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BUSH 656 Fundamentals of Homeland Security
3 Credit Hours
Offered on line every Summer - Fall – Spring
Offered selected semesters in residence
Dr. David H. McIntyre
This course will review the theory, practice, challenges and prospects for securing the “American Homeland” against terrorist attack, with special emphasis on how American policy makers are resolving this dilemma and their prospects for the future. Class activities will include readings (most available on line), class lectures and guest lectures, practical exercises, student readings and discussions, student papers and tightly focused student presentations. Although the course will draw heavily on current events and emerging policy solutions as examples, the primary focus is on enduring strategic issues and fundamental challenges to the American political order raised by the prospect of a long war against terrorism in the 21st century.
The course will begin by examining competing intellectual frameworks to explain how wars are waged, and contrast them with arguments concerning how and why terrorism is employed as a strategy and tactic. After grappling with the perplexing issue of what constitutes homeland security, we will systematically review the catastrophic threats that face the United States and the challenges they pose at various levels of jurisdiction (federal, state, local, and private). Finally we will critique the different types of solutions posed – organizational, bureaucratic, strategic, operational, etc., with an emphasis not on finding fault but on posing recommendations for improvement.
Requirements: Course work will include (and grades will be based on) use of the weekly readings in class discussion, sequential development of a information and a decision memo concerning a significant homeland security policy challenge, presentation of the memo, and a final paper. There will be one mid-term quiz during the course – students will be allowed to use their notes. As part of their research, students will be invited to contribute to an electronic database at homelandsecurity.tamu.edu.
This program is open to all Texas A&M graduate students and selected undergraduate seniors, but is especially well suited to students who:
- Are anticipating employment in the homeland security field and wish to demonstrate expertise to a prospective employer, or
- Are anticipating an internship with some agency connected with homeland security, or
- Wish to broaden their expertise in this new field of study while sharpening research skills.