Power, Identity, and the Real WWW (What Went Wrong?)

Catalog description

What is power, where does it come from, and why does it matter? What makes an identity, and why do some identities ignite conflict while others fade quietly? This course explores the dual forces of power and identity that shape the contemporary world, approaching these questions conceptually, historically, and practically. Students will engage with foundational debates on how to define and measure power, why identities emerge or dissolve, and how both dynamics drive cooperation, conflict, and creativity across the globe. From Bismarck to Putin, from civil rights movements to MAGA, from Rwanda's reconciliation process to Hindu nationalism, from nations without states (Kurds, Tibetans) to states without cohesive nations (U.S., Canada, African multi-tribal states, Latin America), the course uses a diverse set of case studies as laboratories for exploring bigger ideas. This course combines classroom work with visits to think tanks, political lobbies, museums, and institutions where power and identity are debated, displayed, and contested. Students will leave with new conceptual tools for analyzing a rapidly shifting world and imagining their own place within it. This course will be offered in January-Term 2026. This course will be taught at NYU Washington, DC and will count as an Away J-Term course.