The UN in Action

SiNY 144: The UN in Action - 4 units

This course will offer an opportunity to learn how multilateral diplomacy works in practice, taking advantage of the enormous variety of UN offices, agencies, and related policy institutes based in New York to provide an overview of the different dimensions of the UN’s work on security, development, human rights, and other multilateral issues.

This course fulfills the Social Inquiry (SI) WAYS requirement. 

Meet the Instructor(s)

Richard Gowan

Richard Gowan is an analyst and commentator on international affairs based in New York, specializing in crisis management and the United Nations. He is a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations and teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. In recent years, he has acted a consultant to the United Nations and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He is also a non-resident fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, where he was previously research director. He writes a weekly column for World Politics Review, and has contributed to numerous other publications including Aeon, The American Interest, Daedalus and Politico.