Description of the Course:
This course will explore the nature of world affairs
in the aftermath of the Cold War. To show the contradictory nature of our
world today, we will explore two very different cases: Bosnia and the European
Community (EC). The ongoing Bosnia crisis symbolizes everything that seems
to be wrong with our world today: violence, extreme nationalism, and a
lack of international cooperation to solve the problem. The evolution of
the EC, in contrast, seems to show the strength of the forces of peace
and cooperation and the decline of nationalism. Which tendency will win
out in the world?
Each of these topics -- Bosnia and the EC -- will
be covered in one half of the course, with a textbook for each half. For
each topic we will go beyond the current headlines to look at both the
history which underlies current events and at the relevance of these events
for our understanding of world affairs in general.
Readings:
A five to seven page paper will be due week 14. Your topic is this: Has the Bosnia conflict been solved by the recent NATO intervention or not? YOU MUST MAKE AN ARGUMENT and then SUPPORT IT by looking at events in Bosnia since the Dayton peace accords of December 1995. Look at the various objectives of the Dayton accord to structure your paper. What does the success (or lack of it) in achieving these objectives that you see tell us about the relative strength of the forces of conflict and cooperation in the world today?Quizzes:
All papers will be supported by a collection of newspaper and magazine articles (suggested sources: New York Times, Time, The Economist, etc. -- all available in the Berks Campus library). Papers are to be turned in in a two-pocket folder, with the paper in one pocket and documentation in the other. It is expected that the sources used will be listed at the end of the paper in proper bibliographic form and that proper footnotes or end notes will be used. Papers should also have a structure -- introduction, body, and conclusion. (See Research Paper Guidelines and How to Make a Bibliography or Turabian if you are unsure about technical writing questions.)
Short quizzes will be given on a roughly weekly basis in class. About 12 will be given, and the two with the lowest grades will be dropped. Missed quizzes will receive a zero. Please note that this means that missing class will hurt your grade very quickly.
Research
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Week 1 Introduction to course and to the EC
McCormick, Introduction and Ch. 1
Week 2 Creation and Early Years of the EC
McCormick, Ch. 2-3
Week 3 Recent history of the EC
McCormick, Ch. 4-5
Week 4 Running the EC: Commission and Council
McCormick, Ch. 6-7
Week 5 Running the EC: Euro. Parliament, other institutions
McCormick, Ch. 8-10
Week 6 EC Policies
McCormick, Ch. 11-13
Week 7 Future of the EC: "Deepening" and "Widening"
McCormick, Ch. 14-15 and Conclusion
Week 8 Midterm Review and Midterm Examination
MIDTERM
Week 9 Introduction to Bosnia; Middle Ages in Bosnia
Donia and Fine Ch. 1-4
Week 10 Early modern Bosnia and Rule by Austria
Donia and Fine Ch. 5-6
Week 11 Yugoslavia 1918-39 and WWII
Donia and Fine Ch. 7-8
Week 12 Tito's Yugoslavia and its Collapse
Donia and Fine Ch. 9-10
Week 13 The War in Bosnia -- Early Stages
Donia and Fine Ch. 11
Week 14 The War in Bosnia -- Recent Events
Xeroxed readings handed out in class -- and use
your sources from papers
Short Paper & Articles Due
Week 15 Conclusion and Final Review. Finish xeroxed readings...and
discuss recent events
in Kosovo.
Finals Week. Date, time, location of final exam TBA
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