, historical memory, memorials, festivals, the crowd, the courts, youth movements, or Antifascist resistance in any number of countries.

PAGS 441: Movement & Movements: A Political Economy of Migration Seminar

Credits 4
This course is designed to provide robust insight into the global political and economic trends that drive and condition patterns of transnational migration in North America; to place current trends in historical and geographic context; to analyze the stakes and consequences of these phenomena; and to consider a variety of alternatives/solutions proposed by distinct sectors of society in Mexico and the United States.

PAGS 481: Internship

Credits 1 3

An internship or practicum is organized by the student in consultation with the adviser. Credits for the experience must be negotiated between the adviser and the on-site supervisor. The experience involves one of the following: (a) teaching or tutoring a second language, (b) a special research project, or (c) interpreting / translation. Depending on the experience, students enhance their communicative skills, develop a critical understanding of linguistic and cultural differences, connect to other disciplines through languages, come to a deeper understanding of the role of translation in cross-cultural communication, and/or reflect on career and life goals.

PAGS 486: Senior Research

Credits 2
In this student-led course, PAGS seniors choose a topic to research for a semester and present their results at a community-wide event. Recent topics have included labor organization in a post-globalization era and peace communities in Colombia.

PAGS 488: Senior Seminar

Credits 3
Focuses on an integrative writing project. Provides a setting in which majors can draw together what they have learned in all of their courses and off-campus experiences.

PHIL 370: Philosophy of Social Science

Credits 3

Investigates the philosophical foundations of the Social Sciences. Introduces students to questions of theory, method, interpretation, ideology and the intersection of subjectivity, modern society and Social Sciences. Prerequisite: Previous study in Social Sciences or Philosophy or consent of the instructor. Also listed as PAGS 370.