2020-2021 University Catalog 
    
    Apr 20, 2024  
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2020-2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

 

Political Science

Course classifications:

American politics (AM)
Comparative politics (CO)
International relations (IR)
Political theory (TH)
  

  • POSC 153 - Introduction to Comparative Politics (CO)

    Nearly 200 independent states coexist in the world today. Although they are all unique, political scientists study them in systematic ways, comparing them to discover fundamental political patterns that can help produce broadly applicable generalizations across different cultures and geographies. Themes such as democratic or authoritarian regime type, models of economic development, state institutions, civil society, and issues of national and ethnic identity all form important realms of inquiry for researchers engaged in the practice of comparative politics. This course introduces students to the principle themes and basic theories of comparative politics using examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, including both authoritarian and unstable democratic countries. (CO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 208 - Comparative Democracies (CO)

    Offers a comparative examination of the social bases of democracy and of different forms of constitutional government and competitive politics in both advanced industrial and developing countries in regions including Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Students explore questions about the causes of democratic stability and instability across countries and the effectiveness of their democratic government in delivering goods to their citizens. Students examine key conditions that appeared conducive to producing democratic transitions across the three “waves” of democratization. Finally, students consider the process of democratic consolidations, considering topics such as civil society, civil-military relations, institutional design, and international influences. (CO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 210 - Congress (AM)

    Analyzes the legislative process with a special emphasis on the relationship between Congress and the presidency. Students examine the historical development and structural attributes of Congress that determine its role in the executive-legislative relationship. Since the decision-making process varies enormously by issue area, students focus on several distinct policy areas. Course materials include classics of congressional scholarship as well as results from some of the latest research in the field. (AM)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 211 - The Presidency and Executive Leadership (AM)

    An examination of the complex and controversial role the presidency plays in the American political system. The course begins with the founders and with the creation of the presidency at the Constitutional Convention. This is followed by an examination of the powers vested in the office and the ways in which they check and are checked by Congress. Discussion then turns to what has come to be called the “managerial presidency.” Descriptive and analytical treatment of the ways in which the country elects presidents is a major topic. At many points the American presidency is compared to executive power in other democracies. (AM)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 212 - The Politics of Race and Ethnicity (AM)

    Examines the political dynamics of race in American society, focusing primarily on the experience of blacks as a socio-political group and to a lesser degree on that of other racial and ethnic minorities. The overriding theme is how race has influenced American politics and, conversely, how certain political phenomena have shaped the development of race. The specific topics around which the course is organized include the following: the most enduring and predominant racial issue - racial inequality; competing explanations for the origins and continuance of racial inequality; leadership approaches and ideologies for redressing the race problem; mass political strategies for dealing with the problem; majority attitudes and opinions regarding racial issues (including racial inequality); and the comparative experience of non-black minorities. These topics, individually and collectively, represent the essence of racial politics. (AM)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ALST 212 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 214 - Comparative Politics: East and Southeast Asia (CO)

    This course introduces students to the politics of countries in East and Southeast Asia. It examines similarities and differences in the evolution of their political societies from the end of World War II to the present time. Students will learn about the historical development of the state, regimes, and political parties and the interactions across these institutions that informed political and economic development in these countries. The course will cover the experiences of the East Asian early developers (Japan, Korea, and Taiwan), Southeast Asian countries (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) and the emergence of China as an economic and political power. (CO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 215 - Comparative Politics: Middle East (CO)

    An introduction to Middle Eastern politics, including historical foundations of the modern Middle East, competing strategies of state building, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Gulf War, the rise of political Islam, and American policy toward the region. (CO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 215 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 216 - Comparative Politics: Latin America (CO)

    Today Latin America is one of the most democratic regions of the developing world, although it faces problems of inequality, gridlock, and economic growth. Latin America’s 20th-century experiences of coups, revolutions, and instability also present important lessons for comparative politics. This course introduces students to the countries of Latin America and the important patterns of similarity and difference that can help them understand political development and elucidate comparative trends. Regime type is one prism through which students examine the region’s countries, including democracy, semi-democracy, and various authoritarian regimes, especially bureaucratic authoritarianism. Another important topic is the United States’ relationship with the region’s polities, on issues like the Cold War, drug wars, and economic policies. In addition to big countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, the course also focuses on countries of particular student interest. (CO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 232 - Fundamentals of International Relations (IR)

    An introduction to the basic approaches to international relations, such as realism, idealism, and the interdependence school. Students also consider fundamental problems of national security, the uses of power, the causes of war, the nature of international institutions, the relationships among security, deterrence, conflict escalation, and nuclear proliferation. (IR)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 260 - Foundations of Political Thought (TH)

    This introduction to political thought explores the questions: What is a just society? What is the best way of life? The course examines major alternatives from Plato to Nietzsche, as well as recent critics and defenders of American liberal democracy. (TH)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 300 - Geneva Colloquium

    Intended for students accepted to the Geneva Study Group the following spring. It has three purposes: to prepare students for life in Geneva through readings on the history and culture of Switzerland and discussion of the practical aspects of living in the city; to introduce students to the international organizations that the group will visit in Brussels at the beginning of the spring program; and to prepare students for their internships at international organizations and NGOs in Geneva.

