War in Ukraine: Understanding International Affairs

Course Description

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the largest armed conflict on the European continent since WWII. Given the large volume of information that may be difficult to process, this EMCP course will help students understand the key players and processes of this devastating invasion. We will analyze the causes and long-term impacts of Russia’s invasion, as well as discuss strategies to overcome challenges to peace. This course will be a strong fit for high school students with interests in international relations and foreign policy.

This course does not assume any prior knowledge, and will survey a wide range of international affairs topics, including security studies, diplomacy, social mobilization, the European Union, and migration/refugees. Course content will consist of short lectures, videos, policy analysis workshops, and short group presentations. A role-playing simulation is planned for the final day of the course. The instructor will seek to include guest speakers from various communities whenever appropriate.

Due to the contemporary nature of this topic, we will use journalistic reporting, multimedia resources, (Vox videos, Freedom House), and think tank pieces (CIGI, Pew Research, Brookings etc.) Participants will be given the tools to create short policy-oriented documents and presentations from these resources.

Intended for high school students, an open discussion ‘seminar’ course atmosphere for ideas to be freely discussed, is planned. Participants should come away with a more robust understanding of the conflict, and analytical skills that can be applied towards future foreign policy challenges.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will understand the causes, impacts, themes and potential outcomes of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
2. Students will learn how to collaboratively create policy or academically oriented ‘briefing notes’ or presentations on a foreign affairs topic.
3. Students will obtain the skills to analyze phenomena and discuss ideas pertaining to an international affairs conflict
4. Students will be able to read and analyze short academic-style written works, (think tank pieces, policy documents etc.)