Christopher C. Burkett

POLSC 301/HIST 236: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

The purpose of this course is to gain a better understanding of the place of the United States in the

world today. To do so we will examine the factors that shaped the formulation of American foreign

policy from the time of the American Revolution through the twentieth century. A primary focus is

on how American foreign policy is influenced not only by the events and circumstances of world affairs,

but also by political principles, which provide the ends at which our diplomatic and military activities

should aim. We will also focus on the means selected to accomplish those ends, and the various doctrines

that were formulated to shape foreign policy from the Founding through the mid-twentieth century,

including neutrality, limited intervention, progressive imperialism, internationalism, and global meliorism.

If we are to understand the role of the United States in the world today, we must understand how and why

these doctrines continue to influence contemporary American foreign policy even as threats to American

security have taken new forms.

Spring 2010 Course Plan

Course Reading Packet

Paper Topics

Reading Test #1

Reading Test #2

Reading Test #3

Reading Test #4

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