New Courses For Fall 2024!

Do we live in a world of chaos? Using select scenes from the Emmy award-winning science-fiction series, The Last of Us, dive into an exciting odyssey exploring how States use technology to pursue objectives. Students will examine competing philosophical schools of thought on morality, ethics in decision-making, and the four different types of ethical dilemma paradigms: (1) justice versus mercy; (2) short-term versus long-term gains; (3) individual interests versus community interests; and (4) truth versus loyalty. We will then apply these concepts in evaluating real-world case studies involving advanced technologies; including, but not limited to: cyberspace, the metaverse, quantum-based technologies, counter-space weapons, electromagnetic pulse threats, artificial intelligence with a specific focus on machine learning, advanced autonomous weapon systems, and human microchip implants. Central to this course is thinking critically about the role of cyber and advanced technologies in expanding States’ power, as well as the impact on human rights.

We’ll dive deep into global trade & supply chain risks, ethical sourcing practices, mitigating factors, and how emerging technologies might be used to enable verifiable evidence. The list of technologies that can be applied covers the landscape of emerging tech: AI, web3, zero knowledge, DIDs, verifiable claims, IoT sensors and more. Of course, technology alone cannot solve these problems, so we’ll also talk about policy impacts and system change and the evolution from voluntary reporting to mandatory reporting. 

This course introduces students to the critical area of economic statecraft – the use of economic tools such as sanctions, trade and investment restrictions to meet security and foreign policy goals. Governments, especially but not only the US, are deploying these tools widely instead of and to support military and other economic goals.  They are being deployed by and on some of the largest economies, and are thus reshaping key sectors, financial networks and domestic and global economies. This course looks not only at restrictive coercive tools but also positive statecraft tools aimed at building new supply chains for resilience. It will also look at the ways in which countries and companies build resilience to these statecraft tools.  Thus this class will equip students to understand dynamics that will shape the global economy for years to come.

This course will cover modeling techniques for emissions reporting and for calculating life cycle analysis (LCA) of energy use and commonly used data analysis methodologies for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emphasis will be placed on accepted environmental accounting frameworks for the business sector and regulatory schemes and best practices for reporting GHG emissions assessments. Through a combination of lectures, active discussions, problem sets, case studies, small group projects, and multi-media students will master widely accepted environmental accounting techniques for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.