Geographic Concentration

Why do IAFS students pick a Geographic Concentration?

The Geographic Concentration allows students to develop in-depth knowledge of a specific world region by taking three courses focused on that area. Students choose one of four global regions and complete relevant coursework - primarily in the social sciences - with the goal of better understanding the history, politics, and cultures of that part of the world. 

Geographic Concentrations

  • Africa/Middle East focuses on the political, cultural, and social dynamics of Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East.
  • Asia examines the diverse histories, economies, and political systems of East, South, Southeast, and Central Asia.
  • Europe/Eurasia explores developments in Western, Central, Eastern Europe, and the post-Soviet states, including Russia and its neighbors.
  • Latin America looks at the region’s colonial legacy, political transformations, and cultural richness across Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Requirements

  • Students must declare their Geographic Concentration by the beginning of their junior year.
  • In most cases, your Geographic Concentration should align with the region associated with the foreign language you are studying. This helps reinforce regional expertise through both language and content knowledge.
  • Coursework must include at least one course in contemporary history and may include up to three credits of regional literature or arts (ideally taught in the relevant foreign language, when available).

For a list of classes offered in each semester, see our IAFS semester course lists. The full list of Geographic Concentration courses on our permanent course list are below, however, courses are not offered each semester.

*ANTH 3100 Africa Peoples and Societies in Change 
ANTH 4630 Nomadic Peoples of East Africa 
ARAB/WGST 3410 Gender, Sexuality and Culture in the Modern Middle East
ARAB 3340 Representing Islam
FREN 3800 France and the Muslim World
GEOG 4762 Geographies of Political Islam
GEOG 3862 Global Africa: Environment, Development, and Culture
*HIST 4218 Lost Kingdoms & Caliphates: West Africa to 1900 
*HIST 4238 History of Southern Africa
*HIST 4258 Africa under European Colonial Rule
*HIST 4328 The Modern Middle East, 1600 to Present 
*HIST 4329 Islam in the Modern World: Revivalism, Modernism and Fundamentalism 1800-2001
*HIST 4338 History of Modern Israel/Palestine
*HIST 4339 Borderlands of British Empire
*HIST 4349 Decolonization of the British Empire
*HIST 4359 The Global History of Modern Arabia 
IAFS 3010 Islam, Geopolitics and Society: Gender, Identity, and Place
IAFS 3520/ JWST 4302 Justice, Human Rights and Democracy in Israel (Global Seminar)
IAFS/JWST/RLST 3530 Jews and Muslims: The Multiethnic History of Istanbul (Global Seminar)
IAFS/JWST 3610 Topics in International Affairs and Jewish Studies (approved topics only)
*IAFS/JWST 3650 History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
PHIL 3040 African Philosophy: Personhood and Morality
*PSCI 3082 Political Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa
PSCI 4242 Middle Eastern Politics
RLST 3060 Fundamentalism and Islam
RLST 3100 Judaism
WGST 3520 Gender and Sexuality in Africa
ARAB 3231 In the Footsteps of Travelers: Travel Writing in Arabic Lit
ARAB 3330 The Arabic Novel
FREN 4170 Francophone Literature

* Classes with an asterisk can be applied as Contemporary History.
Courses in Italics: 1 regional literature/arts course may count for geographic concentration

*ANTH 3160 Peoples of the South Pacific 
ANTH 4750 Culture and Society in South Asia
ANTH 4760 Ethnography of Southeast Asia and Indonesia
GEOG 3822 China's Diverse Geographies: Environment, Society, Politics
*HIST 4109 World War II in Asia and the Pacific 
*HIST 4339 Borderlands of British Empire 
*HIST 4349 Decolonization of the British Empire 
*HIST 4528 Islam in South and Southeast Asia 
*HIST 4538 History of Modern India 
*HIST 4548 Women in Modern India 
*HIST 4558 Buddha to Gandhi: A History of Indian Nonviolence 
*HIST 4628 Modern China: Collapse of Imperial Brilliance, 1644-1949 
*HIST 4638 Contemporary China: Radicalism and Reform, 1949 to Present 
*HIST 4648 Inventing Chinese Modernity, 1800 to Present 
*HIST 4658 Between Beijing and Baghdad: China and Islam 
*HIST 4728 Japan's Empire: Birth and Death
*HIST 4758: Japan after World War II
*PSCI 3072 Government and Politics in Southeast Asia 
PSCI 3102 South Asian Politics
*PSCI 4022 Chinese Foreign Policy 
*PSCI 4052 Chinese Politics 
RLST 3060 Fundamentalism and Islam
RLST 3200 Yoga, Castes and Magic: Hindu Society and Spirituality
RLST 3300 Foundations of Buddhism
RLST 3800 Chinese Religions
*WGST 4619/HIST 4619 Women in Asian History 
CHIN 4410 Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese I
CHIN 4120 Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese Literature II
JPNS 3881 Environment, Nature, and Disaster in Japanese Literature and Culture
JPNS 4110 Advanced Readings in Modern Japanese I
JPNS 4120 Advanced Readings in Modern Japanese II