    Credits: 0.50
    When Offered: Fall semester only

    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 304 - Islam and Politics

    Studies the impact of the Islamic resurgence on international and intra-national politics. The course begins with an introduction to the Islamic faith. Students explore the origins of the Islamic resurgence, the ideas of influential Islamic political thinkers, and Islamic movements in comparative perspective (Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, the United States, and France). The class concludes by examining two issues of great contemporary importance: the impact of Islam on democracy and the future relationship between the Islamic world and the West.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 304 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 305 - The Political Economy of East and Southeast Asia

    Studies the role of the state in economic and social development and the relationship between economic development and democratization in East and Southeast Asia. Covers a variety of topics: the relationship between the state and the market in economic development, the interaction between growth and the development of political institutions, and the political repercussions of developmental outcomes such as demographic change and rapid urbanization. Students explore the interplay of state capacity, market development, and democratic institution building.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 307 - China’s Foreign Relations

    Examines China’s complex relations with the world mainly since the 1990s. It begins with a brief consideration of traditional Chinese understandings of international relations, historical legacies, geopolitical predicaments, and China’s foreign policymaking process. Students examine the recent reorientation of Chinese foreign policy as a result of China’s post-Mao economic reforms. Students assess China’s grand strategy of “Peaceful Development,” Chinese integration into “international institutions,” and China’s partial participation in an emergent Asian regionalism. Geographically, students examine China’s relations with its Pacific neighbors, other developing countries (especially in Africa), and with advanced countries (Europe and the USA). Students also evaluate the prospects for military conflicts over Taiwan, the Senkaku/Diaoyu, and the South China Seas. The problem of nationalism in foreign policy is assessed through an analysis of the “interactive nationalisms” driving the triangular US-China-Japan relationship. Students investigate China’s foreign policies on major international issues in an age of globalization. Specifically, with regard to the global economy, climate change and international human rights are examined. Concludes by assessing the prospects for Chinese foreign policy in the 21st Century.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 314 - American Political Development

    An introduction the political science subfield of American Political Development, which traces the historical development of political institutions and the evolution of state/society relations in this country. How “exceptional” is the trajectory of state-building in the United States compared with other long-term democracies? What is the role of culture in shaping American politics and explaining change over time? How has race figured historically in the articulation of state power? Course readings tackle these and other questions from the perspective of political scientists, sociologists, and historians working on a broad empirical terrain spanning several centuries.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 315 - Government and the Economy

    The course examines the inevitable intrusion of politics into economic policy making, with examples drawn from a variety of policy areas including traditional economic regulation, the new social regulation, energy and environmental policies, and recent trends toward deregulation. The course begins with elementary economic theory: the case for free markets, a review of the various ways unregulated markets break down, and rational prescriptions for remedying market failures. The bulk of the course then examines the factors operating to make these market failures more complex than at first they appear, producing policies that depart from economic ideals.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 317 - Identity Politics

    Examines the politics of identity in comparative perspectives. Introduces students to a variety of theoretical approaches concerning the origin, transformation, and mobilization of national, ethnic, and other forms of collective identity. Students consider empirical applications of these theories: students identify processes through which identity becomes politicized, explore why some identity conflicts manifest as violence, and analyze the various ways - ranging from electoral solutions to genocide - in which states manage difference. Case studies are drawn from Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, the Asian sub-continent, and the United States.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 320 - States, Markets, and Global Change

    Do states intervene in the economy too much as conservatives and libertarians claim, or should they intervene more as many liberals and progressives argue? Does business have too much power or have the critics of “big business” and multinationals been too alarmist? Is the role of the government diminishing as the world becomes more global? This course discusses contemporary controversies regarding the relationship between government and the economy. It evaluates and examines the extent and kinds of state intervention into markets and the private sector, the influence and impact of corporations and business leaders on government institutions and policy from the United States to Latin America.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 321 - Political Parties and Electoral Process

    Political parties are some of the most influential entities in politics, and this course examines them as they pursue pork, policy, and power in the arenas of elections and elected institutions. After providing a strong background in party theory and the American party system, the remainder of the course highlights important commonalities by comparing party activity and party system development in other countries that straddle the developed and developing world.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 323 - American Elections and Party Power

    Focuses closely on the US party system and the electoral area in which the parties struggle for power. In order to develop a strong conception of American parties, students combine scrutiny of the day-to-day media representations of political parties with important comparative perspectives to understand how American parties and elections fit into broader political science frameworks, as well as their long-term and global implications. Students compare the current US party system in three directions: back through history (especially the 20th century) to understand the roots of today’s parties; out to the rest of the world, comparing party systems in other highly democratic countries; and also down to the state level, where students examine to what degree New York State parties and elections reflect national trends. Important topics covered include the effects of redistricting and campaign finance. Students also investigate the importance of issue-framing with units on contrasting party strategies of presenting a “war on women” and President Obama’s “socialism.”

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 326 - State and Local Politics

    Focuses on governing processes and institutions at the state and local level. Special attention is given to inter-governmental relations, municipal finance, and proposals for reform of local government.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 328 - Religion and Politics

    Religion and politics influence each other–pervasively and controversially–in almost every political system across the globe. This course examines this fundamentally important relationship in a variety of national settings through a comparative assessment of issues and controversies such as constitutional relations between religious institutions and the state; the appropriate role of religious beliefs in a democracy; the challenges posed to contemporary governments by the expansion of religious pluralism; the role that religious interests and religious leaders can play in elections and policy making; and the many ways that religion and religious mobilization are shaping the very nature of political life in the modern world.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 329 - The Politics of Nationalism and Memory in Eastern Europe (Extended Study)

    How is history used to advance state-building and nation-building projects? What role do forgetting and memory play in politics? How do international forces interact with domestic political movements? This extended study course uses Vilnius, the current capital of Lithuania, as a case for studying the politics of nationalism and memory, which so shaped its history and which continue to inform its politics and culture today.

