Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

This course shows that Africa is a productive laboratory for students and researchers in international relations and security studies as the region gathers some of the most enduring interlinked political rivalries within the international system. It challenges and sometimes clarifies powerful concepts developed by the field (hegemonic stability, regional security complex, failed states, small state, sovereignty). It contrasts arguments that international relations focuses on the politics of powerful states and that, as a consequence, there is an African exceptionalism which explains the field’s inability to accurately address African experiences. The course examines how Africa has often been neglected by the different theoretical approaches to international relations and more generally by the discipline, demonstrating that the Horn of Africa is pertinent not only for area specialists but also constitutes a remarkable ground for fieldwork and theory-testing of both old and new approaches. 

This course offers an introduction to gender studies, extending to the study of feminist and queer theories, women's and LGBTQI+ movements, and masculinities. The course explores critical questions concerning gender in society while introducing key issues, questions, and debates in gender studies scholarship. It develops a gender prism to conduct gender analysis in a range of spheres, including political institutions, the labor market, healthcare systems, and media, cutting across various disciplines such as law, political science, sociology, and economics. Additionally, it provides the necessary critical tools to evaluate and participate in contemporary policy debates, such as same-sex marriage, surrogacy, and #metoo. The course provides a solid foundation in gender studies to be able to analyze gender dynamics in various contexts and engage thoughtfully in ongoing discussions about gender-related issues and contemporary debates.

This course studies European democratic developments in the twentieth century by considering the fluctuating nature of democracy as a fundamentally historical phenomenon, whose reputation has been judged in changing ways over time. It develops a historically grounded and argued understanding of the question of changes in democracy.

This course explores the many ways in which inequalities and class relations shape people's lives, their ways of seeing the world, the way institutions function, and collective mobilizations. It begins by recalling the main terms of the theoretical debate on social classes, demonstrating the originality of sociological approaches. It then considers the international dimension of the question of social class, and ways of classifying and being classified in social space. The course then focuses on the relationship between social classes and questions of work, education, culture, and politics. Finally, it examines the bourgeoisie and the "middle classes," as well as how class is interwoven with social relations of gender and race, in an intersectional approach.

This course offers students the methodological foundations to undertake research related to the study of political elites or any other relevant group using secondary data. The course also allows the student to get acquainted with the production of primary data. The approach is multimethodological, and it focuses on the study of political elites. All the sessions include a lecture, but they can also include practical sessions using computers. The first part of the course is devoted to qualitative methodologies, while the remaining part deals with more quantitative approaches to research in political science. The sessions are designed for students who have no prior knowledge and/or background in data analysis or research methods.

This intermediate A2 level Japanese course focuses on the four skills of listening comprehension, spoken expression, reading comprehension, and written expression to enable students to use documentation in Japanese and to practice the language in a non-specialized context. The listening comprehension section focuses on understanding common greetings common greetings and work instructions; more elaborate questions on non-specialized topics; an everyday discussion on topics from ordinary life; the overall meaning of an authentic text (listening); and differences in levels of language (polite or familiar style). The spoken expression section practices greetings, thanks, and apologies with more nuance; making requests and offering responses with a richer vocabulary and level of expression, depending on the degree of politeness; using different conversational techniques to conduct a natural conversation (incomplete sentences, attenuation); producing a structured narrative of an event and be able to describe an unfamiliar visual document (on a theme explored in class); expressing your opinion in a simple way; expressing obligation and interdiction; expressing ability; describing a past experience; using two levels of language according to a given situation; using ageru, kureru, and morau with another verb in -te form. The reading comprehension section builds an understanding of around 300 kanji in context; a text on a topic discussed in class; and an overall understanding of a document using a bilingual dictionary and a kanji dictionary. Finally, the written expression section practices writing 110 new kanji; produces a homogeneous text in terms of style (neutral or polite) according to the type of text; writes a more detailed text on a simple theme, based upon a visual (graph, image); and writes a non-specialized letter.

This course covers the history of racial inequality in the United States from the arrival of the first African slaves in Virginia in 1619 to the recent emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout, it considers how unequal the United States is; where racial inequality comes from; and why it has proved so enduring; how it has changed over time; what role the U.S. government played in this process; how racial inequality influences U.S. politics, economics, and culture; and what solutions have been proposed. The course introduces the multiple facets of racial inequality in the United States today, considers the history of racial inequality in the United States, and develops critical reading and writing skills in assessing and crafting complex arguments.

This course examines sexuality and gender in Asia, where there are evidences that in pre-colonial societies, gender pluralism and societal inclusivity persisted and celebrated those within and beyond today's ideas of sexualities and genders. From the matriarchal practices in ancient and pre-colonial societies, to promised marriages, to the prohibition of women in artistic and political spaces, to the binding of feet and being leftover women, as well as the various cultural queer realities such as the Bissu, Maknyah, Asog, Sao Praphet sang, Hijra, among others; this course investigates these phenomena and realities. It also explores migration and diasporic narratives as well as how sexualities and gender are practiced and performed in media and culture.

This course introduces the basis of privately run maritime trade; the threats faced by ship owners, ports, and seafarers; and the systems in place to protect them. It tells the story of mercantile trade on the world's seas focusing on the modernization and formalization of the merchant fleet in the 20th and 21st centuries; its governing systems under UN agreements; and its practical business considerations versus the geopolitical priorities of governments and the intentions of criminals and terrorists to profit from shipping's loss, from gray zone aggression to kidnaps at sea. The course draws upon international maritime law and trade agreements, international business standards, and national level government policies. Throughout, it maintains a practical approach on what these issues mean for the seafarer, the ship owner, the policy maker, and the consumer to illustrate the real-life impact of maritime polices – and the very real impact when there are no policies – as well as the career paths available in the maritime sector.

This course connects fashion to law through different expanses. It offers an analytical and critical perspective by indulging in the creative intricacies of the fashion industry to applying it to the rigid, robust nature of politics and law. It covers law and civil rights from the 18th to 21st century through key expressions of fashion, gender law, environmental and sustainability law, intellectual property, new technologies, social and labor law.