Political Science 321: American Foreign Policy
Summer 2025 - Full-Term
SLN - 13054
Full Syllabus: Google Doc
Mode - Group Start Asynchronous Online Class (6/23/2025 - 8/22/2025); no required online meetings.
Course Week - Tuesday to Monday
General Method of Instruction - Recorded lectures, response papers, and online discussion
Canvas Link - https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1812111
W Credit Optional - Satisfies the "W" Credit requirement by arrangement.
Political Science Majors - This class counts for Field C or D requirements and is a required course for the Security Option.
The Instructional Team Contact and Office Hours
Instructor - Robin Datta
Best Contact - [email protected]
Office Hours - M 9:00 - 11:00 and by appointment
Location - Online (Zoom)
Course Overview
This course examines the historical evolution of U.S. foreign policy, tracing America's transformation from a weak power to a great power, superpower, and hyperpower while analyzing the enduring tensions between isolationist, unilateralist, and globalist impulses. We will explore how American foreign policy has balanced idealism with pragmatic realism through various doctrines that have shaped its ideological, economic, and democratic engagement with the world. We'll assess contemporary challenges to American power as other nations like China and Russia rise, examining leverage-based diplomacy, the reassertion of national interests, and the complex relationship between international commitments and domestic priorities. The course concludes by evaluating whether the Pax Americana is ending and what strategies might sustain American influence in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Topic List
Getting Started: Course Introduction & Overview
Week 01: What is Foreign Policy?
Week 02: "The American Way" of Foreign Policy
Week 03: The Rise to Empire
Week 04: The Making of Hegemony: The World Wars
Week 05: The Cold War, Containment, and "The Bomb"
Week 06: Searching for a Post-Cold War Center
Week 07: 9/11, Hubris, & the "Forever Wars"
Week 08: Bending, Breaking, or Restoring History - Obama, Trump, and Biden
Week 09: What's Next?
Texts and Materials
Kaufman, Joyce P. A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, 5th Edition. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. Print. ISBN: 978-1-5381-5136-5 (paper) / 978-1-5381-5137-2 (ebook).
Kaufman is available for free online reading via the UW Library (please read the book online or download the chapters you need instead of checking it out).
Additional readings are linked in Canvas and may require off-campus authentication with your UW NetID. Regular reading of foreign policy news and opinion is required; Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, two foreign policy journals, are highly recommended.
Lectures and introductory videos are available via the Panopto, and the daily "The Intelligence" podcast by The Economist is recommended.