    Credits: 1
    Crosslisted: JWST 329
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 330 - Post-Mao China and World Development

    Examines post-Mao China’s socioeconomic development and post-socialist transition in an age of economic globalization. It analyzes the evolution of Chinese economic market reforms and China’s uneven integration into the Liberal World Order since 1978. This two-pronged developmental trajectory, however, encounters major challenges such as socioeconomic problems, ecological degradations, political dysfunctions, ideational crises, and international impediments. With varying efficacy, the Chinese government has attempted to redress these daunting problems through administrative reforms, economic rebalancing, anti-corruption campaigns, and international institutions. These major challenges and their attempted ameliorations are analyzed in-depth. The course concludes by examining the practical and discursive ramifications of China’s development model for Chinese society, world politics, and the philosophical search for alternative modernities.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 331 - Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Provides an understanding of politics in 48 countries that constitute sub-Saharan Africa. Following the independence era of the early 1960s and 1970s, much of the sub-continent exploded into a seemingly endless cycle of violence underscored by military coups d’état and civil wars. Over the last decade, various conflicts subsided enough for some states to institute political and market reforms. Others remained stuck in the throes of economic stagnation, on the verge of disintegration and vulnerable to terrorist groups and drug runners who exploit their vast ungovernable territories. What explains the various transitions that some states have experienced in sub-Saharan Africa? Why did most states disintegrate in violence following the end of colonial rule? Drawing upon pre-colonial accounts and histories of state formation and the theoretical, methodological, and conceptual tools that various Africanists have used to analyze key events, this course offers answers to these and other important questions about political and socio-economic developments on the continent of Africa.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 332 - African Political Economy

    This course examines the wide array of processes, actors, and institutions that shape the collective formation of the political economy of African states. In particular, the course is designed to take into account international and domestic processes, actors, and institutions, and how they interact. These include cultural, institutional, soci-economic, and broadly defined economic structures and processes, forces that create opportunities and constraints that shape economic policy making.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 335 - U.S. Environmental Politics

    Public policies to protect the environment are among the most important and controversial issues in local, state, and national government. This course analyzes the politics of environmental protection in the United States through the use of social science theory and a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. The course introduces frameworks for understanding environmental policy problems and reviews several important American environmental laws. Readings include social science “classics” on the environment, as well as recent scholarship on environmental politics and emerging environmental issues. Topics covered in the course include the politics of environmental science, environmentalism as a social movement, environmental lawmaking in Congress, bureaucracy and environmental regulation, federalism, environmental law, and environmental justice.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted:   
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 336 - Campaigns & Voting Behavior

    Examines political campaigns and voting behavior in American elections. The course will focus on both the broad theoretical literature surrounding campaigns and voter behavior as well as in-depth coverage of ongoing political campaigns in the United States. We will primarily examine presidential and congressional elections. Topics to be covered include: primary elections, election forecasting, campaign effects, negative vs. positive campaigning, theories of candidate preference and political participation.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 338 - Sex, Law, and the American Culture Wars

    Explores the American church-state debate through the lens of abortion and same-sex marriage. These sexual freedom and reproductive rights issues raise questions that reach to the very heart of the American political project. What is the scope of our right to engage in private behavior? Do longstanding religious and moral traditions have a place within a secular legal system? Are there limits to the Constitution’s guarantee of religious free exercise, and, if so, how do we determine these limits? These issues have generated intense social and political conflict, and are at the center of today’s “culture wars” in the U.S. This course will provide students with a robust background in the legal history of these issues, and will furnish students with a framework for making sense of some of today’s most contentious political battles in the U.S.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted:   
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 340 - Politics of the American Metropolis

    The United States is an urban society: today nearly 80 percent of Americans live in urbanized, metropolitan areas. These urban areas are governed by a dizzying array of local, state, and federal institutions whose policies affect citizens’ lives enormously and in myriad ways. This course explores the politics of urban America in the context of the contemporary metropolis. The legal and philosophical origins of local American government are discussed, along with the political economy of the city and classic theories of urban politics. The course traces the history of urbanization and the accompanying growth of government institutions, and addresses issues of suburbanization, regional balkanization, and federalism. Other issues addressed in the course include land use, segregation, housing, economic development, and poverty.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 150 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 341 - War and the Shaping of American Politics

    Examines the impact of warfare, expansion, and national security policy on the development of domestic American institutions and politics since the Revolution. War’s impact has been multifaceted and contradictory, fueling a politics of reaction and repression in many contexts while serving as a catalyst for advances in political, racial, and economic equality and inclusion in others. Students will explore those contradictions by connecting war mobilization and security politics to the trajectory of American political development and state/society relations over time. Topics include: the role of the putatively weak American state in shaping 19th century territorial expansion; the effect of wartime mobilization and participation on racial politics; the interplay of warfare and the welfare state in American history; the postwar politics of the “military-industrial complex;” and the impact of foreign policy and national security on the American party system. Readings will engage such topics from the perspective of political scientists, sociologists, and historians working on a broad empirical terrain ranging over several centuries.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted:   
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 342 - The Politics of Nuclear Proliferation

    Why do states want to have nuclear weapons? How do specific motivations differ from Iran to North Korea to Israel, to India, to Pakistan? Some scholars and politicians argue that the world will be safer as more countries possess functional nuclear arsenals; are they right? This course examines the available data and the analyses of authors from a variety of countries in order to derive the best answers we can to the questions.

