Academics

The Academic Program

Classes at BGIA are small—fewer than 16 students per class—and provide each student an intimate learning environment.

Seminars are based on student discussion, research, and writing; they meet in the late afternoon and early evening to accommodate daytime internships.

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Courses

Courses cover a breadth of international fields including:

• Ethics in International Affairs
• Global Public Health
• Human Rights Law
• International Political Economy
• Micro-credit Lending
• The Spread of Democracy
• Trends in Terrorism and Counter-terrorism
• The United Nations
• Writing on International Affairs

Courses for Fall 2009

Core Seminar on International Affairs
Carter Page
Director, BGIA
The Core Seminar provides a framework for students to explore issues of globalization and international affairs and enable their internship experience. The goal is to familiarize students with key issues in world affairs, directly introduce them to some of the primary actors, and help them bridge the divide between their academic work and their professional experiences.  It is structured in two parts: major topics in global affairs and research projects related to students’ specific internships. This format serves as a bridge between the core elements of the BGIA program.  It challenges students to develop skills in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written and oral expression.  Through a series of exercises, the course provides a practical framework for having impact in international affairs on an individual level. Thursday, 6:30- 8 PM

Global Social Entrepreneurship and Strategic Philanthropy
Diana Ayton-Shenker
Founding President & CEO, Fast Forward Fund
This course explores how philanthropy affects social entrepreneurship and global change. A “social entrepreneur” is a social action pioneer who applies innovation and leadership strategies to promote humanitarian social change; a social entrepreneur tackles root causes of entrenched social problems, seeing social challenges as opportunities to create solutions and catalyze systemic change. Through readings, guest lectures and simulations, students learn how to analyze global challenges and explore the philanthropic strategies for addressing them. In particular, students will focus on: climate change and energy, global health, poverty alleviation, and human rights. In each area, student teams will engage in simulations and review, analyze, and suggest promising youth-led social enterprises, culminating in class presentations of their findings and recommendations for allocation of philanthropic funds.
Thursday, 4- 6:20 PM

Power, War and Terror in International Affairs
Scott Silverstone
Associate Professor of international relations, U.S. Military Academy, West Point
From the Peloponnesian War among the Greek city-states in the 5th century B.C., to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and America's invasion of Iraq in 2003, power has remained a central feature of world politics, motivating the behavior of states and nonstate actors alike. Yet the character and distribution of power has changed dramatically since the rise of the modern state system in the 17th century. For nearly two decades now, American primacy has defined the global power structure. This fact is an historic anomaly; at no time in history has any one state amassed the degree of military, economic, and political power the United States now enjoys. In fact, contemporary American foreign policy is premised on the assertion that the United States must sustain its primacy against any potential challengers for the indefinite future.

This course explores the character of power and war in this era of American hegemony. We will examine the vigorous debates over the objectives of American power, unilateralism versus multilateralism as rival approaches to exercising power, debates over what military power can actually achieve, and the potential for a global backlash against the United States. Among other specific issues this course will address is the rise of China and India and the implications for global security and economic issues; rogue states and nuclear proliferation; the preventive war option to address shifting threats; the political and strategic future of the Middle East; terrorism as an alternative form of the power struggle and as a type of asymmetric warfare waged by nonstate actors; the continuing problem of humanitarian crises, failed states and intervention in the post-9/11 world; and the changing nature of global energy politics as an acute security issue. Wednesday, 5:20-7:50 PM

Realism Reconsidered: Ethics and International Relations
Joel Rosenthal
President, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
Thucydides punctuates his history of the Peloponnesian war with the quote of the Athenian generals, ‘The strong do what they will, the weak do what they must.’ In the twentieth century, this sentiment is echoed by the great realists, Hans Morganthau and Henry Kissinger, who argued that power and interest were the guideposts for foreign policy. What values guide us as we make choices about the use of force, resolving conflict, promoting human rights, encouraging democracy and participating in international organizations. This course will examine competing claims of morality, reason and power in contemporary international relations. Monday, 4-6:20 PM

Reporting on International Affairs
Michael Moran
Executive Editor, RGE Monitor
This course will put a heavy emphasis on reporting, writing and developing the sensibilities needed for success as an international news correspondent. We will focus heavily on the techniques of the craft, always in the context of contemporary world events and the realities of modern English-language media. A series of lecturers, and a visit to one of New York City's great newsrooms, will be included during the semester. This is not a course for purists, but rather a broad look at a varied, complex discipline. We will examine briefly many of the topics an international journalist will confront today. We also will touch upon the broadcast and Internet skills that no journalist who strives to be in interesting places at interesting times can afford to ignore in this modern world. Tuesday, 5-7:20 PM

