Courses

The general object of this course is to illuminate how histories of what we think of as ‘international’ are structured by means of key concepts, foundational concepts which form (i) semantic fields constitutive of politics and policy as well as (ii) grounds for periodization. The seminar this year will be devoted, specifically, to a series of 'basic documents' of the early cold war, primary sources, chiefly U.S., which will be examined by means of close readings, ultimately with a view to problematize the conventional period known indeed as ’the cold war.' The design is thus unusual in that there will be only a single book, Melvyn Leffler’s Preponderance of Power, which provides a survey of the Truman Administration and so will be a reference text for the US side, at least. The remaining materials will be available in Courseworks. (This course may not be taken concurrently with UN 2492 US Foreign Relations 1890-1990.)