You are viewing the early release of NevadaPath.Provide Feedback
NevadaPath
CatalogSchedulerGradesEnrollment

Filters

Course catalog

Search scope

Search prioritizes course titles, then descriptions. Exact course codes still appear first.

Searching...

PSC 608F

Border Politics

Catalog2026-2027
Credits3 units
LevelGraduate
Standard

Overview

Description

This class explores several problems shared between the United States, Mexico, and the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador): organized crime, transnational gangs, and migration – as well as the interconnections between these issues. We’ll look at how U.S. policies during the Cold War, as well as contemporary politics, have fueled cycles of violence and contributed to a transnational crisis between the U.S. and the Northern Triangle of Central America.

Units

Lecture3

Catalog Details

Offering

Offered: Every Fall - Even Years

Terms

fall

Attributes

Standard

Learning Outcomes

  • discuss how US policy has impacted violence in Mexico and the Northern Triangle.
  • recognize and analyze the numerous factors contributing to migration from Mexico and the Northern Triangle to the US.
  • explain and contrast various theories of how politics impacts organized criminal groups, gangs, and violence – as well as how these impact politics.
  • describe the evolution of border enforcement and immigration policies in the US.
  • demonstrate an understanding of how border enforcement shapes international understandings of race, ethnicity, social class, and other identity categories.
  • critically evaluate a range of academic, creative, and other methods, and use these sources to understand the historical and contemporary politics of borders and immigration in the US, Mexico, and the Northern Triangle.