Washington Center

Spring Semester 2020

International Development

Credits: 
4
Instructor: 
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Quarter Dates: 
January 7 - March 10, 2020
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 15, 2020
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Core Seminar
Description: 

This is an introductory course to the international development field. The focus is on some of the key questions, challenges and achievements in this field. Materials from the course (readings, documentaries, discussions of current events) will enhance your understanding of the dominant approaches to poverty alleviation, the role of inter/national development actors, organizations and institutions, the promises of post-2015 Development Goals including the empowerment of women and youth. You will be exposed to the theoretical foundations of the field and will be required to make sense of these by following current events and drawing on your internship experiences in the nation’s Capital as well as your interactions with various experts, policy makers and development practitioners. The ultimate-goal of the course is to enhance your understanding of the various causes and consequences of development problems and encourage you to develop individual perspective on effective strategies for change. 

Draft Syllabus

*Requirement for ALL semester students:

The last four weeks of this semester (March 25 to April 15) will be spent in a special topics module taught by Professor Jennifer Diascro on Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. This module will account for 15% of the core seminar final course grade. Please contact Professor Diascro (jennifer.diascro@ucdc.edu) with questions.

Professor Skalli Hanna will begin teaching the International Development seminar on Tuesdays, beginning January 7, and she will officially be your instructor of record for the term, responsible for computing and submitting final course grades at the end of the term.

**NO additional registration required

Course ID: 
UCDC191E02W20

General Research

Credits: 
4
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Quarter Dates: 
January 7 - March 10, 2020
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 15, 2020
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Core Seminar
Description: 

Gathering knowledge and learning the truth about the world around us is a fundamental part of human development and progress. While most of us take knowledge and truth for granted, the process by which we understand our political, social, cultural, physical, biological environment has become particularly salient in the last couple of years as we’ve been confronted with an ever-increasing post-fact and post-truth world. While we are all affected by biases that obstruct critical thinking, challenging these biases is essential to making rational, evidence-based argument and decisions.

The focus of this seminar is writing and research. Students will choose a research topic related to the work of their internship organization and will spend the writing various parts of what will become a final research paper. This seminar is designed to hone the critical writing and thinking skills necessary for developing evidence-based arguments. Students of all majors and writing experience are welcome!

Draft Syllabus

*Requirement for ALL semester students: 

The last four weeks of this semester (March 25 to April 15) will be spent in a special topics module taught by Professor Jennifer Diascro on Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. This module will account for 15% of the core seminar final course grade. Please contact Professor Diascro (jennifer.diascro.edu) with questions.

Professor Diascro will begin teaching the General Research seminar on Tuesdays, beginning January 7, and she will officially be your instructor of record for the term, responsible for computing and submitting final course grades at the end of the term.

**NO additional registration required.

Course ID: 
UCDC191A01W20

International Policy Research

Credits: 
4
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Quarter Dates: 
January 7 - March 10, 2020
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 15, 2020
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Core Seminar
Description: 

This seminar is designed to help you to engage critically and think systematically about crucial questions that are global in scope and to guide you through the process of developing a significant research paper. This is not a field seminar in international relations. Lectures and readings will touch on some foundational theories and concepts in comparative and international politics but will be heavily focused on principles of social science research. The issues and problems covered during class discussions and that you read and write about will be driven by your own geographical and substantive interests. The course is also designed to help you to connect your academic pursuits with your professional development in your internships and the broader political ecosystem of Washington, DC. Through the course, we will collectively engage with some of the most crucial problems facing the world’s peoples in the 21st century while examining their causes, consequences, and potential solutions.

Draft Syllabus

Requirement for all semester students:

The last four weeks of this semester (March 25 to April 15) will be spent in a special topics module taught by Professor Jennifer Diascro on Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. This module will account for 15% of the core seminar final course grade. Please contact Professor Diascro (jennifer.diascro@ucdc.edu) with questions.

Professor Danielson will begin teaching the International Policy seminar on Tuesdays, beginning January 7 and he will officially be your instructor of record for the term, responsible for computing and submitting final course grades at the end of the term.

**NO additional registration required.

Course ID: 
UCDC191E01W20

Lobbying, Money and Influence in Washington

Credits: 
4
Term or Semester: 
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 14, 2020
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Semester Elective
Description: 

This course will be an intense examination of lobbying in Washington with particular attention given to the role of money and campaign finance in the operation of what has become a highly sophisticated and poorly under-stood network of advocacy and influence. It will provide a basic understanding of three different but interrelated knowledge sets: the Congress, political money and lobbying by interest groups. Student should understand that while the lectures are focused on those individual subject areas and that the semester is divided into three separate sections for that purpose, the readings later in the term will often relate to earlier lectures. This is done with the intent of “connecting the dots” among all these somewhat diverse topical areas.

Draft Syllabus

*This course is not approved for UC Berkeley students to take*

Course ID: 
UCDCSEM6S20

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