Curriculum

International Issues

102.WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY(1 course)

A comparative study of the physical and cultural characteristics of selected world regions including Latin America, South and East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. NWEST, Fall and Spring semesters.

109.PHILOSOPHIES OF THE ENVIRONMENT(1 course)

This course examines the ways in which contemporary attitudes toward the environment developed as well as alternative philosophical theories of the environment. Issues include the treatment of nonhuman animals, instrumental vs. intrinsic theories of environmental value, the impact of first world environmental perspectives on third world peoples, and women's perspectives on the environment. Alternative approaches include Aldo Leopold's land ethic, deep ecology, and ecofeminism. This course counts toward fulfillment of the Environmental Studies major and the Women's Studies minor. HUMAN. Offered periodically.

130.INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS(1 course)

This course introduces students to the structures and processes of international politics and surveys the major global issues of our time. The course focuses on the functions of the modern nation-state system and the patterns of conflict and cooperation in contemporary international relations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of how the international political system works and to help them develop their own perspective on global issues. Fall and Spring semesters.

372. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD RESOURCES (1 course)

This course is a study of the factors influencing the economic modernization of less developed countries, including cultural, human, and natural factors involved in the appearance and disappearance of economic resources. Topics include economic growth and development, poverty and income distribution, food problems, population growth, environment and development, sustainable development, capital formation, investment allocation, structural transformation, planning, markets, the role of the state, privatization, third world debt, development planning, macroeconomic stabilization policies, and the international economics of development. The effect of economic advancement on the rates of resource utilization and its implications for less-developed countries, more-developed countries, and world resources will be examined. Prerequisite: E/M-101. Fall semester.

243.THE ETHICS OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT(1 course)

Peoples of the third world outnumber those of the first world by a ratio of six to one. Some of the most urgent international moral questions are those concerning relationships between these groups. Moral issues in international development include the following: Do all people have "basic rights" to safe food, clean water, adequate health care, and a healthy environment? What are the responsibilities of first world consumers to third world producers? Can the rich help the poor without reproducing relations of dependence? This course focuses in particular on the roles of women in community development, and it counts toward fulfillment of the Women's Studies minor. NWEST, Spring semester, even years.

250.THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPING NATIONS(1 course)

This course examines important features of politics, economics, society and culture in developing nations and focuses on common problems associated with political modernization, economic development and social change in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Through comparative analysis, the course also attempts to develop generalizations about key problems and prospects in various regions of the developing world, such as East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prerequisite: Either POL-130 or POL-140 is recommended. NWEST, Fall semester.