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Ethnic Conflict in World Politics

3-0-9 units. HASS-S · Undergraduate

Ethnic and racial conflict appear to be the hallmark of the post-Cold War world. Students explore the rise of ethnic/racial and nationalist sentiments and movements; the basis of ethnic and racial identity; the political claims and goals of such movements, and whether conflict is inevitable. Introduces the dominant theoretical approaches to race, ethnicity, and nationalism, and considers them in light of current events in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Fall 2005 · Ethnicity and Race in World Politics

Topics

  • Introduction: Objectives and Requirements of the Course
  • Rethinking Ethnicity and Race
  • Ethnic and Racial Identities in Comparative Perspective
  • What are the Political Dimensions of Ethnicity and Race?
  • A Framework for Analysis of Ethnopolitical Mobilization
  • The Sources of Discontent: The Intersections of Race and Class
  • Government Responses to Ethnopolitical Demands and Group Disadvantage
  • International Dimensions of National Ethnopolitical Conflicts
  • The Emergence of International Human Rights
  • Are Human Rights Universal?: Women’s Rights versus Cultural Practices
  • Human Rights and Foreign Policy: Should Outsiders Assist the Ethnic/Racial Groups of Another Country?
  • International Humanitarian Intervention: Bosnia vs. Darfur, Sudan and Rwanda
  • Ethnic Minority Rights, Human Rights, and Sovereignty
  • Review Class - Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

Readings

  • Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Required
  • Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Required
  • Okin, Susan Moller. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780691004327.
    Required
  • Wilson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1997. ISBN: 9780679724179.
    Required
  • Shreeve, James. “Terms of Estrangement.” Discover 15, no. 11 (November 1994).
    Listed reading
  • Gould, Stephen Jay. “The Geometer of Race.” Discover 15, no. 11 (November 1994): 64-69.
    Listed reading
  • Pierport, Claudia Roth. “The Measure of America.” The New Yorker Magazine , March 8, 2004, 48-63.
    Listed reading
  • Gans, Herbert. “Symbolic Ethnicity: the future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America.” In Theories of Ethnicity: A Classical Reader. Edited by Werner Sollars. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1996, pp. 425-459. ISBN: 9780814780350.
    Listed reading
  • Horowitz, Donald. “A Family Resemblance.” In Ethnic Groups in Conflict . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985, chapter 2, pp. 55-92. ISBN: 9780520053854.
    Listed reading
  • Kim, Claire Jean. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics and Society 27, no. 1 (March 1999): 105-138.
    Listed reading
  • Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapters 1-2. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Listed reading
  • ———. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapters 3-4. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Listed reading
  • Kinzer, Stephen. “Country Without Heroes.” The New York Review of Books , July 19, 2001, 31-33.
    Listed reading
  • Rosen, Nir. “Are they Iraqis, ultimately, or are they Kurds?” The New York Times Magazine , February 20, 2005.
    Listed reading
  • “Iraq’s Constitutional Process: Shaping a Vision for the Country’s Future.” United States Institute of Peace, USIP Special Report No. 132, February 2005.
    Listed reading
  • Lec #: 8 · Topics: A Framework for Analysis of Ethnopolitical Mobilization · READINGS: Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapter 5. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Reading assignment
  • Wilson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: The World of the Urban Poor . New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1997, introduction, and chapters 1-3. ISBN: 9780679724179.
    Listed reading
  • ———. When Work Disappears: The World of the Urban Poor. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1997, chapters 4-5. ISBN: 9780679724179.
    Listed reading
  • Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapter 6. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Listed reading
  • Wilson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: The World of the Urban Poor . New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1997, introduction, and chapters 6-8. ISBN: 9780679724179.
    Listed reading
  • Tough, Paul. “The Harlem Project.” The New York Times Magazine , June 20, 2004.
    Listed reading
  • Lec #: 13 · Topics: International Dimensions of National Ethnopolitical Conflicts · READINGS: Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapter 7. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Reading assignment
  • Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, chapters 1-2. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Listed reading
  • ———. International Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, chapter 4. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Listed reading
  • Landesman, Peter. “The Light at the end of the Chunnel.” The New York Times Magazine , April 14, 2002, 36-72.
    Listed reading
  • Okin, Susan Moller. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999, introduction and part 1. ISBN: 9780691004327.
    Listed reading
  • Bowen, John R. “Muslims and Citizens.” Boston Review , February/March 2004, 31-35.
    Listed reading
  • Caldwell, Christopher. “Daughter of the Enlightenment.” The New York Times Magazine , April 3, 2005
    Listed reading
  • Okin, Susan Moller. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999, part 1, pp. 27-78. ISBN: 9780691004327.
    Listed reading
  • ———. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999, part 2, and part 3, pp. 79-114. ISBN: 9780691004327.
    Listed reading
  • Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapter 8. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Listed reading
  • Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights . 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, chapter 5. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Listed reading
  • Gurr, Ted, and Barbara Harff. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, chapter 9. ISBN: 9780813316963.
    Listed reading
  • Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, chapter 7. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Listed reading
  • Power, Samantha. “Dying in Darfur.” The New Yorker Magazine , 30 August 2004, 56-74.
    Listed reading
  • Barker, Greg. “ Ghosts of Rwanda .” PBS Frontline, 2004. ↗
    Listed reading
  • Cobban, Helena. “The Legacies of Collective Violence.” Boston Review , April/May 2002, 4-15.
    Listed reading
  • “Rwanda, Remembered.” The Economist 30, no. 11 (March 27, 2004.)
    Listed reading
  • Helena, Cobban. “ Rwanda Today: The International Criminal Tribunal and the Prospects for Peace and Reconciliation .” Frontline. (Ghosts of Rwanda Web page.) ↗
    Listed reading
  • Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights . 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, chapter 8. ISBN: 9780813399690.
    Listed reading
  • Schemo, Diana Jean. “The Last Tribal Battle.” The New York Times Magazine , October 31, 1999, 70-77.
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None U (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-9 units. HASS-S

Sources