Courses

Courses in the major or the minor normally should not be taken credit/ no entry.

110. Politics and Government (Biser, Choi). An introduction to systematic, comparative, and theoretical analysis of politics and government, including such considerations as: scope and methods of the discipline; the nature of politics and government; foundation political theories; constitutionalism; public opinion; representation; political behavior; political institutions; and international relations.

111. American National Government (Esler, Louthan, Ramsay). A comprehensive introduction to the American political system. Political foundations, the Declaration of Independence and the Federal Constitution period; Federalist, pluralist and democratic foundations of the American political style, political parties, the electoral system; pressure groups and public opinion; the Congress and the legislative-representative function; the contemporary presidency and the executive branch; the Supreme Court and judicial politics. The course also examines the policy-making process generally with reference to current political and governmental issues both throughout and at the conclusion of the course.

210. Global Issues: International Law, Terrorism, War and Peace (Kay). Among the global issues of the era are included the interrelated fields of international law, terrorism, and issues of war and peace. Students will examine the evolving dynamics and prospects for international law. This discussion will focus on the origins and concepts of international law, its prospects for facilitating international governance, and the major critiques of this approach to international relations. The class will then examine the definitions and interpretations of terrorism, its diverse roots and causes, and the varieties of responses terrorism has elicited. Students will focus on the United States and its preparedness for terrorism in a new context of the information age and weapons of mass destruction. Finally, the causes of war and the sources of peace will be studied.

211. Comparative Political Issues (J. Franklin). A general comparative overview of the world's political systems. This overview consists of two parts. First, students will assess how countries differ in terms of their political systems, governmental structures, patterns of political behavior, political culture, and patterns of political change. Second, the class will examine attempts to conceptualize and explain such differences. Rather than proceeding country-by-country, this course is organized around topics that are central to the field of comparative politics. However, students will gain some country-specific knowledge. Diversity.

260. Equality and American Politics (W. Franklin, McLean). An examination of the pursuit of political equality in the United States. The course focuses primarily upon the post-1945 experiences of several groups: women, African Americans, Hispanics, and, more recently, to a lesser extent upon the efforts by gays and lesbians, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. A thorough examination is undertaken of (a) the place of equality in the U.S. political ideology and beliefs; and (b) the various strategic environment and the choices made by these groups and their elite to obtain their respective objectives. Diversity.

261. American Politics and the Mass Media (W. Franklin, McLean). Examines how American politics is affected by the mass media in such areas as political participation, campaign politics and public policy. Explores how new technologies help shape the role the media plays in the relationship between citizens and government. Special emphasis is placed on understanding how political institutions and interest groups interact with the mass media.

279. The Conduct of Political Inquiry (J. Franklin, Ramsay). An overview of the political science discipline focusing on definition of the discipline, epistemologies of the discipline, the function of concepts and concept-building, modes of advancing and verifying theoretical propositions, and techniques used to provide data out of which theoretical propositions are constructed. Through these foci, a series of themes emerges: the interrelationship between subject matter and method, the consequently changing character of the discipline, the scientific aspects of political science, the role of creativity in the advancement of the discipline, and the essential task of theory-building.

280. Environmental Politic (Staff). This course focuses upon environmental policies. It concentrates upon the interrelated matters of how environmental matters become, and are shaped as, political issues, the extent to which they do so, how environmental issues become a part of the political agenda, the political economy cleavage lines associated with environmental political issues, the institutional factors involved in making environmental policies, and the nature of the feedback process across time in environmental politics. While the majority of attention is on environmental politics and policies in the context of U.S. politics, selected examination will cover international and comparative materials.

300.5. Human Rights in International Perspective (Staff). An examination of the development of the international law of human rights by international organizations since 1945; Western and other important perspectives on human rights; and U.S. foreign policy with respect to civil, political and economic and social human rights.  Case studies of major human rights violations throughout the world and international reactions to those violations will constitute a major part of the seminar.  Diversity.

300.29. The United States Supreme Court: Current and Future (Louthan). This course will focus on the United States Supreme Court as a political institution, with heavy emphasis on the current Court (with projections about future Courts).  Topics include:  the role of the Court in the judicial and political systems, Court participants (e.g., Justices, litigants, lawyers, supporting personnel, interest groups, etc.), Court processes (agenda-setting, scheduling, arguments, conferences, opinion writing, etc.) and judicial method (with emphasis on the styles associated with current Justices, e.g., orginalists, textualists, fundamentalists, traditionalists, pragmatists, libertarians, deferrentialists, etc.) including the role in judicial method of “activism” versus “restraint”, the “living constitution” versus the “constitution in exile”, “super-precedent”, change and continuity, revolution and stability.  This is a court on the Court, not on constitutional law. To the extent that legal issues are used as examples, they will be drawn almost exclusively from either the current agenda (e.g., abortion, affirmative action, death penalty, federalism, gun control, physician-assisted suicide, school prayer and other religious observances, etc.) or possible future dockets (e.g., brain-scanning in criminal cases, data-mining computer programming and terrorism prevention, digital rights and intellectual property, reproductive cloning and genetic screening, etc.).  Course format will be evenly divided between lecture and seminar.

