Amy Yuen

International Politics
What causes conflict or cooperation among states? What can states and other international entities do to preserve global peace? These are among the issues addressed by the study of international politics. This course examines the forces that shape relations among states, and between states and international regimes. Key concepts include: the international system, power and the balance of power, international institutions, foreign policy, diplomacy, deterrence, war, and global economic issues. Both the fall and spring sections of this course emphasize rigorous analysis and set theoretical concepts against historical and contemporary case studies. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/

International Politics and WMD
In this course we will examine the international ramifications of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons use. What is a weapon of mass destruction (WMD)? How have WMD changed the way states behave toward international conflicts and within international crises? How has the development of these weapons influenced the policies states have adopted in response? Beyond these questions, major course themes include the threats of proliferation and the highs and lows of weapons reduction initiatives. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (not open to students who have taken PSCI 1159) (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/

Game Theory for Political Science
How do candidates for political office choose their platforms? Why do some conflicts lead to war while others do not? What legislation will legislators introduce? These and many other compelling questions of political behavior often use game theory as a tool to study strategic, or interdependent, decision-making. Students will learn basic concepts of game theory and how to apply them to a range of political phenomena. To succeed, students need only a solid background in algebra. Students who have taken ECON 0280 cannot register for this course. (Any political science course) (formerly PSCI 0393) 3 hrs. lect./disc. (Methods)

International Political Economy
This course examines the politics of global economic relations, focusing principally on the advanced industrial states. How do governments and firms deal with the forces of globalization and interdependence? And what are the causes and consequences of their actions for the international system in turn? The course exposes students to both classic and contemporary thinking on free trade and protectionism, exchange rates and monetary systems, foreign direct investment and capital movements, regional integration, and the role of international institutions like the WTO. Readings will be drawn mainly from political science, as well as law and economics. 3 hrs. lect./disc./(International Relations and Foreign Policy)/

Guns, Drugs, People: The Illicit Economy in the Global Perspective
In this course, we will focus on patterns of illegal activity in the international economy. Students will study phenomena such as illegal trade in arms, animals, and drugs, and the trafficking and smuggling of human beings. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the systematic analysis of the illicit global economy. Students will be taught to examine the causes of illicit markets, the actors involved ( entrepreneurs, consumers, governments), and how markets respond to efforts to combat them. The objective is for students to understand the phenomenon and its drivers, and to translate this understanding into a critical evaluation of current policy approaches. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)

Weapons of Mass Destruction
Technological development has brought human civilization to the point at which we can destroy ourselves in a matter of hours using weapons of mass destruction. What effects do these weapons have on political, and social behavior? Do WMDs deserve their own classification, or is human behavior consistent regardless of the weapon? We explore the technology, political theory and policy that has risen around the prospect of human annihilation. (not open to students who have taken PSCI 0242 or equivalent) (International Relations and Foreign Policy)

Data Science Across Disciplines
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Geography, Linguistics, Political Science, or Writing & Rhetoric. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.

GEOG: Students will apply data science tools to explore the geography human-environment relationships around protected areas. We will use household survey and land cover data from locations across the humid tropics where the Wildlife Conservation Society has been tracking human wellbeing and forest resource use in high-priority conservation landscapes. Projects and visualizations will be presented back to WCS to inform their ongoing monitoring and management in these sites.

LNGT: In this section, we will learn how to collect and analyze Twitter data in R. We will focus on social metrics and geographical locations to examine language variation in online communities across the United States. While the emphasis will be placed on linguistics, the statistical and analytical tools will help you work with other types of Twitter corpora in the future.

PSCI: Students will use cross-national data to explore relationships between conflict events and political, social, and economic factors in each nation. What factors contribute to conflict and violence? Our focus will be to find patterns in the data using the tools in R and discuss what those patterns suggest for addressing rising conflict and resolving ones that have already experienced violence.

WRPR: Students will learn to conduct writing studies research through working with "big data” from a multiyear survey of first-year college students about their academic confidences, attitudes, and perceptions. We will explore how educational access, identity, and language background impacts survey responses. Using statistical analysis and data visualizations, as well as writing, we will report our findings.