Although biological, chemical and nuclear threats have become the central theme of American foreign policy, Boston University does not offer any humanities courses specializing in their study and it’s not alone.
A survey published in the winter issue of Nonproliferation Review, a journal published by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, showed that only 10 of 78 institutions surveyed offer more than one undergraduate course that focused on weapons of mass destruction, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Though BU does not have any courses that specialize on weapons of mass destruction, humanities courses like Professor Angelo Codevilla’s Introduction to Security Studies (IR 374) and medical courses do address the subject.
One BU student who took Codevilla’s course, David Whitt, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said Codevilla spent a great deal of time talking about nuclear weapons.
‘I liked the fact that he didn’t concentrate on the ethical matters that I’ve heard in virtually every article I’ve ever read about WMD,’ he said.
However, the lack of focus on the role that weapons of mass destruction play in today’s world is forcing students like Moeed Yusuf, a BU graduate student studying International Relations, to consider the possibility of taking classes at other schools such as Harvard and Tufts to learn about WMD. With threats redefined, universities are being forced to redefine how they study them.
‘International relations change very quickly, it’s time sensitive,’ Yusuf said. ‘If they add it to the list, it might not be a topic in two years, so I’m surprised they’re not doing it right now.’
Yusuf, an international student from Pakistan, said he intends to return to his native country as an analyst on South Asian nuclear policy.
While professors of International Relations and Political Science discuss the induction of new courses to study WMD, BU medical and public health students are already studying different methods of dealing with their disastrous effects.
Courses such as Intermediate Environmental Health and Emergency Preparedness, offered in the School of Public Health, teach about anthrax in epidemiology and chemical exposures, SPH officials said.
‘We also teach about elements pertinent to it in various other courses … but these are in the context of wider issues and are not entire courses,’ said David Ozonoff, chairman of the Department of Environmental Health.
But Ozonoff said the curriculum at BU is constantly evolving.
‘We are always evaluating and re-evaluating the curriculum,’ he said.
Lately, some revaluation has focused on the threats biological, chemical and nuclear weapons present, he said.
‘If federal funds become available, we will likely add courses that will deal with scenarios like ‘dirty bombs’ and intentional contamination with infectious agents,’ Ozonoff said. ‘We have applied for such funds.’
Daniel Shapiro, associate professor of medicine and pathology and laboratory medicine, said he believes it takes time for institutions to adapt to the needs of society.
‘Five years ago, computer courses began to be offered on Java,’ he said. ‘There was a realization that there was a market for it … [but] it takes a while for it to percolate down.’
Andrew Bacevich, a BU professor in the International Relations department, said that although there currently are courses that discuss WMD, there is always discussion of what courses to add to the IR curriculum.
‘I wouldn’t say ‘by golly, we need to have a course on weapons of mass destruction,’ but within the realm of security studies, yes it needs to be covered,’ Bacevich said.
The topic may be covered in the International Relations department, but not much attention is paid to it within the Political Science department.
Giovanna Loiotile, a sophomore in CAS majoring in Political Science, said none of her political science courses have discussed weapons of mass destruction.
‘However,’ she said, ‘my COM course, Persuasion and Public Opinion, has briefly discussed the potential war in Iraq. But, even in that course, we haven’t really discussed weapons of mass destruction.’
‘The Political Science courses that I am taking would have no need to discuss that, it would be too out of context,’ she said. ‘But it should be discussed in International Relation courses.’
Boston University may not offer courses specializing on WMD, but some of its professors are knowledgeable about the subject. Robert F. Meenan, dean of the School of Public Health, is director of the CDC Prevention Research Center.
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