High-stakes diplomacy happens every day at the United Nations, blocks from Fordham classrooms. And if you’re an international studies or political science major, you just might find yourself in the room.
That’s especially true if you’re taking a class with Anjali K. Dayal, a Fordham professor who recently briefed the U.N. Security Council alongside former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Dayal is often called upon to participate in discussions and weigh in on issues related to peace and security. Recently while teaching a course on the U.N., she was invited to sit on a panel hosted by the diplomatic missions to Austria and Kuwait.
“So I basically said, ‘I can sit on this panel if I can bring my students,’” Dayal said.
Attending a special briefing from a deputy ambassador at a foreign embassy? It’s the kind of opportunity you get only when your professors are expert practitioners in the heart of a global city. It’s also a core element of an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes balancing the theoretical and practical.
Anjali Dayal teaches courses in international studies and political science. Photo by Hector Martinez
“Being in New York City is a really good way for students to interact with material because there is no way to set yourself up in an abstract way,” Dayal says. “The world is constantly around you, and you are working in a messy reality all the time. That’s particularly true if you work at and study the United Nations.”
For Dayal, the goal is simple: turn students into colleagues. Many of her former students are now working at the U.N. and in international relations.
And according to Dayal, who also co-hosts the acclaimed weekly U.N. podcast To Save Us From Hell, there’s no better time to enter the field.
“We’re living in a period of real flux,” Dayal says. “I think that’s a call for young people to understand the complexities of foreign policy, of international trade, of human rights that will shape the world that is going to emerge.”