    Credits: 0.50
    Prerequisites: POSC 152  or POSC 232  or POSC 353  or POSC 366  or HIST 216  or HIST 217
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 344 - Politics of Poverty

    Examines the nature and extent of poverty in the United States, with particular emphasis on public policies designed to alleviate poverty and recent proposals for reform. Political factors affecting the formulation and implementation of poverty policies are examined, drawing on case studies of selected issues such as the war on poverty, Medicare, food stamps, aid to families with dependent children, and negative income tax proposals.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • POSC 345 - The News Media and the Political Process

    Politics is a distant and dimly understood process for most people; still, they must somehow come to terms with the threats and reassurances it offers, and reach assessments of personalities and policies about which they often know little. This course is an analysis of politics and the media from the inside out, beginning with the ways people receive, interpret, or ignore the media messages directed at them. News reporting and questions of bias are treated in the context of a group analysis of important stories. The class also considers the evolution and refinement of media campaigning techniques. Those who cannot purchase time or space in the mass media may resort to protest, terror, and violence in order to air their views. The class discusses these cases along with the ethical issues they pose. (PG)

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 346 - Beneath the Black Robes: Courts as Political Institutions

    Focuses on the causal dynamics of judicial behavior. Introduces students to the study of courts as political institutions and, in doing so, provides some understanding of the political nature of the role of courts in American society. Departs from the view that landmark national decisions such as Roe v. Wade, Baker v. Carr, and Brown v. Bd. of Education, along with their more recent conservative corollaries, are solely the product of adherence to constitutional standards of interpretation. Instead, it posits that these controversial rulings and judicial policy in general can be explained through careful examination of certain political factors. In short, the course is based on the premise that the judiciary is a permeable structure that is responsive to democratic processes and that, in turn, exerts influence upon those processes. Two major theoretical concerns integrate the lectures and materials covered: 1) the dynamic relationship between court decision-making processes and major features of the larger American political arena, and 2) the inherent tensions between judicial independence and democratic politics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: 100-level POSC course
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 348 - The Rise and Fall of Communism

    Examines the spread of political and economic ideas and practices in the shocking advent and demise of state socialism and subsequent transitions to market capitalism. Students study the ideological struggles with Nazism, Fascism, and Capitalism, focusing mainly on the countries of East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, but addressing an entire system of states where such transformative processes occurred in the 20th century. Students explore the politics, implementation, and impact of radical economic and social ideas. Students devote particular attention to the relationship between personal and cultural influences of ideologies, local polities and economies, and processes of global ideological development.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 349 - The International Political Economy

    Looks at the historical and theoretical development of the international political economy. Some of the major topics include the interaction between politics and economics in trade and protectionism, capital flows, exchange rates, debt, globalization, and problems in development. (IR)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 353 - National Security

    Discusses and analyzes the idea of national security in theory and practice, as well as the impact of nuclear weapons on contemporary statecraft topics including deterrence theory, arms control and disarmament, nuclear proliferation, and recent strategic developments. An optional three-week extended study in New York City, POSC 383, deepens students’ understanding of several issues that are treated in class during the term.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 152  or POSC 232  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 354 - Capitalism, the State, and Development in Latin America

    The developmental trajectories of Latin American countries contain a double conundrum: first, in spite of being a region endowed with a considerable amount of natural resources and having enjoyed privileged access to Western European and North American markets, the overall economic performance of the region during the 20th century lagged considerably behind that of the rest of the Western world. Second, even when these countries all share a past of colonial rule and a “peripheral” location in the international system, the economic differences within the countries of the region are staggering. Seeking to shed light on this puzzle, this course surveys existing theories on the relationship between political institutions and economic outcomes and explores the historical co-evolution of states, regimes, and markets in the region.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 357 - International Institutions

    Examines how international institutions shape states’ behavior and why some institutions are more effective than others. Students focus on institutions such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and NATO, and on issues such as development, human rights, climate change, and arms control.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 358 - Transnational Politics

    Examines the segment of world politics that includes interactions and transactions between actors who are not representatives of governments or intergovernmental institutions. Non-state actors as diverse as global social movements, multinational corporations, religious communities, and even terrorist networks are now recognized as playing crucial roles on the world’s political stage. This course focuses on a variety of these transnational actors to stretch the limits of state-based approaches, and emphasize the rich variety of relationships and interactions that characterizes contemporary world politics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PCON 358  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 359 - Power in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin

    Examines the domestic and international politics of the world’s largest country. Students track the weakness and disorder of the chaotic 1990s under Boris Yeltsin, and the birth of a new system on the ashes of Communism. Students examine the rise of Russian power and prestige under Vladimir Putin and his centralizing innovations to strengthen political and economic institutions. The course also considers dissent and protest movements, the national conflicts with internal minorities, as in Chechnya, and projection of power over the post-Soviet “Near Abroad” and the construction of a corporatist-style system that presents new challenges to the global dominance of ideas about democracy and capitalism.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: REST 359  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 360 - Domestic Sources of American Foreign Policy

    To the extent that the U.S. sets its own course in international affairs, domestic sources of American foreign policy become a crucial consideration. This course examines the role of domestic politics in formulating US foreign policy. Special emphasis is placed on the function of representative institutions, bureaucracies, and public opinion in determining and implementing American foreign policy. Students are presented with a comprehensive framework of analysis that permits them to describe and perhaps predict actions taken by the US government.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 361 - Humanitarian Interventions

    Peace operations have been widely deployed to contain and promote resolution of conflicts. This course focuses primarily on humanitarian intervention and probes the different contexts in which peacekeepers have been introduced: interstate conflicts, civil conflicts, and humanitarian emergencies. Students consider how humanitarian interventions differ in practical terms from other types of peace operations, considering questions of strategy, mandates, and political will. Students also analyze the ethical implications of humanitarian intervention, particularly questions of responsibility, legitimacy, sovereignty, and unintended consequences. Theoretical readings are combined with comparative case studies are drawn from Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and elsewhere.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 364 - Politics of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan

    Modern South Asia is the product of the partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947. The secession of Bangladesh changed the map of South Asia again in 1971. The history of South Asia is, thus, one of division and rivalry. This course focuses on the broad developments since colonial times: nationalism, the rise and fall of democratic processes, ethnic strife, communal divisions, secession incentives, power imbalances, and emergence of a nuclear South Asia, and the recent links between Islamic fundamentalist groups and terrorists in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: POSC 364L 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 364L - Required Film Screening

    Required corequisite to POSC 364 .

