54 classes matched your search criteria.

Spring 2025  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Human Rights, Business, and Governance (64927)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025
Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Full title: Human Rights, Business, and Governance
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/64927/1253

Spring 2025  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs (64990)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
0.5-5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Meets With:
PA 5828 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 1 seat filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/64990/1253

Spring 2024  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Human Rights, Business, and Governance (65768)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2024 - 04/29/2024
Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Open (10 of 25 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Instructor will be Professor Tricia Olsen. Title: Human Rights, Business, and Governance. Businesses are, and always have been, political actors. Perhaps more so today, we see businesses take a stand or remaining silent on key issues, including race-based violence in the United States, how to engage in environmental and social protections around mining sites in Peru, or whether to remove investments from Russia at the onset of the war in Ukraine. In 2011, the United Nation's Human Rights Council unanimously passed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This framework outlines that states have the duty to protect human rights, businesses have the responsibility to respect human rights, and all actors - including civil society - should work toward ensuring victims have access to remedy when, and if, a human rights violation occurs. This class focuses on how the "business and human rights" movement emerged, what it has achieved, and the distance it still must go. Together, we will explore the ways in which policy shapes how markets and states are intertwined. We will investigate how governance of private actors occurs, or how local, domestic, and global efforts are combined to shape the prospects of firms to mitigate or exacerbate violence and how policy helps firms promote or degrade democratic practices. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?olsen+PA5890+Spring2024
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65768/1243

Spring 2024  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Ethics Conversations for Global Professionals (65479)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2024 - 04/29/2024
Mon 11:15AM - 12:05PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Enrollment Status:
Open (12 of 36 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Title: Ethics Conversations for Global Professionals. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?dlevison+PA5890+Spring2024
Class Description:

This is a one-credit, full-semester class, held in-person to facilitate small group conversations.

Gaining experience as a global professional is often fraught with small daily challenges. Many of these have ethical dimensions. In a culture new to them, people may make choices without the time to sit down and think, "Does this choice go against my understanding of what is ethical?" And "How can I be a good guest in this place where I am now living?"

This class provides an opportunity to think through some small and large personal dilemmas. It will not provide answers, but it will provide space for conversations about ethical aspects of different choices. To begin to understand the ramifications of an action or choice, one needs to ask thoughtful questions.

What question(s) should you be asking? Is there a larger issue that needs to be acknowledged? What are the underlying assumptions? How can you explain your own perspective? What would convince you to change your perspective?


Note: The professor is not an expert in ethics. Like others in international development, Deborah Levison has confronted ethical issues in the course of doing field research and using the results of field research. Her area of expertise, child work/child labor, is a site of many conversations regarding ethics.

Who Should Take This Class?:
This course was designed with Global Policy (MPP), MDP and MHR masters students in mind. Others are also welcome. It provides a place to have conversations and debates about ethical dilemmas - particularly regarding social and economic situations -
that may be faced by policy-focused professionals in global contexts.
Learning Objectives:
Students will learn to think critically about minor and major dilemmas that come up in the course of living and working outside of their home country, particularly in the Global South. They will learn to pose clarifying questions and identify their own ethical frameworks that can guide their future decisions.
Grading:

Approximate grading basis:

50% posted discussion questions
50% attendance, classroom participation, and respectful behavior during conversations.
Exam Format:
No exams.
Class Format:
-- Each week, students will finish a reading (often only 2-3 pages) or podcast or video by Friday 6 pm.

-- Each week, students will post one proposed discussion question - or one set of closely-related questions - by Friday 6 pm. The instructor will use those to come up with questions for small groups to discuss in class.

-- In class, students will break into small groups as soon as they come into the room, and start discussing the selected question(s), which will be on a hand-out.

-- Partway through, we may switch to a full-class discussion.

-- In the last few minutes, the instructor or someone else will summarize any conclusions we may have reached.

-- After class, students may earn extra credit by posting additional thoughts on that week's topic (by Friday 6 pm).

Workload:
Most weeks will involve a short reading or podcast/video. In a few weeks, there will be an article-length reading or longer podcast/video.

No projects, no group work outside of class, no final exam.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65479/1243
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/dlevison_PA5890_Spring2024.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/dlevison_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
4 January 2023

Spring 2024  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Global Indigenous Politics and Policy (67032)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2024 - 04/29/2024
Mon 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Title: Global Indigenous Politics and Policy. Professor Sheryl Lightfoot, new faculty member in the Global Policy area, will teach this class. This graduate seminar considers global, regional, and domestic issues for implementing Indigenous human rights, especially the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, focusing on public policy along with historical, political, and legal connections. We will examine the challenges and opportunities for Indigenous people at multiple levels of governance in various public policy frameworks, decisions and case studies, implementing Indigenous rights in international organizations, the intersections between law, politics, the environment, education and health, and the roles of non-governmental organizations as well as Indigenous communities and movements. Course objectives include: *Familiarize students with Indigenous human rights, the politics of Indigenous peoples' advocacy for their human rights as well as state, non-governmental organization (NGO), and international organizations' (IO's) advocacy related to Indigenous human rights, and the policies of states and international organizations in pursuing (or resisting) Indigenous human rights. *Introduce the global history and development of governmental policies related to Indigenous peoples and their rights. *Develop an understanding of the impacts of Indigenous human rights, policy advocacy, governance structures and their implementation in domestic, regional and global contexts. *Understand the importance of implementation for Indigenous peoples as well as the challenges surrounding implementation of policies to advance Indigenous peoples' human rights. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?slightft+PA5890+Spring2024
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/67032/1243

Fall 2023  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Non-State Actors and the Management of Violence (32655)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/05/2023 - 12/13/2023
Tue, Thu 04:00PM - 05:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 20
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?dipali+PA5890+Fall2023
Class Description:
In this course in global policy, students will take a closer look at a host of non-state armed actors whose origins can be traced back to pre-statal politics and international relations but whose presence can be felt very tangibly in 21st century geopolitics. Violence has always been a principal currency of socio-political interaction. We tend to associate unconventional forms of war-making with the post-September 11th era of geopolitics; in fact, a number of unconventional warriors have wielded violence before and then, alongside states for centuries. And, while a great deal of today's attention, both scholarly and policy-oriented, tends to focus in particular on terrorists and insurgents, a host of other non-state armed actors operate as what Vadim Volkov calls "entrepreneurs" in the field of violence. Their methods, motivations, and interests have evolved over time. Many of the factors that led to their emergence historically have ceased to exist, but these actors have adapted and transformed in ways that keep them relevant to this day.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32655/1239
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
7 March 2023

Spring 2023  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Fact-Finding Investigations on Human Rights (65577)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
01/17/2023 - 03/13/2023
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Spring2023
Class Description:

This is a 1.5 credit, half-semester course (meeting from Jan. 17 to March 13).


This course will familiarize you with core principles and techniques for human rights fact-finding, focusing especially on interviews.


You'll learn practical skills, such as: planning and preparing for fact-finding interviews; navigating ethical and security challenges; tailoring interviews for specific populations; conducting remote interviews; minimizing the risk of retraumatization and vicarious trauma; and adapting fact-finding approaches for restricted or challenging locations.


This seminar uses role-play simulations as a learning tool. Most weeks, you will "learn by doing" as we spend one class session discussing topics and techniques, and the other doing role play exercises in pairs of students. After many shorter practice sessions in class, you'll do a full, in-depth mock interview with me based on a hypothetical scenario.

Learning Objectives:

Through this course, you will understand what fact-finding is and how fact-finding interviews are used in the human rights field. You will develop skills that will enable you to:

  • Understand core standards and ethical considerations for human rights interviews

  • Mitigate risks of retraumatization and vicarious trauma

  • Interview survivors of human rights abuses, and understand best practices for interviewing specific populations

  • Navigate remote interviews

  • Assess and handle security risks for interviews

  • Obtain data and information from official sources

Grading:
A-F or S/N
Exam Format:
The assignments are short and practical. They're designed to build your skills in planning and conducting human rights interviews. There is no lengthy written paper assignment, and no final exam.
Class Format:
In-person
Workload:
Commensurate with other graduate-level courses.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65577/1233
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
11 December 2022

Spring 2023  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Ethics Conversations for Global Professionals (65612)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2023 - 05/01/2023
Mon 11:15AM - 12:05PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
Enrollment Status:
Open (17 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?dlevison+PA5890+Spring2023
Class Description:

This is a one-credit, full-semester class, held in-person to facilitate small group conversations.

Gaining experience as a global professional is often fraught with small daily challenges. Many of these have ethical dimensions. In a culture new to them, people may make choices without the time to sit down and think, "Does this choice go against my understanding of what is ethical?" And "How can I be a good guest in this place where I am now living?"

