FALL 2007 HONORS COURSES

HONR 279O Counterterrorism
Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Dr. John Newman, Lecturer in University Honors; Major, United States Army (retired)

This course is a systematic study of American’s response to the threat of terrorism since the end of the Cold War. From the rise of the fundamentalist Islamic terror threat to the U.S. to domestic American terrorism, we will focus on and critique the performance of U.S. counter terror organizations, including the FBI, CIA, NSA, the White House and Congress. We will evaluate the successes and the failures of these organizations with respect to the major terrorist events since the Cold War, study the lessons that wee or should have been learned from them, and then examine the extent these lessons have been brought to bear on the post-911 reorganization of U.S. counter terror assests.

Consideration will also be given to organizational cultures, to the conflict between public security and civil liberties, and to the issues surrounding America’s absorption of diverse ethnic and religious peoples.

The course will end with a simulation, during which the class members will role-play counter terror cells in various organizations in a dynamic scenario.

CORE: Interdisciplinary and Emerging Issues (IE)