With the end of the Cold War, ethnic politics and nationalism have
risen to center stage, playing visible roles in many of the world’s
most dangerous and intractable conflicts.  In this course, students
will explore the nature of ethnic identity and examine its role in
such major global events as the collapse of the USSR, genocides
and “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans and Africa, civil war in
Afghanistan, state-building in Iraq, as well as in problems closer to
home in the United States and Canada.  At the same time, the course
will consider why ethnic groups in many more areas successfully live
together in peace and will search for the best ways to prevent
intergroup violence. Students will also examine how major
developments like globalization and the information revolution may be
changing notions of ethnic identity and whether the result will be a
global “clash of civilizations” or the gradual erosion of ethnic
divides.