Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

The School of Foreign Service in Qatar is pleased to announce that the following classes will be offered between May 18th and June 19th, 2008.

ARAB 351 Introduction to Arabic Culture I; 3 credits
70 LEC UMTWR 3:15-4:45 PM LAS B10B Al-Tonsi, A.

An interdisciplinary content-based language course based on sources in Arabic literature, philosophy, and political thought designed to introduce the major issues in Arabic and Islamic culture from the classical to the modern period. The course aims to build and develop the knowledge base required to use Arabic successfully in intellectual settings. At the same time, it reinforces necessary language skills such as reading, speaking, and listening. Students work to enhance their skills in dealing with controversial opinions in oral and written texts .The course material includes basic texts dealing with issues from Ibn Khaldun to Adonis. Students work with a variety of genres including philosophical, political, religious, and literary genres. The course is learner oriented, trains students to gather and evaluate information, to analyze texts, and to develop argumentation and supporting hypotheses and opinions.

Taught entirely in Arabic. Class discussions & presentations are conducted in MSA (Modern Standard Arabic). Interested students should be proficient in Arabic or have completed the advanced level of language study.

GOVT 350 Nationalism & Empire; 3 credits
70 SEM UMTWR 9:00-10:30 AM LAS B10A Boyd, Richard

From the ambitions of Periclean Athens to America’s vocation as a contemporary superpower, the nature, sources, and concomitant responsibilities of “empire” are accompanied by thorny moral and political dilemmas. This course will explore the concept of “empire” in classical, modern and contemporary social and political theory. We will consider different justifications given for empire: ranging from the erotic passions of citizens for the nation of which they are members, the “civilizing mission” of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the naked pursuit of national self-interest and “grandeur.” Is empire compatible with political liberalism, and how it is that otherwise “liberal” thinkers like John Locke, J. S. Mill, and Alexis de Tocqueville could have reconciled (or failed to reconcile) their commitments to human liberty with the claim that more advanced nations have the prerogative to govern those less “civilized”? Finally, we will examine the flip-side of the question of empire, namely, nationalist ideologies of political self-determination that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in opposition to colonial rule. What are the major claims advanced by nationalism? Are nationalist arguments necessarily compatible with political liberty? What are the deeper structural causes that catalyze the emergence of political movements on behalf of independence and national self-determination? Looking back at how different social and political thinkers have dealt with these empirical and normative questions puts us in a better position to confront the challenges of our own age.

HIST 482 Social History of American Music; 3 credits
70 SEM UMTWR 1:00-2:30 PM LAS B10A Sampsell-Willmann, Catherine

This course examines the cultural, political, social, and intellectual origins and development of music in the United States (and colonial North America) beginning in 1607. Included will be influences from Africa, Europe, and Latin America (plus the Asian Arabesque). The course will focus on the history of popular music from its origins in several different imported cultures. Primary will be exploring the history and rhetoric of blues and jazz and their influences on American music and culture. Students will have readings in social history of music and listening responsibilities. We will discuss music as coded and overt dissent. No musical ability or knowledge is required to take the course, but readings will include technical descriptions of structural innovations unique to North American music.

INAF 329 International Economics & Politics; 3 credits
70 LEC UMTWR 10:45-12:15 PM Location TBD Chaudhuri, Adhip & Kent, Todd

This course will study issues relating to both Qatar and Globalization. The class presentations will be by issues, and for each issue there will be back to back presentations on the economic and the political dimensions of that particular issue. For example, Game Theory will be applied to both political games and also to strategic trade policy. The role of public goods will be discussed simultaneously with the role of state enterprises in the petroleum industry. There will be about nine or ten issues discussed in this fashion.

*Also offered as POLS 331 Introduction to World Politics at Texas  A&M University at Qatar.

Registration Information & Important Dates

This page outlines registration details for interested students and provides a calendar featuring key Summer 2008 dates.

For additional information, contact Scott Handley, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.

• 2008-2009 Academic Calendar
• Fall 2008 Schedule of Classes
• Summer 2008 Classes
• Faculty Listings