Following increased federal government focus on homeland security over the last two years, Boston University became one of the first universities to introduce a course on homeland security.
The focus of the new international relations class, taught by associate professor Arthur Hulnick, is to provide an understanding of homeland security, including the aspects of gathering and analyzing intelligence to stop terrorism.
‘Homeland security is an unexplored area in national security,’ Hulnick said. ‘Boston University is one of the first few universities to be looking at this. But I expect others to soon follow.’
Hulnick said United States security was focused on threats in Europe and abroad during the Cold War, but now, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the focus on national security must mesh with the idea of homeland security.
The class will cover topics such as strategic and security intelligence, the USA PATRIOT Act, the range of terrorist groups and government responses to threats. The class will also question whether Sept. 11 could have been prevented with better intelligence, according to the course syllabus.
Looking at history will help students better understand how the United States created the Department of Homeland Security six months ago and compare it with the Department of Defense’s creation 50 years ago, Hulnick said.
According to Hulnick, while the idea of homeland security was created shortly after Sept. 11, the course was not created as a direct result of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
‘Intelligence as a function of government is moving in a new direction,’ Hulnick said. ‘The focus of securities studies must change with it.’
Colleges of Arts and Sciences senior Cristin Sinnott said she enrolled in the class because of its relevance to current events.
‘I feel it will give me a greater understanding of why we have a Homeland Security Department, and how intelligence is processed and used to benefit our government,’ she said.
As an international student from Spain, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Miquel Munoz said he hoped to learn more about these topics.
‘I want to learn about Sept. 11 and how intelligence in the U.S. works and how it’s been restructured,’ he said. ‘I want to learn about the implications of the [USA] PATRIOT Act and how it affects civil liberty rights.’
Hulnick spent seven years in the Air Force Intelligence Agency and 28 years in the CIA before coming to BU in 1989 as the CIA officer-in-residence, and he became a regular faculty member in 1992.
He is also the author of ‘Fixing the Spy Machine: Preparing American Intelligence for the 21st Century,’ one of the two required textbooks for the class.