    Credits: 0.00
    Corequisite: POSC 364 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 365 - Just War in Comparative Perspective

    Introduce students to a wide variety of ways of thinking about justice and warfare, across time, space, and religion. Using political science–rather than theology or philosophy–as the lens for inquiry emphasizes the role played by political power in the creation and transmission of these systems of value. Beginning with an exploration of the roots of Western Just War thinking in the ancient world (Greece, Rome, and Israel), the course explores traditional just war thinking in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Students delve into source texts, examining the evolution of just war thought in a historical and comparative context, and the course illustrates the ways in which concepts of justice may be contingent on both a society’s religious/ethnical beliefs and its military capabilities. Finally, the course turns to contemporary scholarship to ask, is just war theory still relevant today? Modern just war responses to weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and counter-insurgency warfare provide students the opportunity to apply these ancient theories to the modern world.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 366 - Contemporary American Foreign Policy

    Focuses on the theoretical traditions underlying American foreign policy, key concepts in the conduct of foreign policy, and the application of these theories and concepts to historical and contemporary events. Students examine how policymakers determine the national interest, the tools used to conduct foreign policy, and how policymakers have responded to foreign policy problems in the 21st century. Students focus on both theory and application to understand how decisions are made and executed, as well as which policy problems are most critical today.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 367 - The European Union

    Examines the trajectory of European integration since World War II. Introduces theories to explain this trajectory, and to explain why the EU is more deeply integrated in some areas (e.g., economy) than others (e.g., defense). The traumas of the past decade, including the euro crisis, democratic decay, and Brexit are also addressed.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 368 - American Foreign Relations with China

    Examines the major sources, dominant theories, and primary policy options in American foreign relations with China. Begins by examining some key determinants of this bilateral relationship and proceeds to investigate “realist,” “liberal,” and “cultural” approaches to understanding international relations in general and US China policy in particular. Particular attention is paid to the so-called “Thucydides Trap” and the actual consequences of a potential US-China war. Concludes by examining the effects of “American Exceptionalism” and the “China threat” on US foreign policy towards China.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 369 - European Security (Geneva Study group)

    Focus on contemporary European security problems and the ‘European’ perspective on new security issues. Topics include: NATO enlargement, European security institutions and ‘societal security’ in Europe, intervention and democracy promotion, state formation, foreign aid and development issues, and human rights of refugees and others.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 150  or POSC 152 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 371 - West European Politics

    Looks at the history and political development of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Students study these countries within the context of not only their distinct histories but also examine a comparison of how these histories impacted the development of diverging domestic interests, the creation of societal cleavages, and consequently the construction of political institutions to mediate and regulate internal conflict. Major policies within the countries are considered, including their involvement with NATO and the European Union.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 373 - The Public Policy Process

    Examines how the executive and legislative branches of government interact to formulate public policies. The influence of political parties, interest groups, business organizations, and public opinion on these institutions is explored in depth. Also highlights the impact of federalism within the American political system, pointing both to intergovernmental implementation of national policies and to policy innovation at the state level. An overarching theme is the inevitable tension between oligarchy and democracy in a system where only a few actors wield direct influence over policy decisions.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 374 - International Law

    Introduces students to public international law through an examination of the key concepts and principles that underlie the foundations of international law, as well as through the legal norms that regulate relations between states. Although states are considered the central actors in international law, the involvement of nonstate actors, intergovernmental organizations, and other participants is also examined. Substantive areas of international law, humanitarian law, and international law and the environment are also analyzed. Concludes with a discussion of the future role of international law in world politics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 377 - Political Psychology

    How do the forces that shape personality and motivation affect the political behavior of individuals? What role do factors such as schooling, religion, social class, mass media, race, and gender have upon individual beliefs and attitudes? How does the use of stereotypes and political symbols shape the popular understanding of politics and affect the relationship between the rulers and the ruled? By employing an individualistic perspective, this course investigates the formation of public opinion and the structure of political beliefs, values, and attitudes.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 379 - The Development of the Modern State

    Though the state is now the standard form of political organization, this was not always the case. For centuries, political organization was dominated by city-states, feudal relations, and tribal or clan organizations. This course examines the emergence of the modern state as the predominant form of political organization. It explores various arguments for state sovereignty and examines several challenges to it as well. Finally, it considers the state of the state in today’s globalized world.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 380 - Reason, Faith, and Politics

    Examines the claims of reason and revelation as sources of ultimate truth and as guides for the political world. Readings are from the great theologians of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 381 - Revolutions

    Why do revolutions occur, or perhaps more to the point, why do they fail to occur? When do they end and what do they actually achieve? What, in other words, is so revolutionary about revolutions? Students consider whether and how revolutions differ from social movements, coups d’etats, and armed rebellions by looking at a broad range of uprisings, from the “colored revolutions” and liberating “springs” of recent years to the classical examples of the French, American, Mexican, Chinese, Cuban, and Iranian revolutions, as well as the challenging cases of Haiti and South Africa.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations, Institutes & Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 382 - American Political Thought

