This course provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of political violence and terrorism. The class includes inquiry into the theories and justifications for political violence of all types, limited war, asymmetric warfare and the contested term terrorism. Trends and reasons for contemporary violent political extremism as a phenomenon are particularly explored from both the U.S. domestic and international perspectives. Students are introduced to the ideologies, goals, and strategies of select organizations and broader extremist movements.

This course includes a thorough coverage of the historical and statutory background of emergency management (EM) in the USA as well as the significant laws and policies that have defined and shaped the field, including HSPD 5, HSPD 8, the National Flood Insurance Act, and the Stafford Act. Topics include detailed coverage of FEMA's all hazards approach, the EM cycle, integrated EM, the incident command system, the National Incident Management System, emergency support functions, and risk communications and the homeland security exercise evaluation program (HSEEP) where students are introduced to the both discussion and operations-based exercises and strategies for evaluating exercises. This course culminates with each student writing and formally presenting an integrated emergency management plan.

This course includes a thorough coverage of the historical and statutory background of emergency management (EM) in the USA as well as the significant laws and policies that have defined and shaped the field, including HSPD 5, HSPD 8, the National Flood Insurance Act, and the Stafford Act. Topics include detailed coverage of FEMA's all hazards approach, the EM cycle, integrated EM, the incident command system, the National Incident Management System, emergency support functions, and risk communications and the homeland security exercise evaluation program (HSEEP) where students are introduced to the both discussion and operations-based exercises and strategies for evaluating exercises. This course culminates with each student writing and formally presenting an integrated emergency management plan.

This course includes an introduction to critical infrastructure security, resilience, and risk analysis as it is conceptualized, regulated and used in the homeland security enterprise. Topics include the history and evolution of critical infrastructure protection including the composition, characteristics and risks to critical infrastructures. Public-private partnerships and sector-specific plans are examined. Resilience in a global context and risk analysis as a means by which resources and assets are allocated to critical infrastructure(s) is presented.