HD4881 Homeland Defense: Inquiry Across Disciplines

This course examines homeland defense as a legal, political, strategic, historical, and social project. Using U.S. and international cases, students analyze how states define threats to the homeland, mobilize institutions and narratives in response, and balance security imperatives against constitutional limits, civil liberties, democratic governance, and civil-military norms. The course emphasizes homeland defense not only as a set of missions or authorities, but also as a logic of governance shaped by law, discourse, institutional practice, military roles, public fear, securitization, and comparative political experience. Enrollment limited to students in Curriculum 692.

Prerequisite

HD3180

Lecture Hours

Lab Hours

Course Learning Outcomes

Analyze and critique the main debates, issues, and themes of the prevailing theories of security.
Analyze and critique the main debates, issues, and themes of the prevailing theories of democratization, including democratic decline.
Evaluate problems and questions of contemporary current affairs in terms of relevant theoretical frameworks.
Assess problems of real-world homeland security in terms of democratic theory and practice.
Explore the theoretical and practical implications of securitization, democracy, and governance, based on the dynamics and methods students have learned in their Q3 classes.
Present complex and/or contention material clearly and concisely in a variety of media, formats, and fora.