300.30. Comparative Political Topics: Democratization (J. Franklin). Some of the most dramatic and politically important events in the modern world are people's participation in activities that directly challenge the government.  This course will examine the variety of contentious actions that people participate in, ranging from peaceful protests to revolutions and other major episodes of political violence.  Geographically, we will consider protest and political violence ranging from Latin America and other developing regions to post-industrial democracies such as the United States.  We will also address three important analytical issues.  First, we will analyze why people take the often risky step of opposing authority, and why people in other situations fail to resist.  Second, we will examine why some movements and challenges are successful while others fail.  Finally,we will address the governments' responses to such challenges, considering the role of democracy and the international human rights network in shaping these responses. Diversity.

300.31  Science, Technology and Political Theory (Biser).  In the last one hundred years, rapid advances in science and technology have fundamentally transformed the world in which we live.  For some thinkers, these advances promise a better future, one in which human beings might live happier, healthier and more productive lives. Others, however, see modern science and technology as in tension with the values of democracy.  How, these latter thinkers ask, is freedom realized in contemporary society? In what ways are science, rationality and technology tools for domination? For emancipation? This course examines the complex relationship between science, technology and politics from the perspective of political theorists like Herbert Marcuse, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Foucault, as well as more recent theorists like Donna Haraway and Bruno Latour.  It pays particular attention to the question of how scientific and technological change can be open to democratic participation.

344. Comparative Political Topics: Democratization (J. Franklin). This course will focus on the causes and challenges of establishing and consolidating democracy. We will cover the countries that have established democracy in the post- World War II period, with emphasis on the most recent wave of democratization starting in the 1970s. Therefore, the course will cover mostly developing countries, rather than the advanced industrialized democracies in Western Europe and North America. Students will become experts on a particular country, reporting on how it progressed through the various phases of democratization and putting its experience in the context of theories of democratization and democratic consolidation. Diversity.

346. Comparative Politics: Europe (J. Franklin). Governmental institutions, political culture, political processes, social movements and major policies of Britain, France, Germany, and Russia are studied within a framework providing a working knowledge of basic categories of comparative political analysis.

348. Comparative Politics: Latin America (J. Franklin). This course examines the political systems, social groupings and economic development of Latin America. It will examine the numerous differences in the countries of the region, while keeping in focus the common characteristics that unite them. We will discuss who the important political actors are and the various "rules of the game" for governing. We will also discuss the role of the military in politics, political instability and revolution, competing approaches to economic development, the wave of democratization that has swept the region, and the characteristics and prospects of these emerging democracies. Students will have the opportunity to become knowledgeable about particular countries in Latin America, while also gaining a broader perspective of common problems and issues facing the region. Diversity.

349. Comparative Politics: Asia (Choi). This course examines the politics and government of East, Southeast, and South Asia, including countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and India. While this is a diverse region, leaders in these countries have faced the common challenges of developing their economies, achieving and maintaining stability, and how to deal with citizen demands. The course will examine the variety of solutions to these challenges. Topics to be covered include colonization, political and economic development, political culture, ethnic conflict, democratization, political institutions, and the political process in Asia. Diversity.

350. Judicial Process and Policy-Making (Esler). An analysis of law and courts. Basic types, functions and determinants of law as well as major issues in jurisprudence. Organization and basic functions of American courts and theories of judicial decision making. The role of trial courts in criminal and civil procedures and the role of appellate courts in overseeing the activities of trial courts. The impact and role of courts in American politics. Particular focus on the roles of judges, attorneys, prosecutors, juries, police and interest groups in the judicial process.

351. American Constitutional Law (Esler). Analysis of the U.S. Constitution and the role of the Supreme Court in interpreting it. The course begins with an analysis of the intentions behind the writing of the Constitution. It then focuses on the process used by the Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution and leading theories that explain how the Court interprets the Constitution. The final, and most extensive, part of the course analyzes Supreme Court decisions in leading cases in the following areas: judicial, legislative, and executive powers; separation of powers; federalism; and government regulation of the economy.

352. Civil Rights and Liberties (Louthan). The role of the law and courts in promoting freedom and equality. Initial focus on the meaning of and issues related to the values of freedom, equality, and democracy. The focus then shifts to the Supreme Court's interpretation of selected provisions of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Specific topics include the incorporation doctrine, freedom of speech and religion, privacy, racial equality, gender equality, political and economic equality, and criminal defendant's rights. Legal and political dimensions of these decisions will be given special attention.

