SPS Alumni Course Audit Form

Instructor: Sylvia Maier

In this seminar, we will explore the dynamic relationship between gender and international politics, that is, the role gender plays in the construction of (international) politics/policy and, conversely, how (international) politics serves to construct, reinforce, and police gender roles and identities, and the human body is pressed into the service of the nation-state. We will begin by examining, from a theoretical perspective, how gender is constructed. Then, we will explore specific issues and case studies related to core concepts in IR—allegedly universal and gender-neutral—from all over the world that highlight the gendered nature of the international system. In the third part, we will highlight some of the many ways in which women self-empower and resist patriarchy through re-claiming public spaces, language, fashion, and practical capacity-building. Prominently, we will feature examples of how women and LGBTQ people are transcending the label of “victim,” have organized, domestically and transnationally, to challenge and undo these structures of oppression, exploitation, and subordination as autonomous agents of political, social, economic, legal and cultural change, as well as how men around the world can and do participate as allies in the struggle for equality and justice.

Instructor: Chloe Demrovsky

There is no one organization that has the full suite of capabilities, relationships or assets to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. The persistence of disease, malnutrition and poverty highlights the need for solutions that are as multi-faceted, systemic and global as the challenges themselves. And in the context of receding public budgets, government has insufficient capacity to address these social issues. Stepping in to fill this gap, the private sector recognizes a reputational and commercial opportunity to partner with government and civil society to provide assets and competencies that no other sector can provide. These cross-sector partnerships take many forms, and have evolved over the last decade having learned from the experience accumulated to date. This course will use case studies to examine a breadth of partnerships, from the traditional to the innovative, in order to surface the gaps, strengths and future potential for private-sector partnerships.

Instructor: Roger Scher

This course provides an introduction to country risk – the risk that firms incur in cross-border investment or lending. Country risk is analyzed and managed by multinational corporations, banks, and governments in order to assess and mitigate potential financial loss due to country events. Such events include coups, social unrest, war, and economic shocks including adverse market developments and economic policy changes. The goal of this course is to provide students with the tools necessary to assess country risk and prepare them for jobs that require country risk analysis and management. The class involves lectures and "case study" seminars. Key “clinical” skills will be developed: macroeconomic and balance of payments analysis; domestic and international political risk assessment; analyzing government finances and banking sector risk; knowledge of the extensive resources available on country risk; knowledge of the regulatory environment; and, “case study” skills.

Instructor: Emily Koochel

This course explores the connection between money and family relationships surrounding money. The objective of the course is to help students understand the factors that impact how individuals, couples, and family systems think about and manage money. Students gain in-depth knowledge of current literature, research, and theory in the field and gain an understanding of their own relationship with money and how money impacts their relationships. The goal of the course is to prepare students to help and work with clients to improve their financial well-being.

Instructor: McKenna Schray

This course focuses on interdisciplinary communication grounded in strategic thinking, planning and execution. Students learn to think and act strategically for PR and marketing communication purposes, beginning with an understanding of what strategy means in theory and in practice. Topics covered include strategic communication theory, stakeholder engagement, and the application of research data, big and small, in creating and managing strategic plans that address crucial C-suite communication concerns. Throughout the course, students attain a deeper understanding of how strategy or a lack thereof affects business success.

Instructor: Lindsay Krasnoff

Effective sports professionals must understand the goals of modern leadership and management strategies the dynamics of organizational behavior. The concepts of leadership versus management, the development of a working culture within an organization, and the formation of effective contemporary leadership and management techniques are the focus of this course. Issues such as managing diversity, transformational leadership, and modern management theory will be discussed in detail. Topics include: comparative management systems; effective communication, strategic decision-making, ethical dilemmas, individual and group motivational theory, team-building, and managing change in organizational settings. This section of the course will focus specifically on the Olympics.

Instructor: Patrick Barnett

Intellectual property (IP) is the umbrella term covering areas such as copyright, trademark law, unfair competition and patent law. Students study an outline of the legislation and salient aspect of each area, to become familiar with the mechanics and terminology, and then see this applied by translating from real-life case studies involving intellectual property lawsuits. This approach provides an overview of generalist education in intellectual property law and policy as well as focus on patents. Students carry out research using relevant multilingual databases and resources from international organizations. Becoming familiar with the content, terminology and style of documents involved in this field, as well as with the appropriate translation strategies and techniques, prepares participants to produce professional-level translations.

Instructor: Jeff Beatty

This course will prepare students to correct and revise the output of machine translation to meet the standards of traditional human translation, a skill increasingly sought by translation service providers. Machine translation can be used to process large quantities of text much faster than human translators, but the output requires post-editing to ensure it meets the accuracy and intelligibility parameters appropriate to the end-user purpose. Students will practice pre-editing, post-editing, and editing more broadly at levels applicable to many writing and translation fields. The class will also examine position papers and debates about machine translation and artificial intelligence. Students will be equipped to contribute to a changing industry by making informed evaluations and recommendations about when to utilize human translation versus machine translation and what level of post-editing to implement.