DPI-701: Reasoning from History

Semester: Not Offered

Credit: 1.0

Faculty: Alex Keyssar

Schedule

Day Time Location
First Day
Meet Day
Review

Description

This course is the school's introduction to the uses of history and historical reasoning for policymakers. It examines the diverse ways in which policymakers and social scientists commonly (and frequently) utilize historical reasoning, as well as the manner in which beliefs about history shape debates about public issues. It explores common pitfalls in the uses of history, encouraging students to develop techniques that can help them become more self-conscious and skillful in their uses of the past. Also examines collective historical memory and compares historical reasoning to other modes of analysis. Cases are drawn from both the domestic and international policies of various countries. In 2009 the course will pay particular attention to the ways in which knowledge of history and historical reasoning are relevant to understanding the current global economic crisis.

Not offered in 2012-13.