Political Science Course Descriptions

Origins, principles, structures, processes, and practices of American national government. Stresses different perspectives on democratic theory and practice, and the adequacy of governmental institutions.

Introduction to select perennial themes in the history of political philosophy.

Introduction to analytical concepts, nature of the interstate system, the assumptions and ideas of diplomacy, the determinants of foreign policy.

Political systems of major nations in comparative perspective.

Progression of the conflict from the nineteenth century to the present is reviewed in a multi-disciplinary manner. Topics include political history, communal disparities, the various wars, and their diplomatic outcomes.

For first-year students only. Entry level seminar focusing on a specific topic. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Fundamental concepts and quantitative techniques of empirical political inquiry. Introduction to concepts of measurement, parametric, and nonparametric statistics. Basic bivariate and univariate statistics used in political science. [Prior to Fall 2010, this course carried the number POLS 308.]

Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 131, 132 or POLS 100 or permission. An introduction to basic concepts of American environmental policy. Topics include: history of federal environmental policymaking, environmental policy tools, controversies in environmental policy, and U.S. environmental policy in the age of globalization. Field trips required.

Beginnings of the Western political heritage as shaped by such great political thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and Xenophon.

Political thought in the early modern period, from Machiavelli through the nineteenth century.

Intensive analysis of one or more texts of political philosophy or political science, with an emphasis on developing skills of close reading, textual analysis, and independent interpretation.

Examination of contemporary political ideologies, focusing primarily on fascism, communism, and democracy. Some attention tom Marxist humanism and the neoconservative revival.

Fundamental concepts and quantitative techniques of empirical political inquiry. Introduction to concepts of measurement, parametric, and nonparametric statistics. Basic bivariate and univariate statistics used in political science. [Beginning Fall 2010, this course will carry the number POLS 208.]

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 308. Use of SPSS, multivariate analysis, and other computer routines to analyze survey and aggregate data. Special attention to political science data archives.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. An examination of the relationship between technology, war, society, and international order.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Examines general principles and problems of international conflict resolution, including strategic bargaining, issue linkage, third party involvement, and coalition formation.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Procedures and practices regarded by states as constituting international law, with major emphasis on contemporary problems and probable trends.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Nature and development of international organization, with emphasis on the interaction between international systems and organizations.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Organizations and processes involved in the formulation and execution of United States national security policy. Topics include nuclear strategy, bureaucratic politics, and the programming and budgeting process.

Comparison of post-World War II foreign policies of selected states. Primary focus on developing an understanding of the impact of internal influences on external behavior.

Traditions and assumptions of American foreign policy; analysis of post-World War II policy, including nuclear deterrence, foreign aid, and alliance policies.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. This course delves into the philosophical and contextual underpinnings of human rights in order to create a framework for understanding the increasing importance of human rights in the international system.

Examination of United States foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean from the Monroe Doctrine to the Reagan Doctrine. Emphasis on the evolution and formulation of United States policy, national security, and foreign economic policy.

Examines interactions between economic developments (domestic and external) and political changes (domestic and external). Begins with general views and then examines particular issues (e.g., trade, monetary, development, environmental).

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Reviews several theories of the causes and dynamics of political violence. Includes an exploration of the ethical and moral issues concerning the proper role of government, the question of ends versus means, and the value of human existence.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Examination of the theoretical and substantive relationships between politics and economics from a comparative perspective, including macroeconomic policy, economic influence on the vote, and political control of economic behavior.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or Political Science 120. Introduction to the contemporary politics of Southeast Asia. Specific focus on capitalist developing countries of the region - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore. Approach is comparative, with focus on democratization, economic growth, and environmental issues.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. This course looks at the role of political parties for democracies and at ways parties represent interests in democracies. It combines general literature on parties and detailed study of a few countries.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. An introduction to the politics and governments of Eastern Europe from World War I to the present.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Comparative examination of the contemporary political systems of democratic Europe. Emphasis placed on Great Britain, France, Germany, and the European Community.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Focuses on the breakdown of the postwar consensus and its replacement by Thatcherism in 1979. Three topics receive detailed attention: race relations, territorial politics, and radical critiques of British democracy.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Examines politics of contemporary Japan, with stress on political bases of Japanese economic growth and in comparison with other East Asian economic successes (e.g., Taiwan, South Korea).

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Provides a survey and analysis of ways states undergo transitions from authoritarian to democratic regimes. Emphasizes interplay of elite and social factors, and addresses relationship between political and economic reform.

Examines those political, social, and economic conditions necessary for the successful implementation of a democratic form of governance.

Overview of the major political systems in Latin America; emphasis on patterns of authority; development of groups; the nature of institutions; political culture; forces of change; and the role of the state.

An analysis of the Mexican, Cuban, and Nicaraguan revolutions, with emphasis on the sources and consequences of political change.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Institutions and processes of the European Union including issues of membership, federalism, regional cohesion, effectiveness, accountability, and identity.

Politics of sub-Saharan Africa are examined, with emphasis on the major issues of social and political analysis as well as the African economic predicament and its political implications.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Surveys the main contemporary theories of ethnic mobilization and nation building. Discusses the relationship between ethnicity and nationalism, and examines ethnic conflict and ways of resolving and preventing it.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. This course discusses the contemporary Russian political system, including major institutions and processes. Reviews development and collapse of the U.S.S.R. and briefly examines developments in other newly independent successor states.

A broad introduction to the relationship between Islam and politics in twentieth-century Iran, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Political Science 120 is recommended but not required. Introduces students to critical issues in Middle East politics. Central themes include the colonial encounter, the rise of the authoritarian state, Israel and Palestine, and the rise of political Islam.

