GVPT 388R/O - Race Relations in the US and France (Spring 2023 & Spring Break Abroad)

The goal of the course is to contrast the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. with those in France. It is designed to explore how racial and ethnic groups shape and are shaped by the American and French political systems. Among the topics to be covered include the meaning and measurement of race and ethnicity, immigration politics, prejudice, and political representation. This is a new course that combines lectures on campus in College Park during the semester with a study abroad component in Paris, France over spring break. For detailed information on the Education Abroad component and registration information, see the course flyer here.

GVPT 282 - Politics and the Developing World (Spring 2023)

A common misconception in the study of development is that “developed” and “underdeveloped” are labels that are uniquely assigned to countries, and thus underdevelopment is something that happens in other, usually far-away places. This experiential learning course enables and encourages students to look at their own community through the lens of development. Students will gain practical experience applying the concepts and research methods that are part of the course by engaging in a community-based learning process in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

GVPT 409W - Seminar in International Relations and World Politics; Southeast Asia in Contemporary Global Politics (Spring 2023)

Southeast Asia, home to three major religious cultures and various regime types, is one of the most politically and socially diverse regions of the world. While the region is unique for its diversity, its states face challenges that are common in other parts of the world including globalization; adjusting to the new geopolitical landscape of rising global powers; and external pressure to improve the standards of human rights, the environment and democracy. Given this dynamic political context, this course is designed to give students a greater understanding of the problems and prospects of the region, as well as the ability to assess its efforts to adapt to the changing regional and international environment.

GVPT 457 - American Foreign Relations (Spring 2023)

The United States spends billions of dollars every year on public diplomacy to improve its global image, an effort that is especially crucial in places where major powers compete for influence. Central Asia is a perfect example: located between China, Russia, and the Middle East and at the crossroads of Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and American geopolitical interests and influence, the region has become the site of intense contestation among these countries to bolster their political and economic clout. But how do citizens in Central Asia perceive these efforts? Specifically, how do they view the U.S. and its foreign policy toward the region? In order to better understand the United States’ global image abroad, we will be designing interview questions to ask various populations in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The class will direct a series of remote interviews, over Zoom, to students and the public in those countries in order to gain a better understanding of what people in the region think of the U.S. and its foreign policy. We will tie these questions to current events in order to compare our own perspectives with those of the public in these three countries.

GVPT 306 - Global Environmental Politics (Spring 2023)

Global Environmental Politics is a course focusing on three processes of international environmental policy development-identifying problems, negotiating solutions, and implementing agreements-through a range of case studies, including global climate change. In this course, students will analyze case studies that focus on global climate change from different parts of the world. Specifically, students will be divided into groups to work with an Agronomist on two global environmental policy issues with a focus on East Africa.

GVPT 454 - Seminar in the International Relations of China (Spring 2023)

This course explores the development and execution of Chinese foreign policy, with emphasis on the post-1978 “reform” era.  The students will examine the variety of drivers of foreign policy (e.g., domestic ideology, public opinion, international competition, etc.).  We will also explore specific issues of foreign policy during the post-Mao era, including e.g., China's current role in the world economy, relations with major powers, the Global Development Initiative, and global perceptions of China. 

GVPT 411 - Conflict in the International System (Spring 2023)

In this course, we will examine conflict, peace, and conflict resolution in contemporary international politics. We will interrogate what we mean by concepts such as peace, conflict, and violence, the different forms that these phenomena can take, and how we can measure their occurrence. We will discuss theoretical explanations for why individuals and groups have disputes, why these actors choose to use violence (or not) in these disputes, and ways in which violent disputes can be resolved peacefully. We will examine these arguments in a detailed study of conflicts in the Middle East, as well as by evaluating published articles that examine the effectiveness of conflict management strategies such as peacekeeping.

GVPT 306 - Asian American Politics (Spring 2023)

Students will gain a greater understanding of 1) the role of Asian Americans in US politics, 2) the political attitudes and behaviors of Asian Americans, including how they are shaped by socialization experiences in Asian countries of origin and other global forces, and 3) how to conduct research on Asian American politics. Though the class will concentrate on Asian Americans, issues related to Asian American politics will be examined within the larger context of America's multicultural political landscape. 

GVPT 306 - Global Environmental Politics (Fall 2022)

Global Environmental Politics is a course focusing on three processes of international environmental policy development-identifying problems, negotiating solutions, and implementing agreements-through a range of case studies, including global climate change. In this course, students will analyze case studies that focus on global climate change from different parts of the world. Specifically, students will be divided into groups to work with an Agronomist on two global environmental policy issues with a focus on East Africa.

GVPT 409W - Seminar in International Relations and World Politics; Southeast Asia in Contemporary Global Politics (Fall 2022)

Southeast Asia, home to three major religious cultures and various regime types, is one of the most politically and socially diverse regions of the world. While the region is unique for its diversity, its states face challenges that are common in other parts of the world including globalization; adjusting to the new geopolitical landscape of rising global powers; and external pressure to improve the standards of human rights, the environment and democracy. Given this dynamic political context, this course is designed to give students a greater understanding of the problems and prospects of the region, as well as the ability to assess its efforts to adapt to the changing regional and international environment.

