Long Island University's political science department will offer a course in spring 2008 that will help students examine the background, conduct, and implications of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Economic, political, and military interests will be examined; connections will be drawn to the history and politics of the Middle East, the future of U.S. democracy, the role of the political opposition, the perspectives of other domestic and international actors, and more. The course will explore the events leading up to the invasion; internal politics within the Bush administration; the domestic and world reactions to the war; developments in Iraq and the region; the significance of oil in the world economy; the role of the media; consequences of U.S. methods upon human rights standards; opposition to the war; and the impact of the war at home. The participating faculty are John Ehrenberg, professor of political science and department chair; J. Patrice McSherry, professor, political science and director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Jose Ramon Sanchez, associate professor of political Science and chair of urban studies; and Caroleen Marji Sayej, assistant professor of political science.