This page lists courses that will be offered during the Autumn 2016 semester and fulfill minor program requirements. For a full list of courses offered by the department and the minor program requirements, please refer to the
Undergraduate Handbook [pdf].
Campaigns and Elections minor
Required course:
4160: Public Opinion
Semester | 3 credit units
What is public opinion? Where does it come from? How does it change? What does it matter? In this course we will attempt to answer these questions using the results of scientific studies and our own insights. We will explore the landscape of opinion on a variety of political topics, attempting to find out what the public thinks about these issues, and more importantly, why they think the way they do. We will also try to find out how a person's political opinions influence their behavior, and whether or not political leaders pay any attention to, or manipulate, "the will of the public."
Elective courses:
3115: Introduction to the Policy Process
Semester | 3 credit units
Introduction to the workings of policy-making processes within governments, and the use of social science reasoning to evaluate and improve the content of policies.
3420: Political Theories of Democracy
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of theories of democracy, focusing on normative and descriptive dilemmas such as participation versus liberty in democratic societies.
Prereq: 2400 (210).
4152: Campaign Politics
Semester | 3 credit units
The organization and strategy of American political campaigns; practical politics seen in the light of knowledge about political behavior and public opinion.
Comparative Politics minor
Required courses:
3220: Politics of the Developing World
Semester | 3 credit units
The international system is characterized by tremendous inequality, and the gaps between the poorest and wealthiest countries commonly grow larger and larger. This class asks, given this, what is a developing country to do? That is, what are the political strategies, institutions, and problems that shape whether rapid economic and social development is possible, or whether poverty, marginalization, and malgovernance are likely to remain endemic. The course covers experiences selected from around the developing world (from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and even the European periphery), and is organized around three periods: (1) the post-war boom from the 1945 to the mid-1970s, (2) the return of free-market economics in the 1980s-90s, and (3) the contemporary era for financial globalization and crisis. This is a class about the politics of development, and no formal economics training is presumed.
GE soc sci human, nat, and econ resources and diversity global studies course.
Elective courses:
3220: Politics of the Developing World
Semester | 3 credit units
The international system is characterized by tremendous inequality, and the gaps between the poorest and wealthiest countries commonly grow larger and larger. This class asks, given this, what is a developing country to do? That is, what are the political strategies, institutions, and problems that shape whether rapid economic and social development is possible, or whether poverty, marginalization, and malgovernance are likely to remain endemic. The course covers experiences selected from around the developing world (from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and even the European periphery), and is organized around three periods: (1) the post-war boom from the 1945 to the mid-1970s, (2) the return of free-market economics in the 1980s-90s, and (3) the contemporary era for financial globalization and crisis. This is a class about the politics of development, and no formal economics training is presumed.
GE soc sci human, nat, and econ resources and diversity global studies course.
4210: Politics of European Integration
Semester | 3 credit units
A survey of the politics of European integration since the Second World War; topics include theories of political integration, institutions of the EU, its policies and decision making, common currency, and internal and external relations.
4212: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece
Semester | 3 credit units
This course presents a comprehensive overview of government and politics in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Specifically, the course will be organized around two complementary sets of questions: what were the causes of political instability and the weakness of democratic institutions and practices in the past, and how might the legacy of those political divisions affect the functioning of the current democratic regimes?
GE soc sci orgs and polities and diversity global studies course.
4240: Latin American Politics
Semester | 3 credit units
This course serves as in introduction to Latin American politics, and it is organized thematically to cover a broad swath of countries. The course provides a historical overview and theoretical debates surrounding many political, economic, and social actors and events in the region. It also analyzes the quality of democracy and the current problems and political developments Latin America. Students will engage critically, analytically, and thoughtfully with theories in political science and developments in the scholarship of Latin American Politics.
4249: Domestic Politics of International Conflict
Semester | 3 credit units
Examination of war and the impact of domestic politics on the war-making decision; influence of domestic institutions and public opinion on leaders' ability/willingness to wage war.
4280: State and Economy
Semester | 3 credit units
Introduction to comparative political economy; relations between the state and the economy, politics and markets, and democracy and capitalism; the consequences of state intervention.
4282: The Politics of Income Inequality
Semester | 3 credit units
Introduces fundamental politics of income inequality and redistribution, including social policy development, redistributional policy differences between countries, and popularity of differing welfare programs.
4285: The Comparative Politics of the Welfare State
Semester | 3 credit units
Analyzes different kinds of welfare capitalism including social, economic, and political considerations shaping welfare policy; and contemporary welfare reform as an exercise in reallocation, reogranization, and budget-cutting.
4327: Politics in the Middle East
Semester | 3 credit units
Politics of Arab-Israeli relations, Perisan Gulf, Islamic fundamentalism, and oil; processes of change and their effects on governments and international relations.
4597.02: Political Problems of the Contemporary World
Semester | 3 credit units
Critical problems of industrialized and developing societies, including governmental legitimacy, conflict and violence, social welfare, equality, and economic development. Topic varies by semester.