This class provides an opportunity to think through some small and large personal dilemmas. It will not provide answers, but it will provide space for conversations about ethical aspects of different choices. To begin to understand the ramifications of an action or choice, one needs to ask thoughtful questions.

What question(s) should you be asking? Is there a larger issue that needs to be acknowledged? What are the underlying assumptions? How can you explain your own perspective? What would convince you to change your perspective?


Note: The professor is not an expert in ethics. Like others in international development, Deborah Levison has confronted ethical issues in the course of doing field research and using the results of field research. Her area of expertise, child work/child labor, is a site of many conversations regarding ethics.

Who Should Take This Class?:
This course was designed with Global Policy (MPP), MDP and MHR masters students in mind. Others are also welcome. It provides a place to have conversations and debates about ethical dilemmas - particularly regarding social and economic situations -
that may be faced by policy-focused professionals in global contexts.
Learning Objectives:
Students will learn to think critically about minor and major dilemmas that come up in the course of living and working outside of their home country, particularly in the Global South. They will learn to pose clarifying questions and identify their own ethical frameworks that can guide their future decisions.
Grading:

Approximate grading basis:

50% posted discussion questions
50% attendance, classroom participation, and respectful behavior during conversations.
Exam Format:
No exams.
Class Format:
-- Each week, students will finish a reading (often only 2-3 pages) or podcast or video by Friday 6 pm.

-- Each week, students will post one proposed discussion question - or one set of closely-related questions - by Friday 6 pm. The instructor will use those to come up with questions for small groups to discuss in class.

-- In class, students will break into small groups as soon as they come into the room, and start discussing the selected question(s), which will be on a hand-out.

-- Partway through, we may switch to a full-class discussion.

-- In the last few minutes, the instructor or someone else will summarize any conclusions we may have reached.

-- After class, students may earn extra credit by posting additional thoughts on that week's topic (by Friday 6 pm).

Workload:
Most weeks will involve a short reading or podcast/video. In a few weeks, there will be an article-length reading or longer podcast/video.

No projects, no group work outside of class, no final exam.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65612/1233
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/dlevison_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/dlevison_PA5890_Spring2024.pdf (Spring 2024)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
4 January 2023

Spring 2023  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Migration, Human Rights, and the Southern Border (65714)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2023 - 05/01/2023
Tue, Thu 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?eschwart+PA5890+Spring2023
Class Description:
Professor Eric Schwartz, who has recently completed a five year tenure as president of Refugees International in Washington, DC, will return to full-time status at the Humphrey School and teach this course in the spring of 2023. Before serving as Dean of the Humphrey School from 2011 to 2017, Professor Schwartz served in the White House and the State Department in the Clinton and Obama Administrations, as well as the United Nations and with Human Rights Watch.

This three credit seminar will examine the range of policy issues surrounding forced migration from Central America to Mexico and the United States, human rights, and the southern border of the United States.

The Biden administration came into office with the intention to reverse the closure of asylum space that was accelerated in the prior presidential administration. And administration officials and advocates have promoted measures that include new immigration "pathways" for individuals and families from Central America; expanded refugee processing that would benefit individuals from the Northern Triangle region; and assistance programs to address the so-called root causes forced migration from Central America. While some new measures reflecting these objectives have been implemented, the administration has not moved forward as quickly as urged by refugee and asylum advocates. At the same time, critics of the already limited measures that have been taken point to what they contend are record numbers of unauthorized arrivals at the southern border and urge greater law enforcement measures.

In this seminar, we will examine and assess the policies and practices of the current administration and consider the positions of the administration's critics. In particular, and among other issues, we will explore the values that underlie various definitions of policy success or failure.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Students with interests in migration, forced migration, refugee issues, Mexico and Central America, and human rights and development.
Learning Objectives:
Students will obtain deeper understanding of U.S. asylum policy and practices (especially with respect to the border), the factors driving migration from Central America, including their human rights and humanitarian dimensions, U.S. foreign policy issues relating to the Northern Triangle region, and the policy challenges surrounding each (and all) of these sets of issues.
Grading:
Class participation (25%)
Short policy memo based on assigned class readings (middle of term) (15%)
Largely in-class group project toward end of semester (20%)
Final individual project: class presentation (15%) and final paper (25%)

Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
Combination of short lectures by professor, class discussion, guest lectures, class presentation.
Workload:
About 130-150 pages per week. (See also grading section, above.)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65714/1233
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/eschwart_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/eschwart_PA5890_Fall2021.pdf (Fall 2021)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
30 December 2022

Spring 2023  |  PA 5890 Section 004: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Human Rights Storytelling as Advocacy (68398)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Partially Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
03/13/2023 - 04/12/2023
Mon, Wed 08:15AM - 09:30AM
UMTC, West Bank
UMN ONLINE-HYB
 
04/17/2023 - 04/26/2023
Mon, Wed 08:15AM - 09:30AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
Enrollment Status:
Open (4 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Class meets online from 3/13/23 - 4/12/23. Class meets in person from 4/17/23 - 4/26/23. Instructor will be Christophe Loviny. If you have questions about the class, please contact Amelia Shindelar at shin0148@umn.edu. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?shin0148+PA5890+Spring2023; http://classinfo.umn.edu/?cloviny+PA5890+Spring2023
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/68398/1233

Fall 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Intersectionality, Ethics & Global Health Rights (32973)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/06/2022 - 12/14/2022
Mon, Wed 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Open (9 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?quint100+PA5890+Fall2022
Class Description:
Realizing the right to health worldwide is an urgent global social demand that reliable data prove to be far from reality. Increasing mental health problems, unequal access to vaccination programs, and lack of access to sufficient and clean water are commonalities to the global north and the global south. But the impacts of the current global socio-economic crisis are striking differently to groups and societies, which requires a severe consideration of intersectionality. In this course, we will engage in the most sensitive ethical discussions about the fairness of unequal access to health rights globally from a human rights-based approach. Health rights is a broad concept that includes the right to healthcare and the social determinants of health like a healthy environment and proper access to water and sanitation. We will privilege the intersectionality between gender and poverty, and we will evaluate the available responses to these issues from a distributive theory of justice.
Learning Objectives:
As a result of completing this course and the assigned readings, activities, and projects, you will be able to:

● Understand the kinds of suffering that is relevant to the social determinants of health


● Gain an understanding of the main ethical questions about accessing and promoting health rights at the intersection of poverty, gender, and ethnicity


● Develop professional competencies of documentation and analysis that will allow participants to use distributive justice theories in responding to ethical questions

Grading:
A/F
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32973/1229
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
23 March 2022

Fall 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (33069)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
10/28/2022
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
 
10/29/2022
Sat 08:00AM - 05:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (44 of 49 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2022
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by the Humphrey School diplomat in residence in partnership with a retired senior diplomat and a team from the U.S. Army War College. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future world crisis involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into six teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, , China, and other countries involved in the chosen crisis situation. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice. The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:
  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on October 18 and 19 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, October 18 from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, October 19, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33069/1229
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 March 2019

Fall 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Non-State Actors and the Management of Violence (33864)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Grad or Masters or Law
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/06/2022 - 12/14/2022
Tue, Thu 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 25 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?dipali+PA5890+Fall2022
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33864/1229

Spring 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Fact-Finding Investigations on Human Rights (66846)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Enrollment Status:
Closed (16 of 16 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Spring2022
Class Description:

This course will familiarize you with core principles and techniques for human rights fact-finding, focusing especially on interviews.


You'll learn practical skills, such as: planning and preparing for fact-finding interviews; navigating ethical and security challenges; tailoring interviews for specific populations; interviewing government or corporate officials; conducting remote interviews; minimizing the risk of retraumatization and vicarious trauma; and adapting fact-finding approaches for restricted or challenging locations.


This seminar uses role-play simulations as a learning tool. Most weeks, you will "learn by doing" as we spend one class session discussing topics and techniques, and the other doing role play exercises in pairs of students. After many shorter practice sessions in class, you'll do a full, in-depth mock interview with me based on a hypothetical scenario.


You will also engage with guest speakers with human rights interviewing experience, and learn by reading methodology sections of recent human rights fact-finding reports.


