Requirements for the concentration
The contemporary cultures and societies concentration focuses on the lived experiences of people in societies around the world, largely through their own perspectives. It addresses how they identify and organize themselves, how they engage with political and economic dynamics at the national and global level, and how their insights contribute to global initiatives and policies. Key topics include well-being, sustainability, and social justice.
Students in the BA in international affairs program must complete at least five courses (15 credits) to fulfill their concentration requirements, as indicated below. These courses must be taken in at least two different academic departments.
Students in the BS in international affairs program must complete at least three courses (9 credits) to fulfill their specialization requirements, as indicated below. It is not required that these courses be taken in two different academic departments.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| For the BA in international affairs program: One ANTH course from the list below, plus four additional courses in any combination, for a total of at least five courses (15 credits). | ||
| For the BS in international affairs program: One ANTH course from the list below, plus two additional courses in any combination, for a total of at least three courses (9 credits). | ||
| IAFF 3513 (Human Rights and Ethics) is equivalent to ANTH 3513 (Anthropology of Human Rights) and as such it may be counted toward the Anthropology course requirement. ANTH 1002 or ANTH 1004 is a prerequisite for most of the ANTH courses listed here. | ||
| ANTH 2501 | The Anthropology of Gender: Cross-Cultural Perspectives | |
| ANTH 2502 | Anthropology of Science and Technology: Twenty-First Century Brave New Worlds | |
| ANTH 2506 | Religion, Myth, and Magic (Same as REL 2506: Religion, Myth, and Magic) | |
| ANTH 3501 | Anthropology of Development | |
| or IAFF 3501 | International Development Theory, Policy, and Practice | |
| ANTH 3503 | Psychological Anthropology | |
| ANTH 3504 | Illness, Healing, and Culture | |
| ANTH 3506 | Politics, Ethnicity, and Nationalism | |
| ANTH 3507 | Kinship, Family, and Community | |
| ANTH 3513 | Anthropology of Human Rights | |
| or IAFF 3513 | Human Rights and Ethics | |
| ANTH 3601 | Language, Culture, and Cognition | |
| ANTH 3702 | Anthropology of Latin America | |
| ANTH 3707 | Anthropology of the Middle East | |
| ANTH 3708 | Anthropology of Africa (Africa and the Contemporary Diaspora) | |
| ANTH 3709 | Japanese Culture Through Film (Same as JAPN 3162: Japanese Culture Through Film) | |
| ANTH 3791 | Topics in Regional Anthropology (Anthropology of the Caribbean) | |
| ANTH 3801 | African Roots from Australopithecus to Zimbabwe | |
| ANTH 3991 | Special Topics (Anthropology of Islam) | |
| or IAFF 3188 (Anthropology of Islam) | ||
| ANTH 3991 | Special Topics (Medical Anthropology) | |
| ANTH 3991 | Special Topics (Policing) | |
| ARAB 2105 | Topics in Arabic Studies (Oman: Business & Culture Exploration) | |
| ARAB 2105 | Topics in Arabic Studies (Pop Culture: Middle East and North Africa) | |
| ARAB 3105 | Special Topics (Arabic and Social Media) | |
| ARAB 3105 | Special Topics (Arabia to America) | |
| ARAB 3105 | Special Topics (Contemporary Arabic Literature) | |
| ARAB 3105W | Special Topics in Arabic Studies (Gender and the Arab World (in English)) | |
| or HIST 3001W (Gender and the Arab World) | ||
| or WGSS 3170W (Gender and the Arab World) | ||
| ARAB 3301 | Modern Arabic Literature | |
| ARAB 3501 | Arabic and Arab Identity | |
| ARAB 3502 | Arab Film and Culture | |
| CHIN 3162 | Chinese Culture Through Film | |
| CHIN 3163 | Taiwanese Literature and Film | |
| ENGL 2710 | Postcolonialism, Race, and Gender in Global Anglophone Literature and Film | |
| or WGSS 2710 | Postcolonialism, Race, and Gender in Global Anglophone Literature and Film | |
| FREN 2500 | Cultural Politics of Food in France | |
| FREN 3020 | Contemporary France | |
| FREN 3100W | Introduction to French Literature | |
| FREN 3220 | Modern French Literature | |
| GEOG 2000 | Sophomore Colloquium (Migrants and the City) | |
| GEOG 2120 | World Regional Geography | |
| GEOG 2127 | Population Geography | |
| GEOG 2133 | People, Land, and Food | |
| GEOG 3145 | Cultural Geography | |
| GEOG 3164 | The Geography of Africa | |
| GEOG 3165 | Geography of South Asia | |
| GEOG 3195 | Special Topics in Human Geography (Race, Ethnicity, and Place) | |
| GER 2091 | Introduction to German Literature—in English I | |
| GER 2092 | Introduction to German Literature—in English II | |
| GER 2161 | German Culture–in English I | |
| GER 2162 | German Culture–in English II | |
| GER 3185 | Literary Voices and the Fascist Experience—in English | |
| GER 3187 | German Cinema after 1945 | |
| GER 3188 | The Lives of East Germans | |
| GER 4174 | Inside/Outside the Third Reich | |
| GER 4175 | Literature of two Germanies | |
| HIST 3148 | El Camino de Santiago | |
| or SOC 2181 (El Camino de Santiago | ||
| HIST 3811 | The Emergence of the Modern Middle East | |
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Holocaust Memory. Same as IAFF 3205 and JSTD 2002: Holocaust Memory) | |