353. Congress and Legislative Process (McLean). The politics and public policy aspects of the national legislative branch of American government. The course examines the contemporary legislative and representative process including the committee system and seniority, party leadership, relations with the President and the Supreme Court, and relations with constituents and lobbyists.

354. The American Presidency (W. Franklin, McLean). The nature and role of the American presidency. The historical development of the presidency is examined to lay the foundation for discussions of the sources of presidential power, the constitutional basis of the presidency, the role of the Executive Office and the bureaucracy. The relationship of the presidency and Congress and the problems of public policy making are reviewed. The course concludes with discussion of the politics of modern presidencies.

355. American Federalism and Public Policy (Ramsay). The relationship between public policymaking and the American federal system is explored from many vantage points. Emphasis is placed on the roles of local state and federal agencies in the operation of complex government programs in such policy areas as the environment, transportation, health care, social welfare and education. The course also includes an examination of the major state and local government institutions (e.g. legislatures, governorships, municipalities). The political and governmental differences between inner cities, suburbia and rural areas are frequently examined.

356. Public Administration (Ramsay). Examines the similarities and differences between public and private administrative organizations; the importance of the social, economic, cultural and political environments within which federal government agencies operate; and the public policymaking processes in which federal agencies are involved. Organization theories, personnel administration, decision-making theories, and budgeting are also discussed. The course focuses on all of these elements through discussion of case studies on the careers of prominent American public administrators and on significant events and issues in recent years in U.S. public administration.

358. Political Parties (Ramsay). Examines the historical development of the American party system, the trends within the parties and the party system since WWII, and the role of political parties in the most recent Presidential and Congressional elections. Emphasis is placed on the role of party identification in citizen voting behavior and the relationship between the party system and the social, economic, and cultural issues in American society. The impact of new technologies (e.g. television) on political campaigns and the role of the parties is also analyzed.

360. International Politics (Choi, Kay). International politics from the point of view of the international system and the nation state. Topics include introduction to the major theoretical concepts of international relations, security studies, international political economy, and contemporary global politics. Consideration is given to the history of international politics and using theoretical concepts to assess current and future global trends.

361. American Foreign Policy (Kay). An overview of the domestic and international sources of American foreign policy. This course provides a detailed overview of the historical legacy of previous international experiences that shape contemporary foreign policy decision-making. Detailed study is given to the political and constitutional setting of foreign policymaking in Washington D.C., the bureaucratic role of institutions like the Department of State and Department of Defense, and the range of policy options available to decision-makers. Students examine the range of long-term strategic choices available to the United States as it continues to struggle with its post-Cold War grand strategy.

362. International Organizations (Kay). Development of international organizations and the roles they perform in the context of expanding globalization of international relations. The course details the theoretical premises behind international organizations and places their historical development in that context. Specific case studies include the role of the United Nations and NATO. Issue areas of contemporary international organizations include international economic policy, environmental policy, human rights, peacekeeping and arms control. New concepts of international organization such as the role of the Internet and grassroots movements in the context of the evolving state system are addressed.

371. Classical Issues in Political Theory (Biser). This is a course in the history of political thought.  It focuses on selected writers from Plato to Aristotle, Machiavelli, Locke, Hobbes, Marx, Mill, Arendt and others. It examines classical political questions, such as what citizens owe the state and when they can or should rebel against it.  How should polities be organized so as to further the goals of freedom and equality?  Each of the thinkers discussed has made a significant contribution to the tradition of western political theory; however, the course also examines the way that these classical thinkers have excluded certain people (women, racial and ethnic minorities, etc.) from their conceptions of politics. 

372. Democracy and Its Critics (Biser). This course is an examination of both classical and contemporary debates about democracy.  What does it mean to be democratic?  How does our modern conception of democracy differ from that of the Ancients?  What are the dangers inherent in a democratic system?  How easily can such a system be exported?  In this course, we analyze the various conceptions of and justifications for democracy paying particular attention to the contemporary challenges that democracies face in the light of the rise of globalization.

373. American Political Thought and Politics (Biser). This course examines the sources and nature of American political thought, tracing its origins to the religious traditions of early settlers, as well as classical liberal and republican theory.  Emphasis is on the character of American ideology and democracy, the relationship between religion and politics, as well as contemporary critiques of the American political system.

490. Independent Study (Staff).

491. Directed Readings (Staff).

495. Apprenticeship (Staff).

499. Senior Seminar (Esler, Kay, Ramsay).

A. Readings in U.S. public policymaking with emphasis on the stages in the process of public policymaking, the content of public policies and comparisons with public policymaking patterns in other advanced post-industrial societies. (Ramsay)

B. Readings in international politics, foreign policy and comparative government, enabling students to broaden and integrate their knowledge of principal approaches to the analysis of global politics. Studies of contemporary and historical events illustrating these approaches are read and discussed. (Kay)

D. Readings, discussions and papers on the impact of American political institutions on contemporary political issues. (Esler)