Learning Objectives:

Through this course, you will understand what fact-finding is, and how fact-finding interviews are used in the human rights field. More specifically, you will develop interviewing skills and knowledge that will enable you to:

  • Understand core standards and ethical considerations for human rights interviews

  • Mitigate risks of retraumatization and vicarious trauma

  • Interview survivors of human rights abuses, and understand best practices for interviewing specific populations

  • Interview civil society advocates and service providers

  • Interview government or corporate officials

  • Navigate remote interviews

  • Assess and handle security risks for interviews

  • Obtain data and information from official sources

Grading:
A-F or S/N
Exam Format:
The assignments are short and practical. They're designed to build your skills in planning and conducting human rights interviews. There is no lengthy written paper assignment, and no final exam.
Workload:
Commensurate with other graduate-level courses, though readings are typically shorter.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66846/1223
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
24 October 2021

Spring 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Politics & Law of Conflict Mgmt & Intervention (66847)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Tue, Thu 08:15AM - 09:30AM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (17 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Course will be offered REMOTELY (synchronously online). Full title: "Politics & Law of Conflict Mgmt & Intervention." Some knowledge of international relations will be useful as a basis for this course. 50A Humphrey School has been reserved for students to use during the scheduled class time. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mukho017+PA5890+Spring2022
Class Description:
This course will invite students to consider the ways in which politics and law inform, undermine, and bypass one another in the realm of conflict management and military intervention. We will draw from a rich set of cases across time and space to examine the notion of "threats to peace and security" as it has evolved. We will, then, turn to the basket of instruments that make up contemporary intervention and conflict-management, starting with prevention and the right to exercise self-defense. We will, then, move into the space of military interventions that have been framed (both strictly and loosely) as means of keeping or restoring the peace. From here, we will enter the arena of more aggressive interventions, those that aim at the breaking, making, or remaking of states. Finally, we will consider the newest frontiers of intervention, those that have been charted in the last decade. Shadowy threats and elusive enemies have led to a variety of new, often controversial campaigns. New kinds of technology that could only have been imagined a few decades ago have made possible unprecedented forms of stealth and interference. And, yet, some of the world's most powerful states find themselves struggling on and off the battlefield. This is the conundrum we will consider in this final section of the course. Even as we consider the politics and geopolitics at hand, we will situate our empirical analysis of each case and/or phenomenon within the larger context of key legal doctrines, debates, and dilemmas. Unlike other survey courses on conflict management, we will not approach the material as a chronological catalog of interventions. Instead, we will engage the material thematically, juxtaposing more contemporary cases with historical ones in order to understand the various evolutions in political, legal, and operational thought.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66847/1223
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
23 November 2020

Spring 2022  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- 2nd Yr MHR Cohort II (66694)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
0.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/24/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
02/07/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
02/21/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
03/21/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
04/04/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
04/18/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
 
05/02/2022
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 131
Enrollment Status:
Open (8 of 20 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
This offering is for 2nd-Year MHR students only. MHR students entering in Fall 2021 should register for PA 5887. Class will meet every other week. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?walsh912+PA5890+Spring2022
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66694/1223
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)

Fall 2021  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (34105)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
10/29/2021
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
 
10/30/2021
Sat 08:00AM - 05:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (45 of 49 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2021
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by the Humphrey School diplomat in residence in partnership with a retired senior diplomat and a team from the U.S. Army War College. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future world crisis involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into six teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, , China, and other countries involved in the chosen crisis situation. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice. The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:
  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on October 18 and 19 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, October 18 from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, October 19, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34105/1219
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 March 2019

Fall 2021  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Migration, Human Rights, and the Southern Border (35427)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
10/01/2021
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
10/02/2021
Sat 08:00AM - 04:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
Enrollment Status:
Open (28 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?eschwart+PA5890+Fall2021
Class Description:
This one credit course will examine the range of policy issues surrounding forced migration from Central America to Mexico and the United States, human rights, and the southern border of the United States.
The Biden administration has sought to develop policies that 1) begin to reverse the closure of asylum space that was accelerated in the prior presidential administration, 2) recognize the importance of of a range of possible immigration pathways for individuals and families from Central America; 3) provide for expanded refugee processing from the Northern Triangle region; and 4) recognize and begin to address so-called root causes of violence, corruption, and disenfranchisement in Central America. In this short course, we will examine those strategies, consider the assumptions that underlie them, and assess early implementation efforts.

As is the case with so much work relating to migration in general and forced migration in particular, these issues involve both foreign and domestic policy, relating to immigration, refugee resettlement, and foreign assistance, among other issues.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Students with interests in migration, forced migration, refugee issues, Mexico and Central America, and human rights and development.
Learning Objectives:
Students will obtain deeper understanding of U.S. asylum policy and practices (especially with respect to the border), the factors driving migration from Central America, including their human rights and humanitarian dimensions, U.S. foreign policy issues relating to the Northern Triangle region, and the policy challenges surrounding each (and all) of these sets of issues.
Grading:
Grading will be based on 1) a pre-class assignment based on pre-class readings; 2) class participation; and 3) a post-class thought paper (of about 750-1000 words).
Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
This two day class will involve a small amount of lecture from the professor, several guest experts, and large group and small group discussion.
Workload:
The workload outside of class will include a pre-class written assignment based on pre-class readings and a post-class thought paper (of about 750-1000 words).
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/35427/1219
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/eschwart_PA5890_Fall2021.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/eschwart_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
17 July 2021

Fall 2021  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- 2nd Yr MHR Cohort I (35948)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
0.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/13/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
09/27/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
10/11/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
10/25/2021
Mon 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
11/08/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
11/22/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
 
12/06/2021
Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 50A
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 20 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
This offering is for 2nd-Year MHR students only. MHR students entering in Fall 2021 should register for PA 5886. Class will meet every other week. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?walsh912+PA5890+Fall2021
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/35948/1219
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)

Spring 2021  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Fact-finding Investigations on Human Rights (65502)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Class will be offered REMOTELY. Class will meet synchronously-online during Spring 2021 during the scheduled time. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Spring2021
Class Description:

This is a 3-credit course that meets for the full semester.


This course will familiarize you with core principles and techniques for human rights fact-finding, focusing especially on interview skills. You will learn what fact-finding is and how it is used to advance human rights. You'll also learn how to plan and prepare for fact-finding; coordinate with partners and others; navigate security challenges; conduct interviews with survivors, witnesses, officials, and others; conduct remote interviews; minimize the risk of retraumatization and vicarious trauma; and adapt fact-finding interview approaches for challenging contexts (e.g., emergency or conflict settings, detention facilities, or refugee camps). Readings, discussions and exercises will address specific considerations when interviewing LGBTQI survivors, children, people with disabilities, older people, and other groups.


You will practice interview techniques through many in-class role play simulations. Students in this course should be comfortable with role-plays as a learning method.


While there are many possible approaches to fact-finding, this course will focus heavily on one-on-one interviews. We will touch briefly on other forms of fact-finding, including through the use of various technologies.


The course will draw heavily on my experience conducting fact-finding interviews and training staff at Human Rights Watch. Bear in mind that this is just one of many approaches to investigating the realization or denial of human rights.


This elective course should be considered a supplement to other courses on research methods, not a replacement. I strongly encourage students to take courses on qualitative research methods and social science perspectives on human rights. The approach taught in this course is more like investigative journalism paired with advocacy than like social science research.

Who Should Take This Class?:

Graduate Students

This course qualifies as an elective for the Master of Human Rights and the Human Rights Graduate Minor at the U.

Learning Objectives:

Through this course, you will understand what fact-finding is, and how it is used in the human rights field. More specifically, you will have developed skills and knowledge that will enable you to:

  • Adhere to core standards and ethical considerations for human rights interviews

  • Interview survivors of human rights abuses, and understand best practices for interviewing specific populations

  • Interview government officials

  • Navigate remote interviews

  • Assess and handle security risks for interviews

  • Obtain data and information from official sources

  • Understand and mitigate risks of retraumatization and vicarious trauma

Grading:
Grades are based on class participation and on written and verbal assignments and exercises. Grade basis can be A-F or S/N.
Exam Format:

No exams. Assignments will be practical, aimed at developing skills for planning and executing fact-finding.

Class Format:

Seminar style. Remote instruction with synchronous and some asynchronous sessions.

Workload:

Comparable to other graduate courses.

Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65502/1213
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
13 November 2020

Spring 2021  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Politics & Law of Conflict Mgmt & Intervention (66484)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021
Tue, Thu 08:15AM - 09:30AM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (13 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Class will be REMOTE. Lectures will be delivered synchronously and asynchronously throughout the semester. Both lectures in Week 1 (January 19 and January 21, 2021) will be SYNCHRONOUS. A schedule that shows whether sessions are synchronous or asynchronous will be provided to students. Full title: "Politics & Law of Conflict Mgmt & Intervention." Some knowledge of international relations will be useful as a basis for this course. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mukho017+PA5890+Spring2021
Class Description:
This course will invite students to consider the ways in which politics and law inform, undermine, and bypass one another in the realm of conflict management and military intervention. We will draw from a rich set of cases across time and space to examine the notion of "threats to peace and security" as it has evolved. We will, then, turn to the basket of instruments that make up contemporary intervention and conflict-management, starting with prevention and the right to exercise self-defense. We will, then, move into the space of military interventions that have been framed (both strictly and loosely) as means of keeping or restoring the peace. From here, we will enter the arena of more aggressive interventions, those that aim at the breaking, making, or remaking of states. Finally, we will consider the newest frontiers of intervention, those that have been charted in the last decade. Shadowy threats and elusive enemies have led to a variety of new, often controversial campaigns. New kinds of technology that could only have been imagined a few decades ago have made possible unprecedented forms of stealth and interference. And, yet, some of the world's most powerful states find themselves struggling on and off the battlefield. This is the conundrum we will consider in this final section of the course. Even as we consider the politics and geopolitics at hand, we will situate our empirical analysis of each case and/or phenomenon within the larger context of key legal doctrines, debates, and dilemmas. Unlike other survey courses on conflict management, we will not approach the material as a chronological catalog of interventions. Instead, we will engage the material thematically, juxtaposing more contemporary cases with historical ones in order to understand the various evolutions in political, legal, and operational thought.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66484/1213
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
23 November 2020

Fall 2020  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (32992)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
10/16/2020
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
 
10/17/2020
Sat 08:00AM - 04:00PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (35 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
PA 5890-1 will be offered REMOTELY. Class will meet synchronously-online during Fall 2020, Friday, 10/16 (3:00-8:00 p.m.) and Saturday, 10/17 (8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.). http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2020
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by the Humphrey School diplomat in residence in partnership with a retired senior diplomat and a team from the U.S. Army War College. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future world crisis involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into six teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, , China, and other countries involved in the chosen crisis situation. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice. The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:
  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on October 18 and 19 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, October 18 from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, October 19, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32992/1209
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 March 2019

Fall 2020  |  PA 5890 Section 004: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Women's Human Rights in Practice (33116)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
15 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Graduate Student
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Tue, Thu 08:15AM - 09:30AM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (14 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Class will be offered REMOTELY. Class will involve a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous instruction online during Fall 2020. In general, there will be one synchronous lesson per week, typically on Tuesdays from 8:15 - 9:30 a.m., and one asynchronous, pre-recorded session. If possible, we may have two in-person sessions in November (to be confirmed). Those sessions will allow for remote participation, if needed.". http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Fall2020
Class Description:

This seminar explores live debates and contemporary movements for women's human rights and gender equality globally and in the US, and builds practical communications skills.


We'll learn about foundational gender and human rights principles and mechanisms, and survey ways that advocates are deploying human rights to tackle gender inequality and intersecting forms of oppression in today's world. We'll examine progress and emerging threats to the rights of women, including trans women, and people with non-binary identities.


We'll do this by looking at examples from the topics of workers' rights, sexual and reproductive health, rights to land and water, and gender-based violence. There are, of course, many other important gender and human rights issues. This selection was chosen to complement what is covered in other UMN courses, and avoid duplication (e.g. given that there's a separate UMN course on sex trafficking, that topic isn't a primary focus for this course).


Throughout the course, we'll do short, practical exercises to sharpen your ability to communicate about gender equality and women's human rights, and be able to advocate for change. We'll practice writing for media and advocacy purposes; making short presentations; and other skills. We'll also reflect on stress and burnout in the human rights profession, and ways to foster resilience and wellbeing.


There are no prerequisites. This class is designed to complement other classes on gender, public policy, and human rights.


Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the seminar will be online. It will involve two class sessions per week for the full semester. In general, there will be one synchronous session per week, typically on Tuesdays from 8:15 - 9:30 a.m., and one asynchronous, pre-recorded session that you can watch any time.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students.
This course qualifies as an elective for the Master of Human Rights and the Human Rights Graduate Minor at the U, as well as the Global Public Policy and the Gender and Public Policy Concentrations at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Learning Objectives:

By reading and discussing course materials and doing practical exercises and assignments, you'll improve your ability to:

  • Analyze how international human rights law applies to contemporary gender and women's rights challenges.

  • Assess and discuss real-life strategies and campaigns to advance gender equality and women's human rights.

  • Write and speak persuasively about gender equality as a human rights issue through media and advocacy-oriented communications.

  • Apply an intersectional lens to class discussions and assignments, and deepen your understanding of the compounding effects of multiple forms of discrimination, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, Indigeneity, immigration status, age, and ability.

  • Understand stress and resilience in the human rights field, and strategies to mitigate risk of vicarious trauma in this work.

Grading:
Option for the final grade to be on the A-F grade scale or S/N (Satisfactory or Not Satisfactory).
Exam Format:

Grades are based on class participation and a series of short written and verbal assignments.

Workload:
Comparable to other graduate courses. Students will view or read a variety of short, timely sources to illustrate communications formats and tools used by advocates. There is no long paper assignment.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33116/1209
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 July 2020

Spring 2020  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Fact-finding Investigations on Human Rights (67712)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon 01:00PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 60
Enrollment Status:
Closed (16 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Spring2020
Class Description:

This 3 credit course will familiarize you with core principles and techniques for human rights fact-finding, focusing especially on interview skills. You will learn what fact-finding is and how it is used to advance human rights. You'll also learn how to plan and prepare for fact-finding; coordinate with partners and others; navigate security challenges; conduct interviews with survivors, witnesses, officials, and others; minimize the risk of retraumatization and vicarious trauma; and adapt fact-finding interview approaches for challenging contexts (e.g., emergency or conflict settings, detention facilities, or refugee camps).


You will practice interview techniques through in-class simulations, and learn to tailor interviews for specific situations and populations. Discussions and exercises will address specific considerations when interviewing LGBTQI survivors, children, people with disabilities, older people, and other groups.


While there are many possible approaches to fact-finding, this course will focus heavily on one-on-one interviews. We will touch briefly on other forms of fact-finding, including through the use of various technologies.


The course will draw heavily on my experience conducting fact-finding interviews and training staff at Human Rights Watch. Bear in mind that this is just one of many approaches to investigating the realization or denial of human rights. This elective course should be considered a supplement to other courses on research methods, not a replacement. I strongly encourage students to take courses on qualitative research methods and social science perspectives on human rights. The approach taught in this course is more like investigative journalism paired with advocacy than like social science research.


There are no prerequisites.


Meets full semester.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students.
This course qualifies as an elective for the Master of Human Rights and the Human Rights Graduate Minor at the U.
Learning Objectives:

Learning objectives: Through this course, you will understand what fact-finding is, and how it is used in the human rights field. More specifically, you will have developed skills and knowledge that will enable you to:

  • Plan for fact-finding

  • Adhere to core standards and ethical considerations

  • Interview survivors of human rights abuses

  • Understand best practices for interviewing specific populations

  • Interview government officials, UN representatives, and others

  • Obtain secondary data and information

  • Handle the stress of human rights fact-finding, and minimize the risk of vicarious trauma

  • Prevent and handle security risks

  • Conduct interviews for multimedia

  • Understand options for technology-enabled fact-finding


Grading:
Grades are based on class participation and on written and verbal assignments and exercises. Grade basis can be A-F or S/N.
Exam Format:

No exams. Assignments will be practical, aimed at developing skills for planning and executing fact-finding.


Class Format:

Seminar style.

Workload:
Comparable to other graduate courses, with reading load probably somewhat lighter than other courses.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/67712/1203
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
8 December 2019

Spring 2020  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Gender-Based Violence: Human Rights Responses (67713)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
03/17/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Wed 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Enrollment Status:
Open (13 of 15 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Spring2020
Class Description:
This seminar will introduce you to how human rights actors have engaged with the issue of gender-based violence. We will survey global and regional human rights standards and mechanisms that have evolved over the past three decades, and their application today at the local and international level.

The types of gender-based violence we will discuss as examples are: domestic violence; sexual violence; femicide; workplace sexual harassment and violence; online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence; and child marriage.

Throughout the course, we will delve into General Recommendation No. 35 on "gender-based violence against women," adopted by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Violence against Women in 2017, as a primary "soft law" source on human rights and gender-based violence. It focuses on: legislative measures; prevention; protection; prosecution and punishment; reparations; coordination, monitoring and data collection; and international cooperation. This source acknowledges that intersecting forms of discrimination and oppression impact risk of and response to gender-based violence, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identify, race, class, ability, indigineity, caste, nationality, religion, marital and pregnancy status, immigrant, asylum or refugee status, health status, socioeconomic status, and other factors. The course readings and discussions will address these and other intersections.

Finally, we will discuss gaps in regional and international law on gender-based violence, and debates about a potential global treaty on violence against women.

