Global Agenda 2004

Readings

TA

Policies

Global Agenda 2004

Many Americans view the world in terms of "friends" and "enemies," with few shades of intention between those extremes. Particularly in the wake of two U.S. wars initiated after the terror attacks of 2001, other nations, religions and people have been cast into these two broad categories.Global Agenda 2004 surveys an "Enemies List" of threats to the United States which have more complex implications than is apparent on the surface. Students and the public will explore the dangers posed by weapons and computer threats, by nations such as North Korea, by religion-based movements in the Middle East, and by nations whose periodic disagreements with the U.S. sometimes thrust them into the role of "enemies."

This weekly seminar focuses on the difficulty of identifying "friends" and "enemies" in a world filled with shifting interests, alliances and politics.

Approximately every other week, guest lecturers, practitioners in the foreign affairs community, visit the UD campus to explore with students their experience with "enemies" of the United States. Students in this seminar will attend exclusive small-group talks and private dinners with visiting speakers, and will be joined by members of the university and public community who are invited to the series of Wednesday evening lectures.

On intervening weeks, the seminar will explore topics upcoming and just passed in the speaker series. This course is appropriate for Juniors and Seniors interested in geopolitics in policy and journalism who are eager for lively interaction with our visiting speakers.


Please note the mechanics of the course:

This class will meet once a week, on Wednesdays in Gore Hall Room 219.
In weeks when there is a guest speaker, students are required to attend the following events with the speaker:

  • seminar, with limited enrollment to allow lots of interaction with the guest (begins at 3:30pm) - 219 Gore Hall
  • informal reception, exclusive to students in the class, to allow off-topic discussions (5:00-6pm) - Blue & Gold Club
  • dinner with the guest, exclusive to students in the class, to allow informal continuing discussion (begins at 6:00pm) - Blue & Gold Club
    • NOTE: To make the event a rich opportunity for discussion, the dinners will be small. Approximately 10-12 students will be able to attend each dinner; a rotation system will be established early in the semester to assure all students have ample opportunity to converse with our guests. - Blue & Gold Club
  • formal evening speaker event, open to students outside the class and to the general public (begins at 7:30pm) - Mitchell Hall

In weeks when there is no guest speaker, the class will meet in Gore Hall on Wednesday at 3:30pm for discussion of the upcoming guest's topic and review of the previous week's speaker. This will be a standard-length class. (3:30-4:45pm)

There will be readings - including a custom anthology created for this course by Foreign Affairs Magazine and from other current-affairs publications - and several papers, but no final exam.

Registration is limited.