Revolts and Revolutions in Global Perspective

Catalog description

Revolution! Few political events conjure as much hope, passion, or fear. In 2011, young Arab protestors grabbed the attention of the world as they tried to throw off decades of authoritarian rule. This course takes those events as a starting point to examine the broader political history of revolts and revolutions. The course engages classic scholarly texts to unpack the roots, processes, and outcomes of revolution and then apply them to specific historical cases. A core component of this course will deal with ethical and moral decision making under revolutionary and extraordinary political conditions. Why do people try to change the world when the costs can be so high? Under what conditions, if any, is it right to use violence to enact revolutionary change or to deny it? Is it right for an outside power to enter another country to influence a revolutionary situation? What does it mean to match one's political values to their moral values? To what extent do the means we employ to change the world determine that new world? Offered as POSC 360 and POSC 460 . Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Counts as a Moral & Ethical Reasoning course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course.