The readings and other materials assigned for this course will address violence and state responses or failures. The content will likely be disturbing and stressful to read or view. I will offer options and alternatives where feasible, and will suggest techniques to minimize the risks of vicarious trauma. I ask that we all work to create an atmosphere of respect and sensitivity in the classroom. If you are struggling with the course because of the content, speak with me and/or seek help from the counseling center or other support services.

This class will meet twice a week for the latter half of the spring semester.

There are no prerequisites.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students. This course qualifies as an elective for the Master of Human Rights and the Human Rights Graduate Minor at the U, as well as the Global Public Policy and the Gender and Public Policy Concentrations at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Learning Objectives:
The goals of this course are for students to deepen their understanding of gender-based violence as a human rights issue. By reading and discussing diverse materials, doing several written exercises, and participating in other activities, you'll improve your ability to:
  • Apply a human rights lens to responses to gender-based violence
  • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of international and regional human rights standards on gender-based violence
  • Recognize how intersecting forms of discrimination and oppression impact risk of and response to gender-based violence
  • Identify ways that global and regional human rights standards could be used in local advocacy on eliminating gender-based violence
Grading:
Grades are based on class participation and on written and verbal assignments and exercises. Grade basis can be A-F or S/N.
Exam Format:
No exams. Several short, written assignments will provide an opportunity to hone advocacy and media writing skills.
Class Format:
Seminar style. Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:45 - 11:00 for the second half of the semester.
Workload:
Comparable to other graduate courses, with reading load probably somewhat lighter than other courses.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/67713/1203
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
17 April 2020

Fall 2019  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Global Policy and Human Rights -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (33014)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
10/18/2019
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
 
10/19/2019
Sat 08:00AM - 04:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Enrollment Status:
Closed (41 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected course topics in global policy, foreign policy, international security, international development, human rights, and humanitarianism.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2019
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by the Humphrey School diplomat in residence in partnership with a retired senior diplomat and a team from the U.S. Army War College. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future world crisis involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into six teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, , China, and other countries involved in the chosen crisis situation. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice. The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:
  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on October 18 and 19 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, October 18 from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, October 19, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33014/1199
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 March 2019

Fall 2019  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Global Policy and Human Rights -- Policies/Politics of Humanitarianism in 21st Cent (33084)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2019 - 12/11/2019
Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 125
Enrollment Status:
Open (9 of 20 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected course topics in global policy, foreign policy, international security, international development, human rights, and humanitarianism.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?kins0017+PA5890+Fall2019
Class Description:
A recent article in The Guardian notes that "more than half of $2.6bn (£1.9bn) in donations made at a special one-day conference to ease the humanitarian crisis in Yemen were pledged by countries that are either fighting in the civil war or selling arms to those undertaking the fighting." This means that the "wealthy combatants in the civil war are also the largest suppliers of humanitarian aid" in one of the most brutal of contemporary wars. Is this a paradox? Similarly, humanitarian aid is presumed, and claimed, to be neutral and impartial, delivered to those in need when in need on the premise of need. And, yet, the rise of humanitarianism intersects with modern European colonialism and is still essentially inflected by that history. Is this a paradox? Finally, humanitarian aid is, in large part, presumed to be delivered to those experiencing the effects of armed conflict and, yet, military operations, such as those in Iraq and Libya, are justified on the basis of humanitarian intervention. Is this a paradox?

In this course we will be addressing these and other questions raised by the philosophy and practice of humanitarianism. What does it mean to claim humanitarianism, to do humanitarian work, and to be a humanitarian? We will take a historical approach to the rise of humanitarianism and trace its subjects and actors from the early 19th century to today as one way of gaining purchase on these questions and to chart the practical, political, and ethical issues intrinsic to the promotion and legitimacy of humanitarianism.




Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33084/1199
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
13 March 2019

Fall 2019  |  PA 5890 Section 004: Topics in Global Policy and Human Rights -- Women's Human Rights in Practice (34074)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2019 - 12/11/2019
Mon 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 60
Enrollment Status:
Closed (20 of 20 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected course topics in global policy, foreign policy, international security, international development, human rights, and humanitarianism.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?WALSH912+PA5890+Fall2019
Class Description:

This course explores live debates and contemporary movements for women's human rights and gender equality globally and in the US, and builds practical communications skills.


We'll briefly cover foundational women's human rights principles and mechanisms, then we'll explore how advocates are deploying human rights to tackle new challenges and seize opportunities in today's world. We'll examine progress and emerging threats to gender equality in the areas of health rights, employment and economic rights, and natural resources and assets.


Throughout the course, we'll do short exercises to deepen your knowledge about gender equality and women's human rights, and to sharpen your ability to communicate about these issues. We'll practice project planning; advocacy writing; media and social media communications; presentation skills; and writing for donors. We'll also reflect on stress and burnout in the human rights profession, and ways to foster resilience and wellbeing.


There are no prerequisites. This class is designed to complement, not duplicate, other classes on gender, public policy, and human rights. I encourage you to take other courses on these topics in the Humphrey School, the Law School, CLA, and other schools and colleges.


This course qualifies as an elective for the Master of Human Rights and the Human Rights Graduate Minor at the U, as well as the Global Public Policy and the Gender and Public Policy Concentrations at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.


The syllabus in Google Docs is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18W9s0zUmWH_Mkx6ED4Tt95Q70pnqUI-8UPQ5EekeJrk/edit?usp=sharing

And a video intro describing the course is here:

https://player.vimeo.com/external/354726898.hd.mp4?s=83ed921148d703ac314bc2da788503e43c43b007&profile_id=175
Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate and upper-level undergraduate students
Learning Objectives:

The goals of this course are for students to deepen their understanding of contemporary women's human rights topics, debates, and advocacy strategies, and to hone practical communications skills needed in the human rights field.


By reading and discussing diverse materials, doing exercises to hone practical communications skills, and participating in other activities, you'll improve your ability to:

  • Apply human rights principles to current debates on gender and women's rights.

  • Analyze gender and human rights problems, and design strategies to address them.

  • Operate as versatile, confident, informed advocates for gender equality and women's rights.

  • Produce compelling written materials in a variety of formats and for different audiences.

  • Speak succinctly and persuasively about gender and human rights issues.

  • Recognize distinctive barriers to realization of women's human rights and gender equality for marginalized groups.

  • Understand stress and resilience in the human rights field and develop wellbeing practices.

Grading:
Grades are based on posted responses to materials (readings, videos), class participation, and a series of short written and verbal exercises.
Exam Format:
No exams.
Class Format:

Seminar style. Class meets on Mondays 11:15-12:30 for the full semester.

Workload:
Comparable to other graduate courses, though reading load is probably lighter. Students will view or read a variety of short, timely sources to illustrate communications formats and tools used by advocates. There is no long paper assignment.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34074/1199
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2023.pdf (Spring 2023)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2022.pdf (Spring 2022)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Spring2021.pdf (Spring 2021)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/walsh912_PA5890_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 August 2019

Fall 2018  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (32347)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
10/26/2018
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
 
10/27/2018
Sat 08:00AM - 04:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (38 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2018
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by retired Amb. Laura Kennedy, former ambassador to Kazakhstan and to the Conference on Disarmament. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future crisis over North Korea involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into six teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, , China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice. The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:
  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on February 3 and February 4 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, February 3, from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, February 4, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32347/1189
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
29 November 2018

Fall 2018  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Political Violence, Conflict, and War (32348)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/04/2018 - 12/12/2018
Mon 08:15AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 135
Enrollment Status:
Open (11 of 16 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?stantonj+PA5890+Fall2018
Class Description:
This course examines the causes, dynamics, and resolution of violent conflicts in the international system. Emphasizing contemporary conflicts, such as wars in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Turkey, the course addresses a wide range of policies aimed at preventing or revolving conflicts and rebuilding countries in the aftermath of violence. Course topics include: the impact of natural resources on conflict, climate change and conflict, terrorism, wartime sexual violence, counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, refugees, humanitarian intervention and peacekeeping, post-conflict justice, and the role of the International Criminal Court in addressing wartime atrocities.
Grading:
25%: Class participation, including posting of weekly discussion questions online and contributions to in-class discussions

15%: Oral Presentation

20%: Short paper

40%: Final paper on a topic of the student's choosing


Class Format:
This course is primarily a discussion-based seminar. In general, the first class meeting each week will involve a focused discussion of a particular question related to the study of conflict -- for example, how do armed groups recruit individuals to participate in violent rebellion? The second class meeting each week will examine this question in greater detail through one or two case studies of contemporary conflicts, incorporating student presentations as well as small-group exercises.
Workload:
Approximately 75 pages of reading per week; posting of weekly discussion questions online; oral presentation; two writing assignments -- one short paper due mid-semester and one longer paper (approximately 15 pages) due at the end of the semester.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32348/1189
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
10 August 2018

