Peace or war?

Chris Sims, Associate Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy

First year seminar course which explores ways photography and images are used by journalists, artists, documentarians, as well as governments, militaries, and civil society, in order to document and report on events and shape public opinion and historical memory. Project-based course in which students will conduct research in image-based archives, conduct oral histories, and curate exhibitions and related programming for public audiences.

Cross-lists: VMS 121CNS/ JAM 102CNS/ PUBPOL 105CNS

Kyle Beardsley, Professor, Political Science

The origins of armed conflicts and the means to resolve them, with special attention to strategic interaction, international law and third-party conflict managers. Historical and contemporary case studies used to illustrate theories of the onset and termination of violence in both interstate and intrastate conflicts. Writing developed in a multi-part assessment of an ongoing conflict that include simulation of a peace process. 

John French, Professor, History

This seminar explores the power of photographic images as 20th century Latin America suffered from and resisted dictatorships and fought for democracy. It opens with the world's first fully photographed and filmed revolution in Mexico (1910-17), and then investigates photographic practice in Cuba, Chile, & Brazil after 1945. While used as a tool of oppression, photographic images will also be explored as vital weapons against human rights violations and fuel for popular democratic insurgencies. This course offers freshmen a chance to share the excitement of research in action, on learning with rather than teaching at, as they improve their skill in 'reading' and contextualizing images while debating what truths, if any, a photographer can communicate, how, and under what circumstances?

John Hillen, Distinguished Lecturing Fellow and Executive in Residence, Political Science
War has shaped—and been shaped by—the American imagination.  This course will trace the nation’s evolving understanding of conflict, strategy, and national security through its literature. From the Revolution to the post-9/11 era, students examine how soldiers, citizens, and writers have wrestled with questions of security, identity. sacrifice, and the moral costs of power. Through novels, poetry, memoirs, and political writings, the course investigates how American institutions, from the military to the press, reflect and contest the nation’s political ideals and its role on the global stage. Emphasizing close reading and discussion, the class invites students to consider how stories of war illuminate the enduring interplay between politics, strategy, and the American vision of freedom and responsibility in world affairs.

David H. Schanzer, Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy

The 21st century began in a period of global calm, with the Cold War having ended and the United States facing mainly manageable security threats. However, the first quarter of the 21st century has proven to be quite dangerous, with a series of security crises including 9/11, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the emergence of great power rivalry. This course will explore the roots of the problems that have arisen in the 21st century and strategies for maintaining peace and stability in our turbulent world.

Cross-list: POLISCI 111CNS

Ellen McClarney, Associate Professor of Asian and Middle East Studies

This course explores conflict and coexistence in the three monotheistic world religions--Christianity, Judaism, and Islam--and current wars waged in the name of religion. Looks at origins and evolution of armed struggle in each tradition. Traces religious conflict in the Muslim conquest of the 7th century, the reconquista, the crusades in the 11th & 13th centuries, and the establishment of Israel and the ensuing conflict in Palestine. It also explores social justice and peaceful coexistence in the three religions—in Latin American liberation theologies, understandings of jihad as spiritual struggle, and the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam or 'repairing the world' through social action.

Kevin Casey, Lecturing Fellow, Thompson Writing Program

Dystopian stories – which typically feature various forms of suffering, subjugation, violence, and injustice meted out by authoritarian or totalitarian people in power – have long held sway in our popular culture and imagination. That’s reflected by decades of memorable entries in the category, from the classics of high school English classes (such as Brave New World and 1984) to the more recent run of bestselling series featuring young heroines (such as The Hunger Games and Divergent).

As part of the social control Constellation, this first-year writing seminar will look at the topic through the disciplinary lens of English literature and other media (such as film, TV, or video games.) In the process, we’ll develop skills in critical inquiry, close reading, and (of course) writing – all while asking questions (and proposing answers) about why dystopian stories are so popular, how this genre of fiction intersects with our real world, and what they can teach us about our current moment and shared histories.

Writing assignments will be finalized in summer 2026, but are likely to include a close reading, a research paper, a personal essay, as well as several shorter pieces. This class makes no assumptions about your background or future plans but does presume you want to read several novels (see below) and engage in regular class discussions about those stories and your own ideas and work.

This class will require reading at least three novels and some shorter pieces. Those texts are remain TBD as of this writing but representative possibilities include The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood), The Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler), American War (Omar El Akkad), Chain-Gang All-Stars (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah), and It Can’t Happen Here (Sinclair Lewis.)