Terror, Martial Law and Democracy
Mark Danner
James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs, Politics, and Humanities and Henry R. Luce Professor of Human Rights and Journalism, Bard College
In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, officials of the US government put in place what one high White House official called a "new paradigm" in fighting wars. George W. Bush's "War on Terror" would be an entirely different kind of conflict, one that would rely to an unprecedented degree on intelligence, surveillance and interrogation. As such it would require new tools and new methods, most prominent among them warrantless surveillance, to track terrorist suspects; "extraordinary rendition," to seize those suspects and secretly transport them to friendly countries; and "enhanced interrogation," to persuade them to give up the information they had. Together these techniques, and the alterations in or circumventions of the law that came with them, constituted what might be called "a state of exception" - a kind of improvised and undeclared State of Emergency or martial law. In this seminar, we will study Bush's "state of exception," identifying and analyzing its major components. We will trace their history and debate their effectiveness. We will compare the United States' efforts to deal with terrorism with those of other democracies, including the United Kingdom and India. Finally we will closely follow the new Administration's ongoing efforts to revise the "state of exception" - and to help the country emerge from it. Monday, 7-9:20 PM

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Courses for Spring 2010

Core Seminar on International Affairs
Carter Page
Director, BGIA
The Core Seminar provides a framework for students to explore issues of globalization and international affairs and enable their internship experience. The goal is to familiarize students with key issues in world affairs, directly introduce them to some of the primary actors, and help them bridge the divide between their academic work and their professional experiences.  It is structured in two parts: major topics in global affairs and research projects related to students’ specific internships. This format serves as a bridge between the core elements of the BGIA program.  It challenges students to develop skills in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written and oral expression.  Through a series of exercises, the course provides a practical framework for having impact in international affairs on an individual level.

International Human Rights: Sources and Applications
Alan Sussman
Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy
The language of rights, since the 17th century, has played a pivotal role in national political discussion.  Since the end of the Second World War, human rights have assumed an increasingly important position in international law as well. Rights are normally invoked to assert fundamental claims of liberty and human dignity which mark limits on governmental power and control. But from which sources and upon what authorities do international human rights gain their legitimacy? And by which measures may it be said that their acceptance and enforcement has been a success?

These are the principal questions to be addressed in this course, which will be approached primarily from international legal perspectives but will include historical, political and philosophical dimensions as well.

Readings include: foundational documents such as the United States Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Nuremberg Charter and the Geneva Protocols; recent judgments by international tribunals concerning Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia concerning torture, rape, genocide and crimes against humanity; and selected readings from classical and contemporary commentators on natural law, international law and human rights, including Cicero, Grotius, Meron, Sen and Ignatieff.

Issues in Global Public Health
Julie Becker
Senior Director, Country and Regional Programs, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
Kate Bourne
This course provides a general overview of determinants of health in the developing world and principles within the field of global public health. It will include a review of some current and historical public health problems, such as tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS, small pox, maternal and infant mortality and reproductive health and rights, and the approaches used to understand and address them. Students will also examine the roles of a range of international organizations involved in global public health efforts, including local and international non-governmental organizations, multilateral agencies such as the WHO, UNAIDS, bilateral organizations like the CDC and USAID, governments and donor organizations. The course aims to convey an understanding of the complexity of health problems in developing countries, the impact of health on social and economic development, the contributions of various disciplines and analytical perspectives in decision-making about public health priorities, and the range of players that contribute to developing and implementing the programs to address them. The course will be structured primarily around a series of case studies of public health policies and practices around which there has been controversy or debate about the appropriate course of action. The case studies will include a major focus on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health, and will examine such issues as quarantine, testing of new technologies on vulnerable populations, commitment of resources to treatment versus prevention, and the influence of conflicting "moralities" on public health program approaches. These debates will examine the tensions that sometimes arise between efforts to ensure public health and safety, while promoting health equity and rights. It will incorporate perspectives of stakeholders in the developing world, as well as scientists, policy makers and activists. The analysis and readings will draw from various disciplines, including epidemiology and medical anthropology.

Political Economy, Globalization and Technological Change
Greg Moynahan
Associate Professor of History, Bard College
What is the relation of economic change to technical and social transformation? What is the nature of economic efficiency and economic justice, and how do they relate to democracy, education, and the control of information?  The questions of political economy (broadly construed) have been recast in the twenty-first century by the effective collapse of state communism and the rise of a putative ‘information infrastructure.’ In this course, we will investigate this contemporary environment through a history of political economy within its social, economic, and technological context. In particular, we will use the history of infrastructures (such as those of communication-information, transportation, energy, and military organization) to suggest the broadest social and technical contexts which affect, and are affected by, politics and economics.  By investigating this long-term interaction of political economy and infrastructure, we will gain critical perspective on the purported revolution in political economy and ‘information infrastructure’ in the era of globalization.  Over the course of the semester, students will research and present a brief 'case study' using primary documents at the N.Y public branch library for Science, Industry and Business.

