GLBL 409 - Special Topics in Global Studies - Geopolitics

Dr. John Short (PUBL)

Wednesday, 4:30-7:00

Lecture

3 credits

Grading:  regular, no pass/fail

Cap:  20; Waitlist:  3

Description:  An introduction to the study of geopolitics and the state of contemporarygeopolitics.  Geopolitics is the study of power relations between empires and states.  It explores the meaning, contestation, construction, and maintenance of the political organization of space. The course traces the evolution of geopolitical thought from Mahan and Mackinder through Kennan and up to modern popular writers such as Robert Kaplan, who argues that a nation’s position on the world map is a primary determinant of conflict.  We will also examine an emerging critical form of geopolitics, which looks at the social construction of political spaces, exposes the material interests involved in the narratives used to explain these spaces, and explores the spatial construction of social identity.