American foreign policy: theory and method

Lectures: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Recitations: # session(s) / week, # hour(s) / session

This course examines the causes and consequences of American foreign policy since 1898. Course readings cover both substantive and methods topics. Four substantive topics are covered:

Three methods topics are covered:

Historical episodes covered in the course are used as raw material for case studies, asking "if these episodes were the subject of case studies, how should those studies be performed, and what could be learned from them?"

This is a graduate course, open to undergraduates by permission of the instructor only.

Students will be asked to write 2 short papers (6-10 page typed doublespaced pages) and two 1-page exercises. One of the 6-10 page papers will be a case study; the other can be a case study or a policy evaluation. The 1-page exercises are due on Session 2 and Session 5; the papers are due on Session 11 and Session 13.

The course grade is determined by performance on 2 (6-10 page) papers and by the quality of in-class participation. The theory-framing exercises and the archive research exercise are ungraded.

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