2025 Courses

U.S. and the Middle East

• NES 3687; JWST 3687; GOVT 3687; AMST 3687; HIST 3687
• 4 credits
• Ross Brann
• Syllabus
• Tuesdays & Thursdays: 6:30pm – 9:50pm

This seminar examines the history of the United States’ involvement with Middle East beginning with evangelical efforts in the 19th century and President Wilson’s engagement with the colonial powers in the early 20th century during and after WWI. The discovery of vast Middle Eastern oil reserves and the retreat of the colonial powers from the region following WWII drew successive US administrations ever deeper into Middle Eastern politics. In due course the US became entrenched in the post-colonial political imagination as heir to the British and the French especially as it challenged the Soviet Union for influence in the region during the Cold War. And that only takes the story to the mid-1950s and the Eisenhower administration. Our discussions will be based on secondary readings and primary sources as we interrogate the tension between realist and idealist policies toward the Middle East and trace how these tensions play out in subsequent developments including the origins and trajectory of the US strategic alliances with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey and conflict with Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the two Gulf Wars.

Enduring Global and American Issues

• PUBPOL 3071; GOVT 3071; AMST 3071
• 4 credits
• David Silbey
• Syllabus
• Mondays & Wednesdays: 6:30pm – 9:50pm

The US and the global community face a number of complex, interconnected and enduring issues that pose challenges for our political and policy governance institutions and society at large. These include sustainability, social justice, technology, public health, security and conflict, and globalization, among others. Students will investigate these issues, and the challenges they pose, through weekly case studies, class discussions, lectures and guest speakers, guided by a number of robust and generalizable analytical frameworks.

Faculty

During Cornell’s summer term, you’ll enjoy the same great education that’s offered during our fall and spring semesters. You’ll enjoy the unparalleled opportunity to work closely with our outstanding associate director, a leader in his field.

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Credits

All Cornell in Washington classes are regular Cornell University courses and grant academic credit. You must be enrolled in a course to remain in the program. You do not have to petition for your credits to transfer onto your transcript.

Grades & Symbols

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• If you withdraw from a course on or after the withdrawal deadline, the symbol “W” appears on your transcript for the dropped course.

For more information, visit the Cornell University Courses of Study website.

Transcripts

Your enrollment in courses, your grades, and the number of credits you earn will be recorded on your official Cornell University transcript and will be a part of your permanent and complete academic record at the university.

Approximately 10 days after the end of the class, you may log into the Cornell Student Center or the Office of the University Registrar website to order your transcript.

For more information, visit the Office of the University Registrar.