Political Science

The course begins by exploring the historical background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, starting with the events which led to the creation of the state of Israel. Particular attention is paid to studying the development of the conflict over the course of the 20th century from a domestic, regional as well as international perspective. The impact of various Israeli and Palestinian movements on the conflict is studied as well as the ongoing involvement of regional and international state and non-state actors. The course concludes with an analysis of the conflict in the 21st century, which includes studying what proposals for peace have been put forward and evaluating their merits. The course is organized according to key events, themes as well as case studies.

The course examines current problems in contemporary American politics. It focuses on a number of themes such as political polarization, demographics, class, religion, voter turnout, election campaigns, and foreign politics. The themes can vary from semester to semester.

Environmental questions have been at the heart of Geography's disciplinary identity for the last century or more. The course introduces some of the questions that geographers have sought to tackle, at the same time as drawing out some of the key issues for environmental politics and policy.  How we make sense of nature matters not only for the kind of environment we want to be a part of, but also for our sense of the political possibilities within the world.  Articulating a position within such debates has been the central task of society-environment geographers for much of the discipline's existence and is the focus in this series of lectures.

This course provides a critical understanding of the major issues currently faced by European countries, and the interplay between Member States, European institutions, global challenges and democratic legitimacy concerns. It analyzes the facts to understand the major causes and potential consequences and think of possible solutions to address challenges existing in the euro area, those created by the unprecedented migrant flows in Europe, stemming from climate change. The course also looks at the rise of Euroscepticism and the issue of democratic deficit in the European Union. The course provides a critical approach and a solid understanding of the major issues and debates on the topics covered during the class.

In examining how contemporary political power is organized, notably through constitutions, this course presents a view of issues past and present, legal and political, French or foreign, national and international.  It also offers several keys so that students can orient themselves among the facts, the information, and the documentary sources.  Students are given a certain amount of information but also encouraged to build intellectual and practical skills to bring out their critical thinking abilities, their ability to hold a rational argument, and stimulate their creative intellectualism.  The themes examined in the course include: defining a certain number of fundamental notions related to the analysis of constitutional law and the political institutions; examining several examples of foreign political institutions; and understanding the trajectory, the situation, and the characteristics of today’s French institutions.  Through case studies and applied examples, each course meeting is an opportunity to enrich the methodology required to examine these issues.