CGT / Courses

Global Political Thought

This course is intended to explore important themes in modern political thought from texts taken from traditions outside the modern West. It will not be devoted to textual exegesis, but use as sites of exploration central questions of modern politics.

Global Urbanism

Using classical texts about cities (do they still work for us?) and on the diverse new literatures on cities and larger subjects with direct urban implications, we will use a variety of data sets to get at detailed empirical information, and draw on two large ongoing research projects involving major and minor global cities around the world (a total of over 60 cities are covered in detail as of 2008).

Locating Africa

In this seminar, we will study the ways that African and people of African descent participated in this discussion. Through primary and secondary readings, we will learn how African, African American and European writers, artists and activists engaged and (re) interpreted imperial and international resources (including the insights of the new sciences of Man) to (re)imagine their political and social situations, and to participate in various political expressions , including pan-Africanism, communism, feminism, black internationalism, and anti-imperialism.

Political Economy

The purpose of the course is to introduce doctoral students to the field of political economy while at the same time introducing students to a wide range of empirical methods. The course will consider mostly empirical work, that is applied econometrics, rather than theoretical work. This is a 2nd year PhD course.

The Law of Violence

Law and Violence introduces key theoretical and historical readings on the relationship between law and violence. Are they mutually exclusive forms of human action? Is it a contradiction that violence is often the means to establish or change the law? Such questions will be considered in historical contexts of the nation-state and the global legal order.

Africa, Empire and the Twentieth Century World

This undergraduate seminar explores African political thought and action during the first half of the twentieth century. It brings together readings from a range of disciplines, including history, colonial and post-colonial studies, women's studies, and literary studies as well as primary documents and novels to explore African intellectuals' engagement with European imperialism and international politics, and their positioning of Africa within the twentieth century world.

Cities in Developing Countries: Problems, Politics and Policies

This course will examine the most pressing problems facing metropolitan areas in the developing world. It will also consider the political and institutional environment in which efforts to address metropolitan problems have been developed, the financial and institutional vehicles used to provide services of different types, and the role of political parties and other forms of political organization in the development and allocation of services.

Global Governance

This graduate seminar reviews how various literatures identify the critical issues of governance in a highly interdependent world and formulates policy responses to them. The class will then apply these various approaches to selected case studies that raise critical global governance issues: Climate Change; Failed States; International Trade and Investment; and Democratic Accountability.

Global Urbanism

Using classical texts about cities (do they still work for us?) and on the diverse new literatures on cities and larger subjects with direct urban implications, we will use a variety of data sets to get at detailed empirical information, and draw on two large ongoing research projects involving major and minor global cities around the world (a total of over 60 cities are covered in detail as of 2008).

Globalization

This undergraduate course examines globalization along its diverse but inter-related dimensions, including economic, cultural, and political globalization. The course begins with a historical overview of globalization. Second, the course examines economic globalization and its governance with a focus on the major international organizations involved in the governance of international trade and financial flows, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

Globalization: Empirical and Theoretical Elements

Transnational processes such as economic globalization and cross-border migrations confront the social sciences with a series of theoretical and methodological challenges. This course examines these challenges through a focus on both macro level cross-border flows and micro processes which might take place at a global or at a sub-national level.

Issues of Secularism and Diversity in Global Thought

This course focuses on issues of cultural diversity under conditions of globalization. Weekly topics include secularism in postcolonial contexts, as well as cosmopolitanism, feminism and religion in relation to secularism and “tolerance.” While the emphasis of the course will be on contemporary debates, we will also look at relevant historical genealogies of some of the controversies.

The Law of Violence

Law and Violence introduces key theoretical and historical readings on the relationship between law and violence. Are they mutually exclusive forms of human action? Is it a contradiction that violence is often the means to establish or change the law? Such questions will be considered in historical contexts of the nation-state and the global legal order.