DWA is Occidental College’s nationally recognized International Relations major. This innovative department grounds students in IR theory, security and human security, international organizations, economic development, and case studies regarding state-building, nationalism, religion, identity and ethnic conflict. Students are encouraged to draw in an interdisciplinary manner from related majors (among them Politics, Economics, Film/Documentary-making, Critical Theory, History, and Religious Studies), and are required to engage in substantial foreign language study. DWA hosts Occidental’s “Oxy-at-the-U.N.” program, which is unique in allowing undergraduate students to intern at agencies and arms of the United Nations. The John Parke Young Fund generously funds independent research projects developed by our students under faculty supervision. In cooperation with the Office of Global Affairs, DWA also hosts a lively series of guest lectures, brown bags, films, documentaries, and the John Parke Young Distinguished Speaker Series.

To give a sense of the DWA major, following is an outline of the themes on which DWA professors and students focus in an interdisciplinary and applied manner:

Security and Human Security

Thinking about security in a historically informed manner that sees as fundamental the intersection among issues such as war, poverty, human rights, and terrorism defines DWA’s approach to security and human security.

International Law, International Organizations, and Human Rights

Looking at how international and regional organizations and regimes such as international law and/or human rights intersect with urgent global issues is elemental in DWA.

Economic Development

DWA studies of economic development are informed by both classic economics as well as exploring alternatives to a purely economic growth model, such as sustainable human development or rights-based approaches to development.

State-building, Nationalism, Religion, Identity, and Ethnic Conflict

Theories of nationalism, religion, and identity are emphasized in DWA as fundamental to understanding conflict and change in contemporary international relations.

Theory

A broad range of contemporary IR theory and philosophic texts inform DWA’s approach to international relations. As with much of the IR field, there has been a move away from a state-centric focus and toward theory that brings into the study of international relations a greater emphasis on the norms, non-state actors, and trans-state variables that increasingly constitute global politics.

Events & Announcements

DWA Welcomes Huss Banai to the DWA Faculty in Fall 2012 Hussein Banai will be joining the faculty at Oxy in the fall of 2012 as assistant professor in the Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs. Currently, he is a research affiliate at the Center for International Studies, MIT, and a visiting scholar at the Political Theory Project at Brown University. He earned his doctorate in Political Science from Brown University in 2011, his MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2005, and his BA (with Honors) from York University in 2003. His research interests lie at the intersection of international relations and political theory with special focus on democratic politics in the modern Middle East. He is a co-author of a forthcoming book on US-Iran relations entitled Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations During the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 (Rowman & Littlefield) and has published on topics in diplomacy, democratic theory, and contemporary Iranian politics.

DWA Welcomes Eva Kaye-Zwiebel, John Parke Young Spring 2012 Visiting Scholar Kaye-Zwiebel teaches courses about the politics and international affairs of Africa, natural resource management, and community cooperation. Her research focuses on poverty and development with an emphasis on the politics of conservation and the effects of development aid on social capital. She has extensive experience in rural Kenya, where she worked with ecologists and hydrologists to understand the relationships between environmental phenomena and human decision-making in a semi-arid ecosystem. Kaye-Zwiebel is the recipient of a Fulbright grant to France and holds a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University.

Apply for the Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program Each year the Endowment offers 8-10 one-year fellowships to uniquely qualified graduating seniors and individuals who have graduated during the past academic year. They are selected from a pool of nominees from close to 400 participating colleges. Carnegie Junior Fellows work as research assistants to the Endowment’s senior associates. The campus deadline is January, 4, 2012. Click here to access the 2011-2012 application. For more information, please contact Professor Lan Chu at lchu@oxy.edu.

John Parke Young Fund The Department of Diplomacy & World Affairs is pleased to announce the availability of financial support, made possible through the John Parke Young Fund, for full time DWA majors to conduct independent research, undertake internships, and to participate in conferences, colloquia, or workshops. Click here for application and information.

Apply for the Boren Scholarship Boren Scholarships provide American undergraduate students with the resources and encouragement they need to acquire skills and experiences in areas of the world critical to the future security of our nation, in exchange for their commitment to seek work in the federal government. Boren Scholarships promote long term linguistic and cultural immersion ($10,000 a semester/$20,000 for a full academic year); study abroad proposals for two or more semesters are strongly encouraged. The campus deadline for the Boren Scholarship is January 27 2012.

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