ClassInfo

Open (29 of 40 seats filled)

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. 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.

Whether in Burma (Myanmar), Syria, Ukraine, Somalia, South Sudan or the countries of Central America, repression, human rights abuses, civil conflict, climate change, and complex emergencies, which principally impact populations in poorer countries of the world, pose compelling challenges to the capacities of governments, NGOs and international organizations, and affected populations themselves to prevent and alleviate suffering and promote recovery. This course will examine efforts to respond to these challenges. The course will also include examination of issues relating to refugees and forced migration. And we will study the roles and institutions of the U.S. government, with a particular focus on policies and practices involving overseas humanitarian and refugee assistance, and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The course will involve lecture; guest lecture from practitioners, policy-makers, and individuals from affected populations; and class discussion,

Preliminary short policy memorandum (15%)

Second policy memo (20%)

Final exam (two hours, essay, with questions presented in advance) 40%

Note: these requirements may be subject to modest changes after consultation with class members