Spring 2018  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Applied Policy Research with Human Rights NGOs (66762)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2018 - 05/04/2018
Wed 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 30
Enrollment Status:
Open (12 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jamesr+PA5890+Spring2018
Class Description:
Profs. James Ron and Howard Lavine (based at the Humphrey School for Public Affairs and Department of Political Science) are recruiting a group of excellent, hard working, and strongly dedicated graduate students for a spring 2018 semester collaboration with one of the world's leading advocacy groups, Human Rights Watch. Students will analyze nationally representative data on public attitudes towards human rights in the US, working closely with Ron, Lavine, and HRW staff. This three-credit seminar will culminate in a group-written report, jointly published by the University of Minnesota, OpenGlobalRights (a project run by Prof. Ron), and Human Rights Watch. It will also involve in-person presentation to Human Rights Watch senior staff in New York City, in May 2018. Up to two students will be chosen to work with HRW on this project as interns in summer 2018.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students from any discipline; students with keen interest in human rights issues, advocacy, and policy; students willing to learn how to analyze and talk about survey data in a way useful to activists; students willing to work very hard in producing an excellent report jointly published by Human Rights Watch and the University of Minnesota.
Learning Objectives:
Learning how to prepare data-driven recommendations for a major human rights NGO. Working in teams. Learning how to analyze survey data.
Grading:
A-F, based on your dedication, professionalism, and contribution to your work group.
Exam Format:
No exam; the final product will be a 40 minute group presentation in New York, coupled with a 60-80 page, group-written report.
Class Format:
Meet in full class once a week; meet with your student work group at least once a week.
Workload:
Some reading during the first four weeks, followed by data analysis and report writing. Figure on at least 10 hours of work per week.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66762/1183
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jamesr_PA5890_Fall2017.pdf (Fall 2017)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
25 August 2017

Fall 2017  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Social Change in Israel & Palestine I (33535)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
Instructor Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
10/30/2017
Mon 06:00PM - 08:20PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 215
 
11/06/2017 - 12/13/2017
Mon 06:00PM - 08:20PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 215
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
More info available at https://jamesron.com/teaching/study-human-rights-in-israel-palestine/ http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jamesr+PA5890+Fall2017
Class Description:
This is a preparatory class for students planning to travel to Palestine and Israel over the winter break. To learn more about this class, please visit https://jamesron.com/teaching/study-human-rights-in-israel-palestine/
Who Should Take This Class?:
Students who want to travel to Israel-Palestine from December 28, 2017 through January 13, 2018. Please send your application to take this class as per the instructions on this website; https://jamesron.com/teaching/study-human-rights-in-israel-palestine/
Learning Objectives:
Overview of Israel and Palestine and relevant human rights debates.
Grading:
pass/fail, 200 word memo prior to each class, 200 word memo after each class.
Class Format:
Once a week seminar.
Workload:
Roughly 250 pages per week, for half a semester.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33535/1179
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jamesr_PA5890_Fall2017.pdf
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
17 May 2017

Fall 2017  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (36175)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Second Half of Term
 
11/03/2017
Fri 02:30PM - 09:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
 
11/04/2017
Sat 08:00AM - 05:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Title: Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2017
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by retired Amb. Ross Wilson, former U.S. ambassador to both Turkey and Azerbaijan, in the role of UN Special Representative. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future crisis over the south Caucasus Kashmir involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into seven teams representing key players, such as the U.S., Russia, the EU, China, and other countries and UN agencies. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice.

The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in:

  • Regional Situation Analysis:
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise.

Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on February 3 and February 4 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, February 3, from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, February 4, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/36175/1179
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
27 September 2017

Fall 2017  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Political Violence, Conflict, and War (36994)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/05/2017 - 12/13/2017
Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 115
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?stantonj+PA5890+Fall2017
Class Description:
This course examines the causes, dynamics, and resolution of interstate and civil wars. The first section of the course will examine competing arguments regarding the causes of political violence and war, looking at how economic and political grievances may motivate violence; why political leaders may sometimes encourage violence; and what role ethnicity, national identity, and a sense of insecurity play in the initiation of conflict. The second section of the course will look at how wars are fought, with discussions of guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency strategies, and terrorism. In the third part of the course, focusing on the resolution of conflicts, topics will include international intervention and peacekeeping; negotiated political settlements such as power-sharing and partition; and post-conflict justice strategies such as domestic and international trials and truth commissions. Throughout the course, we will consider a number of different cases of conflict - for example, wars in Afghanistan, Colombia, El Salvador, Indonesia, Rwanda, Sudan, Syria, and Uganda.
Grading:
25%: Class participation, including posting of weekly discussion questions online and contributions to in-class discussions

15%: Group presentation

20%: Op-ed piece

40%: Final paper


Class Format:
This course is primarily a discussion-based seminar. In general, the first class meeting each week will involve a focused discussion of a particular question related to the study of conflict -- for example, how do armed groups recruit individuals to participate in violent rebellion? The second class meeting each week will examine this question in greater detail through one or two case studies of contemporary conflicts, incorporating student presentations as well as small-group exercises.
Workload:
Approximately 75-100 pages of reading per week; posting of weekly discussion questions online; group presentation; two writing assignments -- one brief op-ed piece due mid-semester and one longer paper (approximately 15 pages) due at the end of the semester.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/36994/1179
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
25 July 2017

Spring 2017  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Evaluating Advocacy Impact - Human Rights Watch (69283)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
Instructor Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/26/2017
Thu 06:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
02/09/2017 - 02/16/2017
Thu 06:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
03/23/2017 - 03/30/2017
Thu 06:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
04/13/2017 - 05/04/2017
Thu 06:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
01/31/2017
Tue 07:20AM - 08:50AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
02/21/2017 - 02/28/2017
Tue 07:20AM - 08:50AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
 
03/07/2017
Tue 07:20AM - 08:50AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 317
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jamesr+PA5890+Spring2017
Class Description:
In this class, students will work with staff from Human Rights Watch to evaluate the impact of their policy recommendations.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/69283/1173
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jamesr_PA5890_Fall2017.pdf (Fall 2017)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
20 November 2016

Spring 2017  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Int'l Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (70247)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option No Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Topics Course
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
02/03/2017
Fri 03:00PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
 
02/04/2017
Sat 08:00AM - 04:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Spring2017
Class Description:
The role-playing exercise will be led by Amb. Thomas Pickering, one of the United States' most respected senior diplomats and recipient of the Humphrey School's 2016 Public Leadership Award, in the role of UN Special Representative. The course will enable students to engage in a simulated multi-party negotiation of a complex, high stakes international crisis with multiple players, focused on a future crisis over Kashmir involving political, military, and humanitarian issues. Students will be divided into seven teams representing key players, such as the U.S., China, and other countries and UN agencies. Each team will be mentored by a retired diplomat and/or military officer who will provide negotiating and strategic advice.

The learning objective of the exercise is to help students gain greater understanding of and experience in the skills needed to operate in complex multifaceted negotiations. Students will gain experience in
:
  • Regional Situation Analysis
  • Negotiation Techniques
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluation
  • Decision Making
  • Team Building
  • Time Management

NOTE: Teams will be formed and a complete read-ahead packet provided before the exercise. Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S., other countries, and other international players use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals and address and seek to resolve complex international crises. It will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Exam Format:
Students will be required to fully participate in the events on February 3 and February 4 and to submit a prompted two-page reflection memorandum after the exercise.
Class Format:
This exercise takes place on Friday, February 3, from 3:00-8:00 and Saturday, February 4, 8:00-4:00pm and is an active multilateral strategic negotiation exercise. Students will be assigned to one of seven teams, each with a retired diplomat or faculty member as a mentor. A retired senior U.S. diplomat will lead the exercise acting in the role of a UN Special Envoy. All students who register must actively participate.
Workload:
Students will be provided a 100 page read-ahead document. In addition to full engagement during the exercise on February 3-4, students must submit a two-page reflection memorandum.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/70247/1173
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
8 November 2016

Spring 2016  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Crisis Management (53015)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
02/04/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
02/18/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
03/10/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
03/24/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
04/07/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
04/21/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
 
05/05/2016
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
Meets every other week. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?andre104+PA5890+Spring2016
Class Description:
This course will analyze crisis decision making in foreign policy. Students will:
o Examine the organization and structure of crisis decision-making within the U.S. national security apparatus;
o Analyze in depth four foreign policy crises: the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962); Vietnam - Escalation (1963-65); Iran (1979-81) and a Current Events Crisis (2016).
o Put themselves in the position of national security leaders as part of a crisis simulation; and
o Write an analysis of a historical foreign policy crisis.
Grading:
Grades will be based on oral participation and a written foreign policy crisis analysis.
Class Format:
Meets every other week.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/53015/1163
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/andre104_PA5890_Spring2016.docx
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 March 2016

