Program Director: James Hevia, P 119, jhevia@uchicago.edu

Program Administrator: Lee Price, G-B 218B, 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 two thematic tracks and area studies: (1) international political economy (thematic), (2) transnational processes (thematic), and (3) area and civilization studies.

Program Requirements

Beginning with students graduating in Spring 2007, the thirteen-course International Studies major has the following 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 provides an overview of contemporary global issues (INST 23101); the other provides in-depth studies of selected issues (INST 23102). These courses are designed to be taken in sequence. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the sequence in their second year unless they plan to complete their civilization studies requirement by participating in one of the College's study abroad programs during an Autumn or Winter Quarter.

International Political Economy Thematic Track (2 or 4 courses): Nation-states and national sovereignty, relations between nation-states, political identity, development, conflict and security, and relations between states and international political (e.g., United Nations) and economic (World Bank, International Monetary Fund) organizations.

Transnational Processes Thematic Track (2 or 4 courses): Courses appropriate for this track take up issues and processes that operate across the borders of nations. These include economic, political and cultural globalization, transnational and multi-national corporations and new patterns of consumption, non-governmental organizations, human rights, environment and ecology, media and the arts.

Area and Civilization Track (3 courses): Either three courses in one area of the world; or two courses in one area and one course in another area. Students majoring in IS may count one civilization course that bears a University of Chicago course number that is not used to meet the general education requirement in civilization studies; or they may count two courses taken while participating in one of the study abroad programs that feature civilization studies that is not used to meet the general education requirement in civilization studies.

Course Distribution. Students are required to complete a total of ten courses in the following combination: six courses in the two thematic subfields (two in one and four in the other); and three courses in area and civilization studies, two of which must be in the same world region. The tenth course is an elective. Students may use a language course for this elective 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.) 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 IS 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 www.college.uchicago.edu/academics/language_advanced.shtml.

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 director 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 the 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 students majoring in IS 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 Friday of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.

The program may accept a B.A. paper or project used to satisfy the same requirement in another major if certain conditions are met and with the consent of the other program chair. Approval from both programs is required. Students should consult with the chairs by the earliest B.A. proposal deadline. A consent form, to be signed by the chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student’s year or graduation.

Summary of Requirements

2 International Studies introductory courses

2 courses in one thematic subfield

4 courses in a second thematic subfield

3 courses in area and civilization studies

1 elective in any field

(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 they 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, J. Hevia,
A. Kolata, E. Kouri, S. Latkovski, F. Meltzer, K. Morrison, D. Rutherford, S. Stokes,
E. Weaver, L. Wedeen, D. Yang, S. Yaqub,

Courses: International Studies (inst)

23101. Contemporary Global Issues I. It is recommended that students majoring in IS 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. PQ: INST 23101. It is recommended that students majoring in IS 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. Developments over the past decade have led a number of former leading enthusiasts of globalization to raise basic criticisms of the neo-liberal paradigm. In doing this, they have echoed and drawn attention to the results of economists and historians whose work undercuts the basic premises of neo-liberalism. This course explicates a varied collection of this work, viewed as a critique and alternative to neo-liberalism, by economic historians (e.g., Hobsbawn, Williams, Arrighi, Polanyi) and economists (e.g., Palley, Taylor, Stretton, Marglin, Eatwell, MacEwan, Blecker, Brenner). M. Rothenberg, R. Baiman. Spring.

27201. Globalization: History and Theory. (=BPRO 26300, HIST 29901) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This course makes sense of globalization as a historical phenomenon focusing primarily on the long twentieth century, but with a look back into the "deep history" of the making of the contemporary world. While the course has a theoretical bent, it should be taken as an introduction into modern history. It has three goals in particular: (1) It introduces the main concepts and theories of globalization. (2) It explores key moments, processes, and events in the annals of globalization. (3) It highlights the nature of contentions over the terms of global order. M. Geyer, C. Bright. Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

29700. Reading and Research. PQ: Consent of instructor and program director. 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 IS 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 required 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 students majoring in IS. 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 director. 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 may be counted as an elective for 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.