4597.02H: Illicit Markets and Organized Crime
Despite efforts by states to prevent trade in certain goods, illicit markets thrive in a variety of contexts. To make sense of the prevalence of such markets, as well as their impacts on important social, political, and economic issues, this course provides an overview of the development and organization of domestic and transnational markets for illegal goods. This course examines social scientific and popular work on the development of markets for various illegal goods, as well as the ways in which black market trafficking of humans, natural resources, drugs, weapons, and protection affect outcomes such as order, violence, welfare, and development
Judicial Politics minor
Required course:
4130: Law and Politics
Semester | 3 credit units
This class examines the intersection of law, politics, and political science. We will look at a variety of major issues — ranging from voter ID laws and voting machine technology to campaign finance and gerrymandering — that affect the way that elections and politics work. We will also carefully analyze the legal decisions that govern the electoral process and the academic research aimed at influencing policymakers and judges. Students will need to complete the assigned readings on time, come to class ready to discuss the material, work in groups to compose a legal brief, and argue their case before a mock Supreme Court.
Elective courses:
2400: Introduction to Political Theory
Justice, it is said, requires giving people what they are due – but what exactly are people due? Does justice encompass freedom and equality, or are these often conflicting political values? If so, how do we trade them off against each other? How should a just state distribute the goods that we all need, such as rights and liberties, educational opportunities, and wealth? In addition to studying great philosophical answers to such questions, we will apply those answers to live debates about pressing political questions, for example, regulating sexual conduct, economic markets, affirmative action, environmental sustainability, immigration, and global justice.
GE soc sci orgs and polities course. SS Admis Cond course.
4137: The Politics of Legal Decision Making
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of the literature relating social-science theories and research to the law, focusing on the criminal justice system.
Legal Foundations of Society minor
Required foundational course:
2400: Introduction to Political Theory
Justice, it is said, requires giving people what they are due – but what exactly are people due? Does justice encompass freedom and equality, or are these often conflicting political values? If so, how do we trade them off against each other? How should a just state distribute the goods that we all need, such as rights and liberties, educational opportunities, and wealth? In addition to studying great philosophical answers to such questions, we will apply those answers to live debates about pressing political questions, for example, regulating sexual conduct, economic markets, affirmative action, environmental sustainability, immigration, and global justice.
GE soc sci orgs and polities course. SS Admis Cond course.
Elective courses:
2400: Introduction to Political Theory
Justice, it is said, requires giving people what they are due – but what exactly are people due? Does justice encompass freedom and equality, or are these often conflicting political values? If so, how do we trade them off against each other? How should a just state distribute the goods that we all need, such as rights and liberties, educational opportunities, and wealth? In addition to studying great philosophical answers to such questions, we will apply those answers to live debates about pressing political questions, for example, regulating sexual conduct, economic markets, affirmative action, environmental sustainability, immigration, and global justice.
GE soc sci orgs and polities course. SS Admis Cond course.
4130: Law and Politics
Semester | 3 credit units
This class examines the intersection of law, politics, and political science. We will look at a variety of major issues — ranging from voter ID laws and voting machine technology to campaign finance and gerrymandering — that affect the way that elections and politics work. We will also carefully analyze the legal decisions that govern the electoral process and the academic research aimed at influencing policymakers and judges. Students will need to complete the assigned readings on time, come to class ready to discuss the material, work in groups to compose a legal brief, and argue their case before a mock Supreme Court.
4132H: Supreme Court Decision Making
Semester | 3 credit units
This course is about explanation of the decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. Students will use theories and explanations for Court decisions to conduct a research project and predict justices' positions in current cases.
Prereq: Honors standing or permission of instructor.
4137: The Politics of Legal Decision Making
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of the literature relating social-science theories and research to the law, focusing on the criminal justice system.
Political Decision Making minor
Required course:
4120: U.S. Congress
Semester | 3 credit units
Analysis of legislatures and legislators, with a focus on the U.S. Congress and some attention to state legislatures and representative assemblies in other countries.
GE soc sci orgs and polities course.
Elective courses:
3115: Introduction to the Policy Process
This course provides students with an introductory overview of the policy-making process, paying particular attention to the actors who play a pivotal role in crafting public policies and the institutions through which they interact. Note that this is not a course on policy analysis. Rather, it is a course about the politics behind successful policy change (and the pitfalls of policy failure). The objective of the course is to encourage students to think like strategic political operatives, who can take idealistic policy goals and design strategies to translate these goals into law.
4132H: Supreme Court Decision Making
Semester | 3 credit units
This course is about explanation of the decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. Students will use theories and explanations for Court decisions to conduct a research project and predict justices' positions in current cases.
Prereq: Honors standing or permission of instructor.
4137: The Politics of Legal Decision Making
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of the literature relating social-science theories and research to the law, focusing on the criminal justice system.
4160: Public Opinion
Semester | 3 credit units
What is public opinion? Where does it come from? How does it change? What does it matter? In this course we will attempt to answer these questions using the results of scientific studies and our own insights. We will explore the landscape of opinion on a variety of political topics, attempting to find out what the public thinks about these issues, and more importantly, why they think the way they do. We will also try to find out how a person's political opinions influence their behavior, and whether or not political leaders pay any attention to, or manipulate, "the will of the public."