    This study of the principles of American government as articulated by leading statesmen and political thinkers gives particular attention to the founding period and the Constitution and to their relationship to later periods of reform.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 383 - National Security (Extended Study)

    The extended study in New York City explores four topics covered in POSC 353: conflict in the Middle East, conflict in the Balkans, NATO and European security, and the UN peacekeeping system. The class meets with academics and representatives of roughly a dozen countries who deal with these issues. The study includes panels of military scholars from the US Army War College and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

    Credits: 0.50
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 353  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 385 - Modernity and its Conservative Critics

    What is wrong with the modern world, especially with the political culture of liberal and progressive intellectual elites? Such questions are explored by studying the radical critique of modernity offered by philosophical, classical, and Christian conservatives.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 388 - Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties

    Students examine the nature of civil rights and liberties under the Constitution; such include freedom of speech and the press, religious freedom, equal protection (with major attention to race and gender), due process, property, and privacy/autonomy (abortion, right to die, sexual orientation). Students also explore the role of the Supreme Court in the definition and protection of these rights and engage the several controversies surrounding the larger enterprise of constitutional interpretation, such as originalism v. nonoriginalism, natural law v. positivism, judicial activism v. judicial restraint, and so forth.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 389 - Constitutional Law: Structures and Powers

    The focus of this course is what Aristotle identified as the central question of political science, the character of regime–the organization of offices and the distribution of power that is designed to achieve an understanding of justice and the human good. More specifically, students focus on the structural characteristics of the American regime, or Constitution–separation of powers, federalism, emergency powers, property rights; but students are equally concerned with the politics of interpretation itself–the complex process by which people determine what is the Constitution, how it is to be understood, and who has authority to interpret it. The responsibility for constitutional interpretation is broadly distributed, but it is also obvious that the preeminent voice for interpreting the Constitution has become the Supreme Court. Accordingly, students spend the greater portion of the course with the analysis of cases, that is, the Court’s opinion of what the Constitution means.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 390 - Silent Warfare: Intelligence Analysis and Statecraft

    Introduces students to the complex and crucial process of obtaining, analyzing, and producing intelligence in the making of American foreign policy. Subjects covered include problems with the structure of the intelligence community, covert action, psychological and bureaucratic constraints on analysts and policymakers, and how the intelligence community has responded to key threats. Students also explore ethical issues raised with intelligence gathering such as the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, the role of whistleblowers, and accountability of the intelligence community. By addressing these issues, students tackle critical problems associated with the collection, analysis, and use of intelligence to meet the American national interest.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 403 - A View from the Mayor’s Desk: Current Dynamics of American Governance

    Provides an insider’s perspective on the myriad and complex managerial, policy-making, and political challenges faced by Mayors in the contemporary US political system.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 410 - Our Constitutional Order: Continuity and Change (Study Group)

    An inquiry into the enduring principles and changing features of our constitutional order. Topics include the design of the founders (their underlying propositions about human nature and the common good, expectations for institutional performance, and hopes for the way of life fostered by this constitutional order), significant changes within this order (as marked by shifts in the underlying premises of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution and parallel realignments of the political party system), and contemporary features of institutions and political mores. The class meets as a daily seminar for the first two weeks of the program, then in weekly seminars for the following six weeks. Taught on the Washington DC study group.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 412 - Readings and Research on American Government (Study Group)

    Combines common readings pertaining to the internship (focusing on organization theory) and individualized readings on an independent research project. For the latter, students are encouraged to select topics that further enhance and complement the experiential learning of their internships. Taught on the Washington DC study group.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 414 - Seminar: Contemporary Policy Process (Study Group)

    An inquiry into the contemporary process by which policy is developed and enacted, with special attention to a case study of a subject currently under consideration in Washington. Previous topics have included reforms of welfare, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and campaign finance. Questions include a) the role of interest groups, parties, political action committees, and the press; b) the impact of constitutional and contemporary structures and processes of decision making; and c) the desirability of reform of the constitutional system itself. This class meets as a daily seminar for the first two weeks after the term break, then in semi-weekly seminars for the next five weeks. Taught on the Washington DC study group.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 415 - Seminar: Social Justice Politics and Policy

    Focuses on the issues and problems confronting certain socially and politically marginalized groups in contemporary American society. Such groups include racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, women, and gays and lesbians. Of particular concern is how well these groups have fared in the American political arena, the sources of and constraints upon their political clout, and the political system’s response to their concerns and demands. Students examine both the political process as it pertains to marginalized groups and also the major public policy developments affecting these groups. More specifically, students utilize traditional political science tools and methodologies in an attempt to disentangle the dynamic interplay between American political process, public policy, and the politics of social justice.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 416 - Seminar: Democratic Transitions and Consolidation

    This seminar explores the process of democratic transitions – the removal of repressive regimes and the establishment of new democratic institutions – and democratic consolidation, the process of “deepening” democracy and making it sustainable. The course compares theories about democratic transition and consolidation that were generated by cases that took place across different regions and periods, such as the Western European examples of the 19th century and the Latin American and East Asian cases of the 20th century. Major topics include the role of political parties, political elites, and grassroots organizations, the design of electoral rules and other institutional arrangements, the effect of capitalist development, and the influence of international actors upon patterns of democratization and prospects for democratic stability.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 417 - Seminar: Law and Order

