About the Program
DWA is Occidental College’s nationally recognized International Relations major. This innovative department grounds students in IR theory, international organizations, in-depth area studies, and international political economy, requiring students to draw in an interdisciplinary manner from related majors (among them economics, film/documentary-making, history, politics, religious studies, and sociology). DWA hosts Occidental’s “Oxy-at-the-U.N.” program, which is unique in the world in allowing undergraduate students to intern at the United Nations. DWA students are also required to engage in substantial foreign language study and encouraged to study abroad. The John Parke Young Fund generously funds independent research projects developed by our students under faculty supervision. In cooperation with the Office of Global Affairs, DWA also hosts a lively series of guest lectures, brown bags, films, documentaries, and the John Parke Young Distinguished Speaker Series.
About the image: Occidental students have a long history of interaction with global politics, and the DWA major has been a particular focus for this engagement. This is reflected in the poster to the left which hangs in the DWA office. This poster comes from the on-campus movement to have the college divest from South Africa (a movement that is now famous for having given Barack Obama his start in politics). Read distinguished DWA professor Jane Jaquette’s history of both this poster and the divestment movement here.
