Comparative Revolutions

3 credits

What are revolutions? Why do they happen? How do they happen? What are their consequences? This course critically engages with these questions, and reviews the main answers presented in the social scientific literature on the revolutions. In addition to a theoretical understanding of the revolutionary processes, the course also presents case studies of some of the classic examples of revolutions such as the Haitian and Russian revolution, as well as more recent revolutions such as the uprisings in the Arab World. Through reviewing the literature and case studies, we also examine how the meanings and dynamics of the revolutions have changed from the early 20th century to the 21st century.