4320: Strategies for War and Peace
Semester | 3 credit units
This course examines common strategies in foreign policy and the factors that explain why countries pursue them. It pays special attention to the ways in which countries seek to affect change and advance their interests, and the implications these have for war and peace. The course examines both the track-records of different strategies and the conditions under which they have been found to work. It also covers the different ways in which the process of decision-making has been understood and explores what is known about the factors that have the biggest impact on the course countries follow.
Political Theory minor
Required course:
2400: Introduction to Political Theory
Justice, it is said, requires giving people what they are due – but what exactly are people due? Does justice encompass freedom and equality, or are these often conflicting political values? If so, how do we trade them off against each other? How should a just state distribute the goods that we all need, such as rights and liberties, educational opportunities, and wealth? In addition to studying great philosophical answers to such questions, we will apply those answers to live debates about pressing political questions, for example, regulating sexual conduct, economic markets, affirmative action, environmental sustainability, immigration, and global justice.
GE soc sci orgs and polities course. SS Admis Cond course.
Elective courses:
3420: Political Theories of Democracy
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of theories of democracy, focusing on normative and descriptive dilemmas such as participation versus liberty in democratic societies.
Prereq: 2400 (210).
4455: Human Rights
Semester | 3 credit units
Examines human rights, including the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights; coercive enforcement of rights; as well as hunger, violence, persecution, and economic rights.
4465: Feminist Political Theory
Examines concepts in feminist political theory including the articulation of feminism, the subjects of feminist theory, the relation of race, class and sexuality to gender experience, and the use of feminist theory to transform conceptions of justice.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for WGSSt 4465. Cross-listed in WGSSt.
5413: Democracy, Equality & Revolution: 19th Century Political Thought
In the 19th century the hierarchies that had traditionally dominated European politics were collapsing: kings had been overthrown or seen their powers sharply limited, feudal aristocracies were dying off, the working class was enfranchised, and democratic governance was becoming the order of the day. In this course we will examine some of the earliest and most influential attempts to wrestle with the practical implications of living in a world where people were not only considered equal in theory, but were becoming equal in fact. Topics of discussion will include the relationship between liberty and equality, individualism and conformity, alienation and exploitation, and morality and power.
World Politics minor
Required course:
2300: American Foreign Policy
Semester | 3 credit units
Today, the United States possesses unrivaled power and influence in international politics. How is this power used? How is U.S. foreign policy developed and implemented? What interests should the United States pursue in key policy areas like terrorism, economic globalization and weapons proliferation? The goal of this course is to equip students with the knowledge and analytical skills needed to answer these questions and to critically evaluate the role of the United States in the world.
GE soc sci orgs and polities and diversity global studies course.
Elective courses:
4249: Domestic Politics of International Conflict
Semester | 3 credit units
Examination of war and the impact of domestic politics on the war-making decision; influence of domestic institutions and public opinion on leaders' ability/willingness to wage war.
4300: Theories of International Relations
Semester | 3 credit units
This course introduces students to the major theoretical issues and paradigms in the field of international relations, including realism, liberalism, and constructivism. These perspectives will be used as theoretical lenses to examine the current age of US primacy, how others are reacting to it, and what comes next.
4315: International Security and the Causes of War
Semester | 3 credit units
This course examines various issues regarding international conflict and cooperation, including theories of strategic interaction and the causes of war.
4318: The Politics of International Terrorism
Semester | 3 credit units
Examines international terrorism's concepts and actors, the motivations and causes of terrorism, the experience of the United States, and tensions between freedoms and security.
4320: Strategies for War and Peace
Semester | 3 credit units
This course examines common strategies in foreign policy and the factors that explain why countries pursue them. It pays special attention to the ways in which countries seek to affect change and advance their interests, and the implications these have for war and peace. The course examines both the track-records of different strategies and the conditions under which they have been found to work. It also covers the different ways in which the process of decision-making has been understood and explores what is known about the factors that have the biggest impact on the course countries follow.
4327: Politics in the Middle East
Semester | 3 credit units
Politics of Arab-Israeli relations, Perisan Gulf, Islamic fundamentalism, and oil; processes of change and their effects on governments and international relations.
4332: Politics of Globalization
Semester | 3 credit units
Examines globalization's origins, impacts on human welfare, and political conflicts that arise from it, including actions of governments, multinational corporations, and the anti-globalization movement.
4335: International Environmental Politics
Semester | 3 credit units
Theories and debates over sustainable development, environment, and security, and effectiveness of international regimes with a focus on international fisheries management and global climate change.
4380: Political Analysis of International Economic Relations
Semester | 3 credit units
Many important facets of our daily lives are influenced by the global economy (trade, currency trading, capital flows). This course examines the relationship between political and economic events in the international system and the manner in which governments seek both to shape the global economy and respond effectively to the constraints and opportunities it provides. Topics include global interdependence, inequality, scarce resources, and periphery nation strategies.
4597.01: International Cooperation and Conflict
Semester | 3 credit units
An examination of the relationships industrialized countries have with each other and developing nations; focus on potential for cooperation and conflict.
Prereq for 4597.01: Jr or Sr standing. GE cross-disciplinary seminar