Reporting on International Affairs
Michael Moran
Executive Editor, RGE Monitor
This course will put a heavy emphasis on reporting, writing and developing the sensibilities needed for success as an international news correspondent. We will focus heavily on the techniques of the craft, always in the context of contemporary world events and the realities of modern English-language media. A series of lecturers, and a visit to one of New York City's great newsrooms, will be included during the semester. This is not a course for purists, but rather a broad look at a varied, complex discipline. We will examine briefly many of the topics an international journalist will confront today. We also will touch upon the broadcast and Internet skills that no journalist who strives to be in interesting places at interesting times can afford to ignore in this modern world.

The Architecture of International Affairs: Advanced Theory and Practice
Jonathan Cristol
Visiting Assistant Professor, Bard College
This upper-level seminar will begin with a look at varying theories of international relations, with an emphasis on modern works and articles of particular importance to international relations in the post Cold War and post 9/11 era. We will examine to what extent, if any, the role of theory plays in the practice of international affairs. In the second half of the course we will start by learning about how American foreign policy is made and carried out. For most of the second half, we will discuss multilateralism and how the major international organizations (particularly, but not exclusively, the United Nations and World Trade Organization) actually function. The “nuts and bolts” of foreign affairs. The goal of the class is to develop an advanced understanding of how foreign policy and the international system operate in theory and practice. A basic knowledge of international relations theory is helpful, but not required. Authors to be read include: Francis Fukuyama, Samuel Huntington, Christopher Layne, John Mearsheimer, Bruce Russett, and William Wohlforth.

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Click here for a listing of past courses offered.

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The Core Seminar on Globalization and International Affairs

All students are required to take the Core Seminar on Globalization and International Affairs, which provides an academic framework for students to contextualize their professional internship experiences. During the Core Seminar, students explore specific themes in international affairs, while developing skills in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written and oral expression. The seminar includes core texts on globalization; lectures with foreign affairs experts; detailed assessments and multi-media presentations of internship organizations; and the submission of an article for publication in BardPolitik. In all, students submit approximately 25 pages of written work.

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Faculty

Faculty have come from Bard College, Brown University, Columbia School of Journalism, the Columbia School of International Public Affairs (SIPA), New York University, the United States Military Academy, Yale University, The New York Times, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Council on Foreign Relations, Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations Development Program, and Newsweek International, among others.

• Julie Becker, Faculty, BGIA Program Senior Director, Country and Regional Programs, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
• Kate Bourne, Vice President, Programs, International Women's Health Coalition.
• Caleb Carr, James Clarke Chace Professor in Foreign Affairs and the Humanities B.A., New York University. Novelist and military historian. Novels include The Italian Secretary (Carroll & Graf, 2005); The Alienist (Random House, 1994) and its sequel, The Angel of Darkness (Random House, 1997), both New York Times best sellers; nonfiction works include The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians: Why It Has Always Failed and Why It Will Fail Again (Random House, 2002). Contributing writer to New York Times, Time, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, many others. Cofounder and contributing editor, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. (2005– ) James Clarke Chace Professor in Foreign Affairs and the Humanities.
• Jonathan Cristol, Visiting Assistant Professor in Political Studies B.A., Bard College; M.A., Yale University; A.B.D., University of Bristol. Areas of expertise include international relations theory, America and the Arab world, 20th-century diplomatic history, intersection of popular culture and world politics. Proficient in Arabic and Hebrew. Awards include University of Bristol Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2007–10); Mellon Grant for Curricular Development, Bard College (2006); Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, Yale (2001–02); Reamer Kline Award, Bard College (2000). Deputy Director, Bard Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) Program (2003–07); Summer Director, BGIA (2003– ). (2005– ) Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Studies.
• Mayada El-Zoghbi, Founding Partner of Banyan Global, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
• Omar Encarnacion, Associate Professor of Political Studies, Bard College
• Jeff Madrick, Editor of Challenge Magazine, a contributing economics columnist at The New York Times, professor at Cooper Union and New School University
• Michael Moran, Faculty, BGIA Executive Editor, Council on Foreign Relations website, Former Correspondent of the BBC, MSNBC, and Radio Free Europe.
• Andrew Nagorski, Senior Editor, Newsweek International
• Tom Parker, Executive Director, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Yale University; Former UK Special Advisor on Transitional Justice, and Head of the Crimes Against Humanity Investigation Unit, Coalition Provisional Authority; currently a Fellow in the Department of Political Science, Brown University.
• Joel Rosenthal, President, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, Adjunct Professor of Politics, New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
• Scott Silverstone, Associate Professor of international relations at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point.
• Alan Sussman, Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bard College.
• Joelle Tanguy, Former US Executive Director, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers), Managing Directorof the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC).
• Timothy Waters, Former Visiting Professor of Law, University of Mississippi, former Visiting Scholar and Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School; Consultant on legal system reform for the Open Society Institute, UNDP, and the Latvian Ministry of Justice; Consultant on discrimination against minorities for Human Rights Watch; Researcher, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
• Roy Williams, Director and CEO, Center for Humanitarian Cooperation; former head of United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance