University of Geneva

The Model United Nations (MUN) seminar is an interactive course developed by Geneva International Model United Nations (GIMUN). MUN is the simulation of a United Nations committee or agency, where each participant represents a State or organization and advances their policies as they debate contemporary global issues. The course is divided in two parts: theoretical and practical. In the first part of the semester, a new theoretical element of MUN is studied every week in the form of a traditional lesson with obligatory readings. In the second part of the semester, a contemporary global issue is debated every week in mini-simulations led by groups of four students. The course covers a variety of subject matter including international law, environment, and development. Students learn about the United Nation (UN) system and government foreign policy, while training in public speaking, research, negotiation, and diplomacy.

The course covers the topic of emotions in international relations. In the first part, students discuss the definition of emotions, the social and political dimensions of emotions, and group and collective emotions. In the second part, students learn about emotions in intergroup conflicts. The course discusses the role of emotions (such as hatred and threat) in fueling conflicts, as well as the role of emotions (such as empathy and collective guilt) in conflict resolution. In the last part of the course, students learn about the role of emotions in collective reactions to global threats, such as climate change and rise of populism. In particular, the course discusses the role of emotions in mobilization of collective actions in a globalizing world. Course graded on P/NP basis only. 

The course is an introduction to macroeconomic issues and policies in open economies. After presenting the main concepts related to national accounts, the first part deals with the implications of financial market integration, focusing on current account and global imbalances, the accumulation of foreign reserves, asset trade and portfolio diversification. The second part starts from equilibrium pricing in international financial markets, covered and uncovered interest parity conditions, and then reviews models of exchange rate determination in the short- and the long-run, their empirical validity and implications for monetary policy. It also addresses important topics in international finance, such as: the choice of the exchange-rate regime; the determinants of international capital flows and sovereign yield spreads; currency crises; financial contagion; current account sustainability and sovereign debt crises.

This course is designed for students who have already reached the A1 level. It continues developing their proficiency and practice in French. Various oral and written skills are practiced through a range of activities, so that students can gradually feel more comfortable with topics they are familiar with. The course also focuses on strengthening grammatical and vocabulary knowledge by introducing new elements, which enable students to respond to various situations in everyday life.