Spring 2016  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy (58596)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2016 - 05/06/2016
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 30
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Spring2016
Class Description:
Teaches the theory and practice of diplomacy and how it is used by the US and others to advance foreign policy objectives. Readings, lectures, and class discussion provide historical and critical understanding; simulations provide opportunities to develop and practice skills in negotiation, policy development, and oral and written communication. The course will focus on how the U.S. and other countries use diplomacy to advance their foreign policy goals, and will examine differing diplomatic styles and skills needed to operate successfully as a professional diplomat.
Class Format:
The class meets twice a week in a combined traditional lecture and small group practical work format. The instructor will guide discussions about each topic, and will frequently bring in foreign policy practitioners via video conferencing to provide understanding of the real world work of a variety of foreign policy actors. There will also be a number of exercises, generally completed in small groups, designed to give students an opportunity to practice diplomatic skills including policy analysis, negotiation, oral and written presentation, and influencing.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/58596/1163
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
2 November 2015

Fall 2015  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- International Humanitarian Crisis Simulation (26265)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
S-N only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
09/11/2015 - 09/13/2015
Sun, Fri, Sat
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms NORMREQD
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
International Humanitarian Crisis Simulation. This off-campus offering will start at 8:00am on Friday, 9/11 and end at 5:00pm on Sunday, 9/13. It will be held at Camp Phillippo near Cannon Falls. Students must attend pre-simulation meeting on either 9/8 OR 9/9. Post-simulation class sessions to be arranged around students' schedules. Contact instructor with questions. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?grayx260+PA5890+Fall2015
Class Description:
This course will allow students to participate in an intensive experiential educational component co-taught with the Center for Global Health in the Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, and with assistance from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, School of Architecture, and College of Veterinary Medicine; Hennepin County Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota National Guard, the University of Iowa; Case Western Reserve; New American Alliance for Development; and the Minnesota International NGO Network (MINN). For more information about this project: http://www.globalhealth.umn.edu/education/humanitarian-simulation/#sthash.zr4U5SUa.dpuf Course will include a pre-simulation in class meeting in late August or first week of September (dates/times to be determined in mid-August), a 48-hour crisis simulation, a post-simulation class meeting (within two weeks of the simulation), and a final reflection paper.
Grading:
80% Class Participation
15% Problem Solving
5% Other Evaluation Other Grading Information: Grading is based upon team and instructor evaluations and quality of final paper. Attendance is required (so 100% of all activiites).
Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
10% Lecture
90% Demonstration Required class meeting time is 8am Friday September 5 to 1pm Sunday September 7
Workload:
1 Paper(s)
1 Special Project(s)
Other Workload: This course is mostly comprised of a required 48 hour simulation. Students cannot miss any part of the simulation to receive credit.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/26265/1159
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/grayx260_kesle002_PA5890_Fall2015.docx
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
26 August 2014

Fall 2015  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- US Foreign Policy: The Institutional Basis (23891)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2015 - 12/16/2015
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 30
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5890+Fall2015
Class Description:
This course will examine the institutions that shape, influence and manage U.S. foreign policy. Through a combination of readings, classroom lectures and discussions, and policy-making simulations, it will provide students with a foundation of knowledge about the institutions, their origins, and culture. During the semester, the instructor, a 25-year veteran of the Foreign Service, will guide students as they delve into the way key foreign policy institutions work, including the State Department decision-making process; how institutions relate to one another, including through the National Security Council; the changing role of institutions like the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security in foreign policy; and examine academic and policy critiques of these evolving institutional realities. The course will also look at the role played by Congress, the media, and the public, including non-governmental organizations and lobbying groups, as they seek to influence Executive Branch foreign policy institutions. Students will have the opportunity several times during the semester to meet virtually with Washington policy-makers who will join the class via Skype to provide their insights on real time issues and institutional realities.
Grading:
Student option
Exam Format:
There will be a mid-term take-home exam and a final paper.
Class Format:
The class meets twice a week in a combined traditional lecture and small group practical work format. The instructor will guide discussions about each topic, and will frequently bring in foreign policy practitioners via video conferencing to provide understanding of the real world work of a variety of foreign policy actors. There will also be a number of exercises, generally completed in small groups, designed to give students an opportunity to understand the policy process, including a simulated Department of State decision memorandum exercise on a current policy issue.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/23891/1159
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Fall2015.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mtcurtin_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
10 August 2015

Spring 2015  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Crisis Management (53385)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
01/29/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
02/19/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/05/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/26/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/02/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/23/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
05/07/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
Crisis Management. Meets every other week.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/53385/1153
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/andre104_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)

Spring 2015  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy (60132)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/20/2015 - 05/08/2015
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Notes:
Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy.
Class Description:
This three-credit course will examine the practice and process of diplomacy as it relates to the development and implementation of foreign and development cooperation policy in the United States government. We will review the history of inter-state relations and the international treaties and norms that have influenced policy and the practice of diplomacy, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The practice has evolved over the years though it continues to incorporate functions such as representation, reporting, negotiation, intercultural contacts, and interaction with the media (e.g. "public diplomacy").The "globalization" phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the "post-Westphalian world," has brought many new actors into the arena, including the private sector and civil society. We will examine the ways in which these forces, institutions, and individuals interact with the work of the modern diplomat. International organizations such as the United Nations require different rules and behaviors for diplomats and we will explore these arenas, including the "soft law" approaches employed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Specific and current policy cases will be explored to illustrate the complexity of diplomatic strategies and the tactics, techniques and methods used to implement them. In addition to providing a knowledge base, this course will focus on the development of professional skills important to the diplomatic profession. These include policy analysis and formulation, written and verbal communication and negotiation. Diplomacy is the art of influencing the behavior of individuals, nations, and international organizations that do not necessarily share the policy goals or national interests of the diplomat. It is an art that requires perceptive understanding of other cultures, political and economic systems, the use of soft and hard power, geo-strategic positioning, global threat analysis and consensus building. We will invite experienced diplomats to share case studies with the class. Active participation by the class will be expected.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/60132/1153
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 January 2014

Spring 2015  |  PA 5890 Section 004: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Human Rights Analysis (69639)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
GLOS 5900 Section 002
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/20/2015 - 05/08/2015
Tue 01:00PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 60
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics. prereq: Grad student or instr consent
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/69639/1153

Fall 2014  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- International Humanitarian Crisis Simulation (35340)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
First Half of Term
 
09/05/2014 - 09/07/2014
Sun, Fri, Sat
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms NORMREQD
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
International Humanitarian Crisis Simulation. This off-campus offering will start at 8:00am on Friday, 9/5 and end at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, 9/7. It will be held at Camp Phillippo near Cannon Falls. Pre- and post-simulation class sessions to be arranged around students' schedules. Contact instructor with questions.
Class Description:
This course will allow students to participate in an intensive experiential educational component co-taught with the Center for Global Health in the Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, and with assistance from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, School of Architecture, and College of Veterinary Medicine; Hennepin County Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota National Guard, the University of Iowa; Case Western Reserve; New American Alliance for Development; and the Minnesota International NGO Network (MINN). For more information about this project: http://www.globalhealth.umn.edu/education/humanitarian-simulation/#sthash.zr4U5SUa.dpuf Course will include a pre-simulation in class meeting in late August or first week of September (dates/times to be determined in mid-August), a 48-hour crisis simulation, a post-simulation class meeting (within two weeks of the simulation), and a final reflection paper.
Grading:
80% Class Participation
15% Problem Solving
5% Other Evaluation Other Grading Information: Grading is based upon team and instructor evaluations and quality of final paper. Attendance is required (so 100% of all activiites).
Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
10% Lecture
90% Demonstration Required class meeting time is 8am Friday September 5 to 1pm Sunday September 7
Workload:
1 Paper(s)
1 Special Project(s)
Other Workload: This course is mostly comprised of a required 48 hour simulation. Students cannot miss any part of the simulation to receive credit.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/35340/1149
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/grayx260_kesle002_PA5890_Fall2015.docx (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
26 August 2014

Fall 2014  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- US Foreign Policy: The Institutional Basis (25986)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/02/2014 - 12/10/2014
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
U.S. Foreign Policy: The Institutional Basis.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/25986/1149

Spring 2014  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Crisis Management (58413)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/23/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
02/06/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
02/20/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/06/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/27/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/10/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/24/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
05/08/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Crisis Management. Meets every other week.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/58413/1143
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/andre104_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)

