2010 Spring CANADIAN 150-01
Bulletin Course Description Topics vary each semester. Instructor: Staff
(Instructor named in bulletin description above may not be current. For current instructor, see listing below.)
Title NORTH AMER: NEIGHBORS/FUTURE Department CANADIAN Course Number 2010 Spring 150 Section Number 01 Primary Instructor Kelly,Stephen R Prerequisites
Synopsis of course content
“North America: Our Neighbors, Our Future” examines a series of critical modern challenges facing the United States whose solutions may lie, at least partially, with Canada and Mexico. Energy, trade, border protection, drug trafficking, continental defense, immigration and the environment, among other topics, will be studied in a North American context. One aspect to be addressed is the seeming contradiction between the importance of our neighbors – our largest oil suppliers, our largest export markets, our largest drug suppliers – and our knowledge of them, which is usually extremely low and often, in the case of Mexico, often negative. Students will also consider whether further continental integration is possible or desirable.
Textbooks
THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN BORDER
Assignments
The course will depend on recent materials from journals and other media for the most part, which will be posted on Blackboard. A single book, The Closing of the American Border, will be required. Required reading will be about 120 pages a week.
Exams
Students will prepare a 2-3 page “action memo” dealing with one of the key course issues recommending courses of action.
Term Papers
Write a final paper, maximum 3,000 words, examining a topic in the context of North American integration. Suggested topics will be provided.
Grade to be based on
Active participation and discussion will be essential for this class, given the dynamic and sometimes emotional nature of the subject matter. Students will be questioned orally at the beginning of each class about the assigned readings. They will also prepare, in teams, an oral presentation in conjunction with the action memo noted above.
Action memo, 10%. Final paper, 40%. Class participation, 25%. Oral presentation, 25%.
Additional Information
Office: John Hope Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Road
Email: srk14@duke.edu
Phone: 668-1951
