INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 4704 Global War on Terror

AUTUMN 2022
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis
MW 2:20 PM – 3:40 PM
Room 180, Cunz Hall  
Class #:     35771

This course will explore the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States on American society, politics, and culture.  During the class we will explore five interrelated topics that have been especially important over the past 19 years: the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and its spillover into neighboring Pakistan; war and insurgency in Iraq; the evolution of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda movement; the war on the home front—the curtailment of civil liberties, the militarization of American society, the use of torture, and cases of domestic terrorism; and finally the failure of grassroots democratic political movements in the Middle East, usually referred to as the “Arab Spring,” the subsequent collapse of order in much of this region, and the re-emergence of jihadi terrorism in the form of ISIS.

We will explore these subjects in several different ways.  We will have some conventional readings and lectures to establish context.  We will also read memoirs and watch films to try to understand how these facets of the post 9/11 world are being remembered and represented. 

Course learning outcomes
The course learning outcomes are structured thematically; by the end of the class students should have mastered the following concepts:

• Technology and War: Understanding what technology is, how it affects the conduct of war, but more importantly, how it affects how we think about war.
• War vs. Terrorism: Understanding both war and terrorism as very different forms of political violence.
• War, Law, and Society: Understanding the impact of war and terrorism on law and civil society.
• The Costs of Security: Understanding the trade-offs that we have made in terms of money, freedoms, and reputation to provide for security against the relatively minor threat of domestic terrorism.
• Representations of 9/11: Appreciating the various ways that the violence following the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been presented, represented, and remembered in the United States and elsewhere