* Classes with an asterisk can be applied as Contemporary History.
Courses in Italics: 1 regional literature/arts course may count for geographic concentration

*ECON 4514 Economic History of Europe
FREN 3500 French Current Events: Conversation and Composition
FREN 3800 France and the Muslim World
GEOG 3882 Geography of the Former Soviet Union
GRMN 3150 Issues in German Politics, Literature and Media
GRMN/WGST 4301 Gender, Race and Immigration in Germany and Europe
*HIST 4053 Britain and the Empire, 1688-1964
*HIST 4233 History of France since 1815
*HIST 4412 Europe, 1890-1945
*HIST 4422 World War I in Europe
*HIST 4423 German History 1848-1989: Weimar Republic, Nazism, State Socialism
*HIST 4424 Modern European Thought and Culture, 1870 to the Present
*HIST 4433 Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
*HIST 4442 Europe since 1945
*HIST 4623 History of Eastern Europe since 1914
*HIST 4723 Imperial Russia
*HIST 4733 The Russian Revolution and the Soviet Regime
*IAFS 3500/HIST 4190 Bordeaux Connections Through Time (Global Seminar)
IAFS 3621/REES 4481 Rogues to Revolutionaries: Russian Rebels, Past and Present
IAFS/REES 3622/4871 Understanding Ukraine: Culture, Diversity, Conflict
IAFS 3630/SCAN 3301 Radical Nationalism in Contemporary Northern Europe
IAFS/SCAN 3631 Arctic Society and Culture
IAFS/GRMN/JWST 3681 Refugees in German Culture
*ITAL 4250/HIST 4313 History of Modern Italy
ITAL 4730 Italian Feminisms: Culture, Theory, and Narratives of Difference
*PSCI 3022 Russian Politics
PSCI 3172 Democracy and Its Citizens in the US and the EU 
*PSCI 4002 Western European Politics
*PSCI 4062 East European Politics
PSCI 4213 Europe in the International System
PSCI 4302 European Union Politics
REES 3601 Russia's Past and Present (Global Seminar)
REES 4221 Stalinism: Culture and Society
REES 4301 American-Russian Cultural Relations
REES/WGST 4471 Women in 20th Century Russian, East European and Eurasian Culture
SPAN 3200 Spanish Culture
FREN 3120 Main Currents of French Literature II
FREN 4480 20th Century French Novel
ITAL 3140 Main Current of Italian Culture and Literature 3
REES 4210 Topics in Russian, East European and Eurasian Culture
RUSS 4230 Russian Cultural Idioms
SPAN 3310 20th Century Spanish Literature

* Classes with an asterisk can be applied as Contemporary History.
Courses in Italics: 1 regional literature/arts course may count for geographic concentration

  • Language taken for this geographic concentration: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
  • Visit the CU Boulder Education Abroad office and speak with your IAFS advisor. 

*ANTH 3110 Ethnography of Mexico and Central America
ANTH 4020 Explorations in Anthropology - (approved topics on semester lists only; with research paper on Latin America)
ANTH 4735 Contemporary Cuban Culture: Race, Gender and Power
*GEOG 3812 Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean  
GEOG 4812 Political Ecology & Latin America
*HIST 4048 Latin American Revolutions
*HIST 4118 History of Mexico to 1821
*HIST 4128 The History of Modern Mexico Since 1821
IAFS 3000 US-Latin American Relations
*PSCI 3032 Democracy, Inequality and Violence in Latin America
*PSCI 3052/WMST 3650 Gender and Politics in Latin America
PSCI 4012 Global Development 
*PSCI 4792 Issues in Latin American Politics
SOCY 3161 Global Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity
SPAN/PORT 3220 Latin American Culture: Spanish America and Brazil
ANTH 4730 Latin American Politics and Culture through Film and Text
SPAN 3340 Twentieth Century Spanish-American Literature
SPAN 4180 Major Works and Trends in Literature and Culture in Latin America: 1900-Present

* Classes with an asterisk can be applied as Contemporary History.
Courses in Italics: 1 regional literature/arts course may count for geographic concentration