LEARNING OUTCOMES

The students should emerge from the course with a better understanding of the Cuban Missile Crisis in particular as well as more general issues of crisis bargaining and conflict resolution in a nuclear age.   

SYLLABUS

Reading "One Hell of a Gamble" will give you the best historical account of the Cuban Missile Crisis available. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 16:  Setting the Stage  

Introduction to the Cold War

The basics of nuclear diplomacy

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17: The Build-Up to the Crisis

Domestic politics and foreign policy

The United States, the USSR and Cuba in the early 1960s 

Read:  Alison, Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis 

WEDNESDAY,  OCTOBER 18: The Crisis

            The Cuban Missile Crisis:  Communications, bargaining and blunders

            Decision making and crisis bargaining

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19:   The Lessons

            The Cuban Missile Crisis:  The lessons

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20:  The Paper

            Working on the paper

REQUIRED READING:

Students are expected to read the book by Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, “One Hell of a Gamble,” Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy, 1958-1964.” New York:  W.W. Norton and Company, 1997, especially chapters 5-15. 

There will be some short things to read during the class, mostly documents.   

TEACHING METHODS

Short lectures,  brief writing exercises. 

ASSESSMENT

Four short responses to class work

Final 1000 word essay:  Rough draft and final