Spring 2014  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy (67085)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
Instructor Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2014 - 05/09/2014
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 20
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy. Permission numbers are required. It is preferred that students have taken PA 5801 previously or be taking it in Spring 2014. Please contact Sherry Gray at grayx260@umn.edu for a permission number.
Class Description:
This three-credit course will examine the practice and process of diplomacy as it relates to the development and implementation of foreign and development cooperation policy in the United States government. We will review the history of inter-state relations and the international treaties and norms that have influenced policy and the practice of diplomacy, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The practice has evolved over the years though it continues to incorporate functions such as representation, reporting, negotiation, intercultural contacts, and interaction with the media (e.g. "public diplomacy").The "globalization" phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the "post-Westphalian world," has brought many new actors into the arena, including the private sector and civil society. We will examine the ways in which these forces, institutions, and individuals interact with the work of the modern diplomat. International organizations such as the United Nations require different rules and behaviors for diplomats and we will explore these arenas, including the "soft law" approaches employed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Specific and current policy cases will be explored to illustrate the complexity of diplomatic strategies and the tactics, techniques and methods used to implement them. In addition to providing a knowledge base, this course will focus on the development of professional skills important to the diplomatic profession. These include policy analysis and formulation, written and verbal communication and negotiation. Diplomacy is the art of influencing the behavior of individuals, nations, and international organizations that do not necessarily share the policy goals or national interests of the diplomat. It is an art that requires perceptive understanding of other cultures, political and economic systems, the use of soft and hard power, geo-strategic positioning, global threat analysis and consensus building. We will invite experienced diplomats to share case studies with the class. Active participation by the class will be expected.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/67085/1143
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 January 2014

Spring 2014  |  PA 5890 Section 004: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Politics of the Middle East & North Africa (67755)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2014 - 05/09/2014
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 35
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Prior coursework on the Middle East and North Africa helpful, but not required.
Class Description:
Middle East Politics is a 5000-level graduate seminar that examines the domestic, regional, and transnational politics of the Middle East and North Africa. The class is organized into two primary units. Unit One examines major armed conflicts?anti-colonial, intra-state, and inter-state?from 1948 through the 1990s. It uses these historical moments as windows onto key policy-relevant issues in MENA such as external intervention/occupation, human rights, mobilization, social movements, and political economy. Unit Two focuses on policy-relevant issues such as religion and politics, democratization and elections, political economy, sectarianism, minorities, civil society, and gender. In the final two weeks of class, students will explore the politics and policy implications of the Arab Uprisings.
Grading:
30% Reports/Papers
30% Reflection Papers
20% In-class Presentations
20% Class Participation
Class Format:
18% Lecture
70% Discussion
12% Student Presentations
Workload:
100-200 Pages Reading Per Week
15-25 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Presentation(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/67755/1143
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 January 2014

Fall 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Globalization and the World Food Supply (29239)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Wed 06:15PM - 09:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management 1-127
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Description:
The course examines the effects of markets, governmental policies and the process of globalization on world food, feed and fuel from biomass production. The course begins with a look at why agricultural issues are important both in developed countries and in poorer countries struggling to escape their poverty and hunger. It reviews the kinds of policy choices that are made with respect to agricultural production, international trade and, more recently, biofuels development. It looks at how these issues and the policy choices made with respect to each have evolved. It compares those choices with their effects. And it asks whether alternative policy choices would be better, in what ways and for whom. (See syllabus on Course Guide for more information.)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/29239/1139
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
11 December 2013

Fall 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Human Rights and Development (34180)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Fri 08:15AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 175
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Please contact the instructor or Stacey Grimes (grime004@umn.edu) for a permission number if you wish to enroll.
Class Description:
This class explores the synergies between human rights and development. It begins with a close reading Katherine Boo's award winning book on life in a Mumbai slum, Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Random House, 2012). We then (briefly) reviews basic human rights and development debates, and then explore the "rights-based approach" to development by international and local NGOs. We also discuss religion, human rights and development; rights-based approaches to flood management, health, and sanitation; NGO efforts to protect sex workers; and the right-to-food movement in India. The class combines conceptual and practical readings. Your final assignment involves writing a proposal for a rights-based project on an issue of your own choosing. The class is taught by James Ron, the Stassen Chair of International Affairs (www.jamesron.com), whose work focuses on rights-based NGOs in the developing world. This graduate level offering is open to advanced undergraduates with instructor permission.
Grading:
50% Reports/Papers
20% Reflection Papers
15% In-class Presentations
15% Class Participation
Class Format:
20% Lecture
50% Discussion
20% Student Presentations
10% Web Based
Workload:
150 Pages Reading Per Week
40 Pages Writing Per Term
2 Paper(s)
1 Presentation(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34180/1139
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jamesr_PA5890_Fall2017.pdf (Fall 2017)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
11 December 2013

Fall 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- US Foreign Policy: The Institutional Basis (34194)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Description:
This course will examine the institutions that influence American foreign and development policy. Institutions provide the organizational framework, rules and social structures that in turn impact on the work product of those who are part of them. One will often hear in places like Washington, DC, that "Where you sit determines what you think." This is only true up to a point as effective leadership and dynamism within the ranks of a change-oriented organization can enhance the capacity of an institution to innovate or respond to the demands of policymakers. However, bureaucratic structures are primarily designed to sustain themselves and often purposefully encumber themselves with rules that inhibit creative behavior. In the US Government, this creates tension with political appointees whose tenure is limited and whose need to achieve an externally generated set of goals (e.g. campaign promises) is often in conflict with the inertia that bureaucracies create. Some bureaucracies are crisis-oriented and their systems are designed for rapid response. Others have longer-term horizons and programmatic needs that inhibit fast response. Others are dominated by a largely domestic mission and are looking to utilize international engagement primarily to support their domestic objectives. The course will not limit itself to executive branch organizations. We will look at the roles of the Congress, the media, think tanks special interest groups. We also will review the role that international organizations like the United Nations play in influencing the policy choices of the United States Government. Special attention will be given to the political science theory known as liberal institutionalism. We will explore the practical challenges of implementing this theory in institutions that are often less responsive to the needs of policymakers.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34194/1139
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
14 August 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 001: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Crisis Management (53676)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1.5 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/24/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
02/07/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
02/21/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/07/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
03/28/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/11/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
04/25/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
 
05/09/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 330
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Crisis Management. Meets every other week.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/53676/1133
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/andre104_PA5890_Spring2016.docx (Spring 2016)

Spring 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 002: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy (54382)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F only
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2013 - 05/10/2013
Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
Professor Atwood is former dean of the Humphrey School. This three-credit course will examine the practice and process of diplomacy as it relates to the development and implementation of foreign and development cooperation policy in the United States government. Please refer to the Course Guide for further details.
Class Description:
This three-credit course will examine the practice and process of diplomacy as it relates to the development and implementation of foreign and development cooperation policy in the United States government. We will review the history of inter-state relations and the international treaties and norms that have influenced policy and the practice of diplomacy, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The practice has evolved over the years though it continues to incorporate functions such as representation, reporting, negotiation, intercultural contacts, and interaction with the media (e.g. "public diplomacy").The "globalization" phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the "post-Westphalian world," has brought many new actors into the arena, including the private sector and civil society. We will examine the ways in which these forces, institutions, and individuals interact with the work of the modern diplomat. International organizations such as the United Nations require different rules and behaviors for diplomats and we will explore these arenas, including the "soft law" approaches employed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Specific and current policy cases will be explored to illustrate the complexity of diplomatic strategies and the tactics, techniques and methods used to implement them. In addition to providing a knowledge base, this course will focus on the development of professional skills important to the diplomatic profession. These include policy analysis and formulation, written and verbal communication and negotiation. Diplomacy is the art of influencing the behavior of individuals, nations, and international organizations that do not necessarily share the policy goals or national interests of the diplomat. It is an art that requires perceptive understanding of other cultures, political and economic systems, the use of soft and hard power, geo-strategic positioning, global threat analysis and consensus building. We will invite experienced diplomats to share case studies with the class. Active participation by the class will be expected.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/54382/1133
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 April 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5890 Section 003: Topics in Foreign Policy and International Affairs -- International Humanitarian Crisis Simulation (70158)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
1 Credit
Repeat Credit Limit:
5 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Extended Regular Session
 
05/31/2013 - 06/02/2013
Sun, Fri, Sat
UMTC, East Bank
Virtual Rooms NORMREQD
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected topics.
Class Notes:
This off-campus offering will start at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, 5/31 and end at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, 6/2. It will be held at Camp Phillippo near Cannon Falls. Pre- and post-simulation class sessions to be arranged around students' schedules.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/70158/1133
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/grayx260_kesle002_PA5890_Fall2015.docx (Fall 2015)

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