Terrorist Acts Change Interest In Courses

A number of College courses being offered this semester are facing both greater student interest and the prospect of potential curricular changes in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks.

Courses dealing with conflict, international relations and the Middle East have seen the greatest surge in enrollment, with professors and students pointing to last week’s tragedy as a motivating factor in the increased interest.

Enrollment in Foreign Cultures 17: “Thought and Change in the Contemporary Middle East,” has doubled this year, according to its professor, Nur Yalman.

“[It’s a] huge course,” Yalman said. “People are curious, [thinking] what on earth is going on out there? They are interested in getting a general background [on the situation], which is really what is needed now.”

Students said they have noticed this increased interest—and the subsequently greater size of the already-large Core class—as well.

“A lot of kids have been commenting...they thought [Foreign Cultures 17] would have been a lot smaller than it is now,” said L. Patrick Noonan ’03, a student in the course.

Even in classes with limited enrollment, such as seminars and tutorials, professors and students have also seen greater interest since last week.

“I have a feeling that if the course were open like a lecture, enrollment would have been much higher,” said professor Andrew Kydd, who teaches a Government Department junior seminar, “Conflict Resolution,” which held its lottery before the attacks.

Shan P. Patel ’03, a student in professor Stephen P. Rosen’s Government seminar, “The Future of War,” said that the seminar room was surprising full during its first meeting this Monday.

“Of all the seminars I went to, it was definitely the most packed,” Patel said, with students and auditors taking advantage of shopping period to participate in a discussion in the suddenly more timely class.

In addition to increased student interest and enrollment, last week’s events are also likely to influence the content of courses such as Yulman’s and Rosen’s.

Judith G. Kelley, a lecturer who teaches the Government seminar “International Organization,” said she noticed a distinct change in the focus of class discussion on her seminar’s first day.

“We talked extensively about [the attacks and] incorporated it into our class discussion,” Kelley said. “I assume it’ll come up again....We’ll talk about it when we discuss international security and coalition-building.”

Some classes this semester will try to incorporate current events more explicitly into the curriculum. Bear F. Braumoeller, an assistant professor teaching the Government seminar “International Relations Theory,” said in an e-mail he hopes to use the current situation as a concrete example of the abstract concepts in his course.

“The ways in which the events of last week might be particularly relevant...have to do with the ways in

which, as many people assert, ‘the world has changed,’” Braumoeller said. “I hope to explore how that might be the case.”

Kelley, like Yulman, said she thinks that the developing situation could have a long-term effect by getting students more interested in the history and background behind the current international climate.

“I think it has heightened people’s awareness of international affairs,” Kelley said. “But the discussion has obviously changed.”