    In the American criminal justice policy process the people are represented by two separate, but equally important groups: the politicians who enact anti-crime laws and criminal justice officials who are empowered to enforce them. Students investigate “Law & Order” politics and policymaking in the U.S. by way of probing the extent to which the adoption of criminal justice policies by lawmakers and the administration of criminal law are driven and chiefly so by democratic pressures.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: POSC 337


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  • POSC 420 - Seminar: Street-Level Bureaucracy

    We live in an age of bureaucratic organization. Bureaucracies defend us, educate us, collect our taxes, provide us with basic services, protect our health and safety, and occasionally kill us. Effective bureaucratic agencies are necessary for the creation and sustenance of modern, democratic government. At the same time, bureaucratic power can be a threat to democracy. Legislatures may pass laws, executives may issue orders, and courts may judge, but real governance happens when a soldier fires a gun, a teacher grades a paper, an inspector certifies an aircraft, and a police officer writes a speeding ticket. The difference between effective and dysfunctional bureaucracy at the street level–where governments and people interact–can make the difference between flourishing and failing democracy. This seminar offers an introduction to organizational theory and the politics of bureaucracy, with discussions and analysis centered on the HBO series “The Wire.” Students learn classic theories and emerging research on human organization and bureaucratic politics by applying them to the characters and stories of the acclaimed television series.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 150  or PSYC 150  or ECON 151  or SOAN 204 or SOCI 201  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 425 - Seminar: The Challenge of Nationalism (Study Group)

    Examines the development of European nationalism, the challenge nationalism has posed to the international community in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the challenge world–wide nationalism continues to pose to international relations in the 21st century and beyond.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 430 - Seminar: Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China

    This seminar examines a selected set of problems and issues in the post-Mao reform of China’s political system, including the role of ideology, mechanisms of control, the personnel and economic planning systems, the decision-making process, the character and role of the Communist Party, economic development strategies, and the succession of leadership.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 433 - Seminar: Topics in Globalization

    Addresses the causes and implications of globalization from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including political science, economics, sociology, and philosophy. Aims to sharpen students’ skills as critical readers and thinkers, and directs them in producing a capstone research project in their seminar paper.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 434 - Seminar: Immigrants, Refugees, and the Politics of Borders

    This seminar examines themes in migration, citizenship, and belonging, in the context of South Asian migration world-wide, with special emphasis on the United States. The liberalization of American immigration law in the 1960s provides the basis for the discussion of push-pull factors of migration of South Asians from various states in the subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal). Today South Asians are deemed to be a model minority, a label that at the same time extols and dehumanizes South Asians depending on their class position and their country of origin. To counter the stereotypical narratives of doctors and engineers on the one hand and cab drivers and convenience-store clerks on the other, students are encouraged to engage with various texts to recognize ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of South Asian migrants, and to consider the challenges of acculturation and assimilation as immigrants become citizens.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 436 - Seminar: Continuity and Change in International Politics

    An analysis of contemporary conceptual approaches to international politics and of the trends and developments that are altering some traditional assumptions about the nature of the international arena.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: Recommended for all international relations honors students and for students going to graduate school.
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 437 - Seminar: Democratization and Prospects for Peace and Prosperity

    This seminar examines the politics of democratic transition and the political and economic performance of existing democracies, with a focus on the developing world. The class pays particular attention to the distinctive challenges of democratizing amidst globalization and resurgent nationalism, and analyzes the effects of democratization on international and internal conflict, economic development, equity, and political stability. Students evaluate the current debate over how the US can aid democratization. Countries studied include Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and South Korea.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements


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  • POSC 441 - Seminar: Theories of State

    Due to the lingering legacy of colonialism, the economic effects of globalization, and the growth of transnational movements, the dominance of the state as the only form of political organization is in question today. The course will examine the revival of the theory of the state that has followed these developments and has yielded a rich and sophisticated literature. Topics may include: sovereignty, legitimation, and power.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 451 - Seminar: Africa in World Politics

    More than 50 years after formal independence, what is the contemporary condition of African countries? What has been the impact of economic and political reforms and the changing world order? What is the influence of foreign powers on African politics and development? This seminar discusses how Africa has featured in world politics since the advent of colonialism to the present. Topics include: slave trade, European exploration of Africa, and the establishment of the colonial trade. The majority of the course, however, focuses on the post-colonial period. Students examine the phenomenon of neo-colonialism, the involvement of Western and Asian powers in Africa, and the international aid regime. The course also focuses on some of the most important conflicts that took place on the continent, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, and Mali.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 454 - Seminar: The Cold War and After

    This seminar considers the interrelationships between two great land-based nations, the US and Russia, which expanded territorially, developed economically, and emerged to strategic dominance at much the same time. It examines the competition between those two states, looks at the prospects for their cooperation, and how the end of the Cold War has created new opportunities and problems for each of them.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 455 - Seminar: American Foreign Policy

    The course focuses on theorists, thinkers, and critics of American foreign policy. Emphasis is on the values, strategies, and doctrines that have been the basis for our foreign relations, and on the perennial themes of isolationism, interventionism, realism, and idealism.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 456 - Seminar: War - Theories and Practices

    Theories of warfare and explanations of the outbreak of war are the focus of this course. Explanations of warfare as a general characteristic of the international system and case studies are examined, as is the evidence on the economic, political, and social consequences of war. The course deals both with general patterns and with particular 20th-century wars.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 152  or POSC 232 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 462 - Seminar: Citizenship and Social Class