Global Classrooms (Africa) - GVPT417: Seminar in Advanced Topics in Environmental Policy Analysis (Spring 2022)

A series of critical tools and methods used to analyze environmental policy. This class should be of interest to students who are either considering a career or graduate studies in environmental protection.This course will provide an insight on analyzing multiple environmental threats domestically and internationally including habitat disturbance and the challenges facing conservation efforts. Specifically, this course will analyze the challenges faced by less economically developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and in particular, Kenya. A key component of the course will be analysis, survey design and policy recommendations on efforts to preserve the “Sacred kaya Forests”- A UNESCO Heritage site in Kilifi, Kenya. 

Global Classrooms (Central Asia) - GVPT457: American Foreign Relations (Spring 2022)

The United States spends billions of dollars every year on public diplomacy to improve its global image, an effort that is especially crucial in places where major powers compete for influence. Central Asia is a perfect example: located between China, Russia, and the Middle East and at the crossroads of Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and American geopolitical interests and influence, the region has become the site of intense contestation among these countries to bolster their political and economic clout. But how do citizens in Central Asia perceive these efforts? Specifically, how do they view the U.S. and its foreign policy toward the region? In order to better understand the United States’ global image abroad, we will be designing interview questions to ask various populations in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The class will direct a series of remote interviews, over Zoom, to students and the public in those countries in order to gain a better understanding of what people in the region think of the U.S. and its foreign policy. We will tie these questions to current events in order to compare our own perspectives with those of the public in these three countries.

Global Classrooms (Africa) - GVPT484: Government and Politics of Africa (Spring 2022)

A comparative study of the governmental systems and political processes of the African countries, with special emphasis on the problems of nation-building in emergent countries.

This is a Global Classrooms course, developed in partnership with the Office of International Affairs (OIA) to provide virtual opportunities for global engagement. Global Classrooms can range from embedded experiences to immersive, project-based collaboration. Learn more about Global Classrooms: go.umd.edu/gc-umd.

GVPT482 - Government and Politics of Latin America

A comparative study of the governmental systems and political processes of the Latin American countries.

This is a Global Classrooms course, developed in partnership with the Office of International Affairs (OIA) to provide virtual opportunities for global engagement. Global Classrooms can range from embedded experiences to immersive, project-based collaboration. Learn more about Global Classrooms: go.umd.edu/gc-umd.

GVPT485 - Government and Politics of the Middle East

A comparative study of the governmental systems and political processes of Middle Eastern countries, with special emphasis on the problems of nation-building in emergent countries.

GVPT 359I - Identity Politics: Constructing a Gender Inclusive Society (Iceland)

This course sets the foundation for exploring identity politics with a juxtaposition of varying theories about identity, with a special emphasis on gender.  Building on this literature we examine empirically how gender rights and rights of the LGBTQ community vary across the world, how these have changed over time, and what are some of the cross-national correlates of change.  We then delve deep to the subnational case level to ask how a gender inclusive society was built in Iceland, which is currently ranked first in gender equality in the World Economic Forum’s World Gender Gap Index and, according to the Global Acceptance Index, ranks among the five most LGBTQ rights accepting countries in the world. 

France (Online)  Race Relations in the U.S. and France 

The goal of the course is to contrast the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. with those in France. It is designed to explore how racial and ethnic groups shape and are shaped by the American and French political systems. Among the topics to be covered include the meaning and measurement of race and ethnicity, immigration politics, prejudice, and political representation. In times of restricted travel this GVPT Global Learning class combines lectures on campus in College Park with lectures from Sciences Po* (Paris) and local, culturally relevant experiential learning. The on-campus lectures will focus on racial and ethnic politics in the U.S. and the French lectures on racial and ethnic politics in France. This class will be adapted to a fully-online course if necessary in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

*Lectures planned with external organizations are tentative and subject to change at any time. 

Washington, D.C., United States - GVPT429A: Quantitative Study of Exit Polling and Elections (Fall 2020)

This class will teach students skills in data analysis and data visualization using the programming language R. The primary focus will be the 2020 election. In the weeks leading up to the election, students will be expected to be keenly aware of publicly-available data related to the election (e.g., polling data) and will learn how to translate these data into real-time insights. Students are also required to participate in two exit polling sessions during the early voting period in MD and all day on the day of the election (Nov. 3). This election will undoubtedly be a historic one for myriad reasons. We hope to make the most of this opportunity by giving students a chance to learn valuable data analysis skills on an event of critical importance for the country.

Global Classrooms (Mexico) - GVPT417: Environmental Policy Analysis (Fall 2020)

The Seminar in Advanced Topics in Environmental Policy Analysis (GVPT417) will develop a  semester-long project that students at Maryland and students at the Tecnológico de Monterrey will collaborate on. The objective of the course is to have students acquire and apply key environmental policy tools to a real world and current problem – Water Insecurity in the COVID-19 Era – using a global and comparative framework. GVPT417 will resemble a graduate seminar, where students come to class having carefully read the assigned readings for the week beforehand and are prepared to work with UMD and Mexican classroom peers on problem-solving to advance the course project. Students will work together at the intersection of water insecurity/management, social inequality, and the coronavirus pandemic. Using the different policy tools acquired throughout the semester, students will produce a final product: a comparative report of the particular pandemic-related challenges and weaknesses of water policy in the United States and Mexico.  

Havana, Cuba - GVPT 388F: Foreign Policy Decision Making (Fall 2019 with Winter 2020 abroad)

This was a new course that combines lectures on campus in College Park with a study abroad component in Havana, Cuba. - The lectures on campus will focus on different strategies for studying foreign policy decision making.The class traveled to Cuba to learn about several foreign policy events that shaped much of the foreign policy of the United States in this region.

This course was featured in an article in The Diamondback and photos from the trip abroad can be found on our Instagram profile.