| IAFF 2190 | Special Topics (Gender in International Affairs) | |
| IAFF 2190 | Special Topics (Politics and Culture in Africa) | |
| IAFF 2190W | Special Topics (Politics and Culture in the Middle East) | |
| IAFF 2201W | Women in Global Politics | |
| IAFF 3183 | Special Topics in Development Policy (Globalization and Sustainable Development) | |
| IAFF 3183 | Special Topics in Development Policy (Human Trafficking) | |
| IAFF 3186 | Special Topics in Asian Studies (Women in Asia) | |
| IAFF 3187 | Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies (Democracy Under Siege) | |
| IAFF 3187 | Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies (Latin American Migration) | |
| IAFF 3187 | Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies (Mexico Since Independence) | |
| IAFF 3188 | Special Topics in Middle East Studies (Israeli Society and Politics) | |
| or JSTD 2002 (Israeli Society and Politics) | ||
| IAFF 3188 | Special Topics in Middle East Studies (Anthropology of Islam) | |
| or ANTH 3991 (Anthropology of Islam) | ||
| IAFF 3188 | Special Topics in Middle East Studies (State and Society in Egypt) | |
| IAFF 3189 | Special Topics in African Studies (Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa) | |
| IAFF 3189 | Special Topics in African Studies (Foreign Influence in Senegal) | |
| IAFF 3189 | Special Topics in African Studies (Hip Hop and Social Change in Africa) | |
| IAFF 3189 | Special Topics in African Studies (Women and Leadership in Africa) | |
| IAFF 3190 | Special Topics in International Affairs (Global Mental Health Policy) | |
| IAFF 3190 | Special Topics in International Affairs (LGBTIQ+ in International Affairs) | |
| IAFF 3190 | Special Topics in International Affairs (Social Dimensions of Climate Change) | |
| IAFF 3190W | Special Topics (Masculinities in International Affairs) | |
| IAFF 3205 | Holocaust Memory (Same as HONR 2047 and JSTD 2002: Holocaust Memory) | |
| IAFF 3210W | Migration, Gender, and International Development | |
| IAFF 3501 | International Development Theory, Policy, and Practice | |
| or ANTH 3501 | Anthropology of Development | |
| IAFF 3513 | Human Rights and Ethics | |
| or ANTH 3513 | Anthropology of Human Rights | |
| IAFF 3633 | Gender, Conflict, and Security | |
| IAFF 3756 | Christianity and Islam in East Asia | |
| or REL 3990 (Christianity and Islam in East Asia) | ||
| IAFF 3757 | North Korean Society and Culture | |
| ITAL 2500 | History of Italian Film | |
| ITAL 2600 | Culture and Conflict in Italian Foodways (Italian Foodways) | |
| ITAL 4184 | Contemporary Italian Cinema (Migration in Italian Film) | |
| JAPN 3112 | Japanese Literature in Translation II | |
| JAPN 3114 | Traditional Japanese Culture | |
| JAPN 3162 | Japanese Culture Through Film | |
| or ANTH 3709 | Japanese Culture Through Film | |
| JSTD 2002 | Topics in Judaic Studies: Modern (Holocaust Memory. Same as HONR 2047 and IAFF 3205: Holocaust Memory) | |
| JSTD 2002W | Topics in Judaic Studies Modern (Gender and Sexuality in Israel) | |
| KOR 3112 | Korean Literature in Translation II | |
| KOR 3162 | Korean Culture through Film | |
| KOR 3300 | Historical Trauma and Cultural Healing in Post-1950s Korean Art | |
| KOR 4190 | North Korean Society and Culture | |
| or IAFF 3757 | North Korean Society and Culture | |
| REL 2506 | Religion, Myth, and Magic | |
| or ANTH 2506 | Religion, Myth, and Magic | |
| REL 2814 | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| or EALL 3814 | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| or EALL 3814W | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| REL 2922 | Ethics and World Religions | |
| REL 3990 | Selected Topics in Religion (Christianity and Islam in East Asia) | |
| or IAFF 3756 | Christianity and Islam in East Asia | |
| SLAV 2361 | Russian Culture | |
| SLAV 2366 | Russian Literature from World War II to the Present (in English) | |
| SLAV 2786 | Introduction to Russian Cinema II (in English) | |
| SOC 2175 | Sociology of Sex and Gender | |
| SOC 2179 | Race and Minority Relations | |
| SOC 2181 | Special Topics in Sociology (El Camino de Santiago) | |
| or HIST 3148 | El Camino de Santiago | |
| SPAN 3100W | Texts and Contexts of the Spanish-Speaking World | |
| SPAN 3200 | Bilingualism in the Spanish-Speaking World | |
| SPAN 3440 | Caribbean Literature and Culture | |
| SPAN 3550 | Queer Latin America | |
| SPAN 4420 | Global Migrations in the Spanish-Speaking World | |
| or WGSS 3170 (Global Migrations) | ||
| SPAN 4450 | Mexican Literature and Culture | |
| SPAN 4460 | Southern Cone Literature and Culture | |
| WGSS 2120 | Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | |
| WGSS 2710 | Postcolonialism, Race, and Gender in Global Anglophone Literature and Film | |
| or ENGL 2710 | Postcolonialism, Race, and Gender in Global Anglophone Literature and Film | |
| WGSS 3170 | Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Global Migrations) | |
| or SPAN 4420 | Global Migrations in the Spanish-Speaking World | |
| WGSS 3170 | Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (LGBTQ & Cross-Culturalism Studies) | |
| WGSS 3170 | Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Queer Latin America) | |
| WGSS 3170W | Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Gender & the Arab World (in English) ) | |