U-M undergraduate courses in Sept. 11 aftermath

September 6, 2002
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U-M undergraduate courses in Sept. 11 aftermath The College of Literature, Science & the Arts at the University of Michigan is offering undergraduate courses focusing on many issues related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They include: · Ethno-Religious Conflict and the Media, a Communications Studies seminar being taught by Javed Nazir, Marsh professor of journalism, will study the rise of Islamic militancy and its impact on society in South Asia, specifically looking at the nature of the infighting between the mainstream Islamic population and the extremists, and how the media is coping with that issue. jnazir@umich.edu, (734) 764-0420. · War in the Twentieth Century Middle East, taught by Juan Cole, professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian History will examine the impact of the World Wars, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli Wars, Afghanistan, the Gulf Wars and the War on Terror, including the growth of Al-Qaida, in the shaping of the modern Middle East. (734) 763-1599. · The Psychology of Negotiation and Conflict Management, a First-Year Seminar led by Kim Leary, associate director of the Psychological Clinic and clinical psychologist at the Institute for Human Adjustment. Leary plans to focus on the Sept. 11 attacks in two ways: the general psycho-dynamics of violence and the terrorist mind set, and leadership in the face of terrorism, with a case study of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s leadership following the attacks on the World Trade Center. (734) 764-3471. · Political Psychology, a course taught by David G. Winter, professor of Psychology, will survey the ways psychological factors affect politics, and vice versa. According to Winter, the events of Sept. 11 and their aftermath will come up throughout the course. “I want to go beyond the clichés about terrorism and its political fallout. My goal here is to help the students get at least a couple of good analytic hand holds that will lead them to a better understanding of the post 9/11 world.” dgwinter@umich.edu, (734) 647-3952. · International Politics, Terrorism and Proliferation, taught primarily on-line by Raymond Tanter, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, is a senior-level political science seminar that will draw on social science literature, including Tanter’s book, “Rogue Regimes,” to explain why international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) abound in the post-Cold War era. Regarding terrorism, the focus is on the American—led War on Terrorism. With respect to proliferation, the emphasis is on the debate over Washington’s effort to effect regime change in Iraq, because of the Iraqi threat of WMD in the aftermath of 9/11. (202) 320-8434. · Literature and Evil, taught by Simon E. Gikandi, professor of English. Since Sept. 11, 2001, says Gikandi, there has been a tendency for students of literature and culture to conceive acts of violence and evil as large monumental events that demand big universal narratives. The course will examine how some of the most violent and evil events of the modern period – slavery, colonialism, totalitarianism, the holocaust and wide-spread terrorism – have affected the nature of story telling in general and the novel in particular. (734) 764-6371.

· State Sponsored Terror in Asia, a colloquium taught by David Chandler, visiting professor of History, will examine several twentieth century instances of nationally focused, government-sponsored campaigns in Asia that involved the mass killings of a given regime’s political enemies. (734) 763-4771. · From Camelot to Kandahar: Freedom and American Myth in the Late 20th Century, a Lloyd Hall Scholars Writing Seminar, taught by David Peters. (734) 763-2901.  

jnazir@umich.edudgwinter@umich.edu