GOVT 3837 - [The Cold War]

(crosslisted) HIST 3837
(HA-AS)

Spring. Next Offered: 2020-2021. 4 credits. Student option grading.

This course will be offered in partnership with the Russian Language Program. Students enrolled in Government 3837 may enroll in an optional one credit course, RUSSA 3111, where they will have the opportunity to discuss and analyze the course materials in Russian. RUSSA 3111 is open to native speakers of Russian as well as advanced non-native speakers with moderate to advanced reading skills.

M. Evangelista.

During more than four decades following the end of World War II international politics was dominated by a phenomenon known as the Cold War. This class examines the origins, course, and ultimate demise of this conflict that pitted the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and its allies. It seeks to evaluate the competing explanations that political scientists and historians have put forward to explain the Cold War by drawing on the new evidence that has become available. The course considers political, economic, and strategic aspects of the Cold War, including the nuclear arms race, with particular focus on the link between domestic and foreign policy. The course emphasizes writing, and includes a final research paper for which students will use original archival materials. Please contact the instructor if you are interested in an optional extra-credit Russian-language section. (IR)