| Date | Class topic | Read for class |
| Aug. 20 | Introduction: the decline of violence? | Pinker essay |
| Aug. 22 | The 19th-Century international system | Frieden, 1-9, 13-27 |
| Aug. 27 | The Great War and international society | Frieden, 127-54 |
| Aug. 29 | The League at its best, 1919-1929 | Frieden, 155-172 |
| Sept. 3 | The League at worst, 1929-1936 | Frieden, 173-194 |
| Sept. 5 | The Axis challenge | Frieden, 195-250 |
| Sept. 10 | Planning for victory – the United Nations |
Meisler, 1-35 |
| Sept. 12 | Bretton Woods and the new international economy | Frieden, 253-300 |
| Sept. 17 | Partitioning Palestine | Meisler, 36-54 |
| Sept. 19 | Declaring Human Rights [= discussion q's] | Mazower article |
| Sept. 24 | "Uniting for Peace": Korea & the Cold War | Meisler, 55-74 |
Sept. 26 |
Bandung and Suez | Meisler, 75-114 |
| Oct. 1 | Meisler, 115-152 Frieden, 301-320 |
|
| Oct. 3 | - MIDTERM EXAM - | |
| Oct. 8 | - OCTOBER BREAK - | |
| Oct. 10 | The Non-Proliferation Treaty | |
| Oct. 15 | Polarization and terrorism: 1967 and its Aftermath | Meisler, 153-184 |
| Oct. 17 | Asian Development: the "Green Revolution" | Cullather article |
| Oct. 22 | "Limits to growth" and the oil shock | Frieden, 321-360 "Limits to Growth" |
| Oct. 24 | The radical 1970s | Meisler, 185-221 |
| Oct. 29 | The IMF and the rise of austerity economics [First Paper Due] |
Frieden, 363-391 |
| Oct. 31 | NGOs and international civil society | Meisler, 222-238 |
| Nov. 5 | The Democratic Wave, 1985-95 | Meisler, 239-256 |
| Nov. 7 | Saddam's Iraq and the International Community | Meisler, 257-277 |
| Nov. 12 | The "Live Aid" effect and intervention in Somalia | Meisler, 278-311 Malloch-Brown, 99-148 |
| Nov. 14 | The civil wars in Yugoslavia | Meisler, 312-333 |
| Nov. 19 | Genocide in Rwanda | Power article |
| Nov. 21 | Seeking Justice: The Hague & Beyond | Wald & Wigglesworth articles |
| Nov. 26 | "Globalization": the world flattens | Frieden, 392-456 Malloch-Brown, 201-215 |
| Nov. 28 | - THANKSGIVING - | |
| Dec. 3 | Bush's America vs. the UN | Meisler, 345-370 Malloch-Brown, 149-200 |
| Dec. 5 | The fading Millennium Goals | Meisler, 371-390 Frieden, 456-476 Malloch-Brown, 216-241 |