Hamilton School

Graduate Courses

ISS 5620 Great Books of the Western Medieval World Transcript Title 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces students to a selection of major texts of the medieval Western tradition, with some preliminary weeks as well on the history of early Christianity and concluding weeks on the early Renaissance. It is part of a sequence of four such courses covering antiquity to modernity that will provide students with a foundational knowledge in the history of Western ideas.

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ISS 5621 Great Books of the Western Modern World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces students to a selection of major texts of the modern period of Western history, defined as roughly the period between the Enlightenment and the present. The course cannot of course be comprehensive but will represent major themes and genres of the period. It is part of a sequence of four such courses covering antiquity to modernity that will provide students with a foundational knowledge in the history of Western ideas.

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ISS 5622 Great Books of the Western Early Modern World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces students to a selection of major texts of the early modern period, defined as roughly the period between the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Readings include major primary texts from the period and critical scholarship from a variety of disciplines (history, literature, philosophy, political theory).

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ISS 5623 Great Books of the Western Ancient World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces students to a selection of major texts of the ancient period of Western history, situated in Greco-Roman civilization. The course cannot of course be comprehensive but will represent major themes and genres of the period. It is part of a sequence of four such courses covering antiquity to modernity that will provide students with a foundational knowledge in the history of Western ideas.

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ISS 5631 Theory and Structure in WSS 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces students to crucial theoretical frameworks – both political and economic – which will help them understand relationships between and among states. The course will ground later studies in War, Strategy, and Statecraft by familiarizing students with the multidisciplinary terms, concepts, and modes of thinking required.

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ISS 5717 Principles of Grand Strategy and Statecraft I 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores how nations achieve their aims through warfare. By tracing the rise and fall of great powers from ancient Athens to the American Revolution, students will discover the influence individual leaders, regime types, and ideologies have had on the course of conflict.

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ISS 5718 Principles of Grand Strategy and Statecraft II 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores how nations achieve their aims through warfare. By tracing the rise and fall of great powers from the early American Republic to the present, students will discover the influence individual leaders, regime types, and ideologies have had on the course of conflict.

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ISS 5805 The Liberal Arts in Theory & Practice 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces liberal education by studying theory and practice from antiquity to the present day, with a focus on continuity, change, and context. Students will read and discuss a wide range of philosophical texts and historical studies, as well as contemporary contributions to the debate over the meaning and future of liberal education.

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ISS 6293 Topics in Theories and Structures 3 Credits, Max 12 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Places “systems” and “theories” ranging from international relations, state systems, NGOs, world governing boards to military/industrial technological change in historical perspective. Readings will combine detailed historic knowledge that uncovers most of the answers regarding causation and mechanism with social scientific tools, schema, and material to broaden analysis and understanding of world systems.

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ISS 6685 Topics in Statecraft and Strategy 3 Credits, Max 12 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Readings will challenge students to consider a range of important questions starting with how strategy and statecraft has shaped the international landscape from a historical perspective. Including today’s most pressing security and policy challenges—great power conflict, economic interdependence, peacebuilding, climate change and other non-traditional threats such as pandemics—are all increasing in complexity.

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ISS 6932 Topics in Philosophical and Literary Traditions and Ideas 3 Credits, Max 12 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Rotating topics will cover major ideas, texts, and intellectual traditions in the Western tradition with a particular focus on philosophical and literary traditions. Readings will include both primary texts and secondary, critical scholarship from a number of relevant disciplines (history, philosophy, politics, literature, etc.). The course has a research component culminating in a required research paper.

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ISS 6934 Topics in Political and Historical Traditions and Ideas 3 Credits, Max 12 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Rotating topics will cover major ideas, texts, and intellectual concepts in the Western tradition with a particular focus on political and historical areas of inquiry. Readings will include both primary texts and secondary, critical scholarship from a number of relevant disciplines (history, philosophy, politics, literature, etc.). The course has a research component culminating in a required research paper.

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ISS 6936 Topics in War 3 Credits, Max 12 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the interconnected development and evolution of war, warfare, and society from the ancients to the moderns mainly through a review of the historical literature. Readings will focus on the evolution and development of military thought and technology, the art and science of waging war on the operational, strategic, and tactical levels, leadership, and the transformation of the combatant.

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ISS 6971 Research for Master’s Thesis 3-15 Credits, Max 15 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Research for Master’s Thesis

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ISS 7979 Advanced Research 3-15 Credits, Max 15 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Research for doctoral students prior to admission to candidacy. Designed for students who have been accepted for a doctoral program but have not been admitted to candidacy. The end product of the course is a written dissertation proposal laying out the subject, method, and source material to be used to compose a doctoral dissertation.

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ISS 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation 3-15 Credits, Max 999 Credits

Grading Scheme: S/U

Research for doctoral students post-admission to candidacy.

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ISS 7982 Prospectus Writing Seminar 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Intended for students in the first year of their doctoral degree. The purpose of the seminar is to develop the research and presentation skills required to produce a successful oral defense of the dissertation prospectus.

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