Program Co-Chairs:

Bruce Cumings, F 508, 834-1818, bcumings@uchicago.edu;

Jennifer Mitzen, P 119, 834-7585, j-mitzen@uchicago.edu

Program Administrator:

Lee Price, G-B 218-B,702-7134, lee@uchicago.edu

Program Advisors: P 116, 834-5288

Program Preceptors: G-B 216, 702-7920

E-mail: is@orgs.uchicago.edu

Web: internationalstudies.uchicago.edu/undergrad/index.html

Program of Study

The undergraduate program in International Studies (IS) draws on the strengths of the College faculty in a variety of disciplines and their innovative work in a number of areas of international relevance, such as human rights, international relations, globalization, transnationalism, and area studies. It is designed to attract students who are preparing for academic, government, nonprofit, or business careers with an international focus, and who value the benefits of study abroad and of cross-cultural learning.

The program is organized around courses drawn from the following four subfields of study: (1) international relations; (2) international comparative history; (3) international political economy and development; and (4) area and civilizational studies.

Program Requirements

The thirteen-course International Studies major has five requirements:

IS Introductory Sequence. Students are required to take a two-quarter introductory sequence, taught annually, in the field of international studies. One quarter focuses on contemporary theories in international relations, the other on theories of nationalism, post-colonialism, and human rights. These courses should be taken early in the student's program and need not be taken in any order.

Course Distribution. Students are required to complete ten courses from at least two of the four subfields listed above. Of those ten, a minimum of three must be taken in each of two selected subfields. The other four may be elective courses taken in any subfield. Students may also use language courses or a combination of language and IS-approved courses as these four electives subject to the following:

Language courses must be taken at the level of the third year or above. (To be considered "third year or above," a course must be at least the seventh quarter of a language sequence.) This policy takes effect for students graduating in 2005 and after. Language credit in the major is by course registration only.

Students select their courses in consultation with IS program advisors. A list of classes accepted toward the major is selected by the IS faculty each year, and is updated quarterly. This list is available on the Web site.

Foreign Language. Students can meet the program's foreign language requirement in one of two ways:

1. Students may complete the equivalent of seven quarters of language study in a single language. Students who elect this option may fulfill the first six quarters by University exam or by course work. The seventh and final quarter, however, may be fulfilled only by course registration. For information about the use of language as elective courses in the major, see "Course Distribution" above.

2. Students may obtain an Advanced Language Proficiency Certificate, which is documentation of advanced functional ability in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. To qualify to sit for the three-hour proficiency examination, students are required to complete a minimum of intermediate and advanced language study at levels set by the departments and spend a quarter abroad in a College-approved intensive language program. For details, see dos-college.uchicago.edu/information/language-certificate.html.

Study Abroad. Students are required to study abroad for a minimum of eight weeks in an approved study abroad program. This requirement will be waived only by petition for those able to demonstrate a similarly significant, structured international education experience. Participation in any University of Chicago approved study abroad program will fulfill this requirement. Students should consult with the study abroad advisers for more information. If students seek to undertake a program outside of the University's offerings, they must have approval of the program chair prior to departure on the program.

B.A. Thesis. All students are required to complete a B.A. thesis. In consultation with IS preceptors, students prepare a topic page that is due eighth week of Spring Quarter in their third year. At this time students are also required to secure a faculty reader.

In Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students register for the B.A. Thesis Seminar (INST 29800), which is designed to teach research skills and more generally to aid the research and writing process. Upon successful completion of the work in Autumn Quarter, students are strongly encouraged to take B.A. Thesis Seminar (INST 29801) in Winter Quarter of their fourth year; this course may not be counted toward the thirteen courses required for the major. While all IS students may participate in the Winter Quarter seminar, students completing two majors may not take the Winter Quarter course for credit. The final version of the B.A. thesis is due by the second Monday of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate. Successful completion of the thesis requires a grade of B- or higher from faculty and preceptor readers.

Summary of Requirements

2 International Studies introductory courses

3 courses in the first of two subfields

3 courses in the second of two subfields

4 electives in any subfield

(subject to the program's

foreign language requirement)

1 B.A. Thesis Seminar Autumn (INST 29800)

B.A. Thesis Seminar Winter (INST 29801)*

* Students completing two majors may not take this course for credit, but are encouraged to participate.

Honors. Students will be considered for honors on the basis of having earned an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and 3.5 or higher in the major, and on the basis of recommendations from the faculty and preceptor readers of the B.A. thesis.

Grading. Courses taken for P/N or P/F will not be accepted toward requirements for the IS major.

Faculty

D. Borges, J. Boyer, B. Cumings, N. Di Vito, P. Duara, M. Geyer, S. Gzesh, A. Kolata,
E. Kouri, S. Latkovski, F. Meltzer, J. Mitzen, S. Stokes, M.-R. Trouillot, E. Weaver,
L. Wedeen, A. Wendt, D. Yang, S. Yaqub

Courses: International Studies (inst)

23101. Contemporary Global Issues I. It is recommended that IS majors enroll in this required introductory course in their second year. This course surveys international, social, political and cultural patterns in the context of global interactions. We emphasize contact between populations in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe from the late nineteenth century forward. The focus is on the globalization of economies, technological change, and urbanization; human environment relations; cross-cultural relations and cultural transformations; and transformation of national and international political orders. The course is interdisciplinary in approach, drawing from the social sciences and humanities to provide different perspectives and historical depth in the analysis of current issues. Autumn.

23102. Contemporary Global Issues II. It is recommended that IS majors enroll in this required introductory course in their second year. This course examines a select set of global issues in depth. The emphasis is on questioning dominant conceptions of the international order that privileges states by treating them as natural actors in the international arena; that privileges the Western world by treating it as the center; and that privileges the balance of power and deterrence by treating military force as the primary means of self-help in allegedly anarchical space beyond state frontiers. Topics include nationalism, transnational identities generated by migration and refugee flows, global environmental movements, human rights, cyber space, and international conflicts. Winter.

24300. Globalization and Neo-Liberalism. (=BPRO 24300) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. For course description, see Big Problems. M. Rothenberg, R. Baiman. Spring.

29700. Reading and Research. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chair. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course form. This course may be counted as one of the electives required for the major. This is a reading and research course for independent study not related to B.A. research or B.A. paper preparation. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29800. B.A. Thesis (Autumn Seminar). Required of fourth-year IS majors. This weekly seminar, taught by graduate student preceptors in consultation with faculty readers, is designed to aid students in their thesis research. Students are exposed to different conceptual frameworks and research strategies. Students must have approved topic proposals and faculty readers to participate in the seminar. Autumn.

29801. B.A. Thesis (Winter Seminar). PQ: INST 29800. This course may not be counted as one of the electives for the IS major. This weekly seminar, taught by graduate student preceptors in consultation with faculty readers, offers students continued B.A. research and writing support. Students present drafts of their work and critique the work of their peers. This is an optional course for IS majors. All students, however, are encouraged to participate in this seminar. NOTE: Students completing dual majors may not take this course for credit. Winter.

29900. B.A. Thesis (Reading and Research). PQ: Consent of instructor and program chair. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course form. This is a reading and research course for independent study related to B.A. research and B.A. thesis preparation. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

International Studies Subfields

Most literature courses not in translation and most civilization courses taken beyond the general education requirement are accepted towards the IS major. For the complete list of approved courses, which is selected quarterly by the faculty, see the program advisors or the IS Web site: internationalstudies.uchicago.edu/undergrad/courses.html.