    Given the recent growth of inequality, the relationship between citizenship and social class, studied closely in the early years of the welfare state, is once more at center stage. In this seminar, students will read a range of books on inequality and political participation in Europe and the United States, focusing on how the ideas of legitimation, participation, and representation-used to varying extents in the European and American literatures-compare.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 464 - Seminar: Freedom and Authority in Modern Political Philosophy

    What is freedom and how much freedom is good for society? What kind of justification do political theorists offer in defense of freedom? The course will examine the great debates about the nature of freedom and the conditions of a free society. Students will also discuss the relation between freedom or liberty and other competing values, such as equality, security, and virtue to understand the balance of ideals in practical political life. Readings will be selected from liberal thinkers such as Mill, Kant, Adam Smith, and Isaiah Berlin as well as from critics of classical liberalism such as Marx and Nietzsche.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 466 - Seminar: Dispelling American Founding Myths: The Declaration of Independence and the Framing of the Constitution

    What did the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution mean when written? Students focus on the essays, debates, and events in the American colonies and young nation that preceded and led to the drafting of these two foundational documents. Students explore still contested questions such as: was the Declaration’s language of equality intended to include all men and women in a land marked with all manner of inequalities? Were the Constitution’s Framers seeking to facilitate democratic governance or to limit it as much as possible? In writing the Constitution, how did they understand the essential institutions they created and/or effectively endorsed: the Electoral College, the Supreme Court, Senate representation, and slavery? In answering these questions, participants are asked to read carefully primary American Founding-era documents, rather than research the views of secondary scholars and pundits.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 469 - Seminar: Constitutional Theory

    Using the Constitution of the United States as its central case, the seminar examines the theory and practice of constitutions and constitutionalism. Students consider such questions as: What is a constitution? Why have one? What does it mean to “have” a constitution (what are the possible relations between the text and practice)? What are the distinct forms of constitutional government and what are their advantages and disadvantages? To what extent should we consider a constitution a cause or effect of political culture? How should one interpret a constitution; to what extent are the terms of American debate—such as originalism v. nonoriginalism—found in other countries? As the form of government to which most countries aspire today (or the form they claim to be), liberal democracy seems to have pride of place, but why? Is it the right answer to the ancient question of the “best regime”? Or perhaps the best practicable regime? Do the forces of history favor its existence, or does this depend more fundamentally on acts of statesmanship?

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 475 - Seminar: Philosophies of Law: Theory and Practice

    Introduces students to philosophies of law as found in theories of natural law, international law, and positive law. Students examine the question of whether there are universal norms of morality and justice that transcend the diversity of cultures and the claims of multiculturalism. Students also examine the ‘higher law’ background of constitutions, legal systems, social movements, and international organizations. Readings will be selected from writings of classical Greek and Roman philosophers, medieval scholastics, modern creators of international law, the American founders, and contemporary philosophers of human rights and cultural relativism.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 498 - Honors Seminar

    This course sequence is designed to provide the training and supervision for a select group of students to write honors theses in political science.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • POSC 499 - Honors Seminar

    This course sequence is designed to provide the training and supervision for a select group of students to write honors theses in political science.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 498 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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Psychology
  

  • PSYC 109 - Contemporary Issues in Psychological Science

    A course in specific topics offered by various staff members. Students should contact the department regarding the topics offered during any given term. This course does not fulfill the prerequisite for PSYC 200 .

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 150 - Introduction to Psychological Science

    Introduces students to the scientific study of human behavior. Topics include biological foundations of behavior, learning, cognition, sensation and perception, development over the life span, emotion and motivation, personality, social thinking and behavior, and the causes and treatment of psychological disorders.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: Only First-year, Sophomore
    Recommended: Psychology majors should complete this course by the end of the sophomore year.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 200 - Research Methods in Psychological Science

    An introduction to research methods in psychological science. Provides experience in developing the following skills: critically reviewing scientific literature, formulating testable research hypotheses, designing experiments, measuring behavior, interpreting research results, and writing and presenting research reports.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 150  or NEUR 170  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Recommended: Psychology majors should take this course during the sophomore year
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 250 - Human Cognition

    Cognitive psychology is a scientific approach to understanding the functioning of the human mind and its relationship to behavior. This course explores recent empirical work in both the theoretical and practical aspects of a variety of issues related to cognition. Topics covered include pattern recognition, attention, mental representation, memory, problem solving, and development of expertise, reasoning, and intelligence.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 150  or NEUR 170  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 251 - Learning and Cognition

    One of the most fundamental influences on thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes is learning. This course addresses major topics in learning and cognition including learning through association, reinforcement and punishment, the role of evolution in learning, and learning in human and non-human animals. Students explore the cognitive processes of attention, memory, and concept formation, and their role in learning, and various applications of learning, including education, advertising, and addictions.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 150  or NEUR 170  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 261 - Personality Psychology

    Explores approaches to understanding the emotional, social, and behavioral functioning of the individual person. This course traces the study of personality from classic theories based on clinical observations to contemporary theories based on empirical research. Students learn about the field’s major debates and research findings, and analyze individual cases as a means of illustrating and applying each theory. The ultimate goal of the course is to have students integrate the knowledge they have gained to form a coherent understanding of the person.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 150 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Restrictions: Not open to students who have received credit for PSYC 260.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PSYC 262 - Psychopathology

    Our understanding of mental health issues and disorders is continually expanding. This course aims to broaden students’ understanding of psychopathology and current mental health disorders, to strengthen students’ abilities to recognize problematic behaviors and to determine what to do in the face of them, and to encourage critical interpretation of current theories and findings in psychopathology. Students will consider multicultural issues and current empirical research on mental health disorders.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 150 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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