Examines the connection between political activity and environmental management. Focus ranges from regulatory activity to the environmental consequences of particular electoral forms of democratic governance.

An introduction to the structure and behavior of the American presidency. Examines presidential elections, the organization of the office, and its relations with the other national political institutions.

Constitutional responsibilities of the federal legislature. Effects of internal procedures and organization, external links, and member goals on congressional decisions.

Examination of how and why national, state, and local governments in the American federal system interact (or fail to interact) to resolve important public policy problems.

Theories of leadership. Cultural and structural factors that influence leadership in the American political system. Leadership in American political institutions (national, state, and local), interest groups, and social movements.

Party organization, candidate recruitment, political campaigning, and legislative parties as facets of the total political system. Effect of parties in differing national and cultural contexts in fostering or inhibiting democratic values and practices.

Comprehensive examination of African American politics and its critical influence upon the American political system. Civil rights and black power movements; the voting rights act and redistricting; African American political participation, attitudes, and governance.

The changing roles of the South in national politics since World War II, with attention to presidential elections, the two-party system, and the United States Congress.

Voter and candidate decision-making during primary and general elections, patterns of partisan support in the electorate, and factors affecting campaign strategy in American elections.

Comprehensive examination of the significance of race in the development of the American political system. Topics include Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and the contemporary political attitudes and behavior of black and white Americans.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 100. Basic concepts of American law, judicial selection, the legal profession, court systems, and judicial behavior.

Course focuses on the Supreme Court as an institution. Legal, attitudinal, and strategic models are employed to examine the court's history and processes, and its role in the political system.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 100. Basic principles of the Constitution and powers of the national and state governments, examined through Supreme Court decisions and secondary works.

Personal liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution, including freedom of speech, religion, assembly, petition; the right of privacy; the right against age, sex, race, or economic discrimination.

Examination of the various stages of the criminal justice process in the United States and the constitutional rights accorded to the criminally accused.

Overview of the role of gender in defining and shaping politics, political systems, political beliefs, political behavior, and public policy in the American and/or international context.

Comprehensive analysis of legal issues relevant to women's status in society. Constitutional and statutory law addressed.

History, ideas and personalities of American radicalism, including utopianism, socialism, the Industrial Workers of the World, communism, and the New Left. American reactions to radicalism, including McCarthyism.

How national public policies develop. Focus on who American governing actors and elites are, what they control, how they work together, and how issues thereby develop, recur, and evolve into policy.

Examines how American executive branch agencies behave as organizations and how they relate in practice to the rest of the people in government and the nation.

The nature, sources, and consequences of Americans' political preferences and beliefs. Topics include public opinion research methods, political socialization, self interest, reference groups, and voting behavior.

Focusing primarily on politics in the United States, this course examines the important roles played by organized interest groups and broader social movements in democratic politics.

Structures and political processes of state and local governments. Emphasis on the roles of state and local governments in the American federal system.

The politics of the South since 1960, with emphasis on the following topics: Southern political culture, the civil rights movement, and the rise of two-party competition.

Introduction and overview to the politics and governance of American cities. Emphasis is on understanding the relationships among governing structures, decision-making processes, and policy outcomes.

Overview of major public policy problems confronting American urban areas today and the responses city, state, and national governments have made to address these problems. Policy areas covered include poverty, education, crime, housing, and community development.

Overview of the quantitative and qualitative methodologies employed by analysts in determining whether public programs and policies work. Attention is also given to research utilization and the role of analysis in the policymaking process.

Open only to undergraduate students by permission of the instructor. Additionally, this course is required for all students seeking to apply for the fellowship in Community Building and Social Change.

Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Describes the manifold consequences of war to the individual, the state, and the international system; reviews a variety of theories of war consequences and explores the possible political and moral implications.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Analysis of the contemporary Spanish political system, including its transition to democracy, political institutions, and governmental processes.

Suggested prerequisite: Sociology 214 or 311 or Political Science 321, 324, 326, or 327. Comparative sociology of state social and economic politics in advanced industrial democracies, 1880 to present.

An examination of political information as it is conveyed through music and music video/film art forms. Course fulfills an elective requirement for the political science major.

Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 131, 132, or Political Science 110, or permission. An advanced course designed to introduce students to the complexity of policy problems surrounding international environmental issues. We begin with the difference between national and international policy issues, and why international environmental issues present unique challenges. The class will then address the fragility of international environmental institutions and the history of this topic. The second half of the course will focus on specific policy problems such as: free trade, sustainable development, population growth, climate change, and endangered species. Students will also develop an expertise in the positions and problems of one nation outside the United States.

Selected topics and problems in political science. Content will vary in successive offerings of this course. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Credit, sixteen satisfactory/unsatisfactory hours. Special course for students selected by the department to study for one semester in the nation's capital.

Credit, sixteen satisfactory/unsatisfactory hours. Special course for students selected by the department to study for one semester in New York City.

Open only to senior and junior majors and others by permission of instructor. Selected topics in political science.

Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

Open only to students selected to participate in the department's Honors Program. Basic social science research methods and preparation of an honors thesis on some previously uninvestigated or insufficiently investigated area of political science. This course is required for completion of the Honors Program in political science.

Credit, four to twelve hours. Supervised participation in a government/political internship approved by the department.

Credit, one to eight hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Independent reading and research under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.

Credit, one to eight hours. Independent research course for students selected to participate in the department¿s Honors Program. This course is required for completion of the Honors Program in political science.