Political Research Seminar (395-0-23)

Topic

Revolution & War in Syria

Instructors

Kevin Andrew Mazur

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 107 Burdick Room: Tues 1:00PM - 3:50PM

Overview of class

This course examines Syria's tumultuous recent political history. It will cover the country's authoritarian modernization and economic liberalization, the outbreak of popular protest during the Arab Spring, the descent into civil war, and post-war governance of a shattered society. The course employs a range of social scientific lenses for understanding conflict, ranging from quantitative and geospatial analysis to ethnography and close reading of participant-produced materials. Theoretical issues raised include the causes of revolutionary challenge, state strategies of repression, rebel governance, international influences on civil war dynamics, and post-war governance.

Learning Objectives

The course aims to develop students' ability to relate social scientific concepts to a wide range of empirical materials on revolutionary processes—including historical narrative, quantitative data, testimony and artistic production of participants—and write analytically about those connections.

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

Participation: 20%
Response papers (2): 20%
Interim assignments for final essay: 20%
Final essay: 40%

Class Materials (Required)

None