2018-2019 University Catalogue 
    
    Apr 25, 2024  
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2018-2019 University Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

 

Physics
  

  • PHYS 334 - Introduction to Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity

    Provides the mathematical and conceptual foundation to understand two important developments in modern physics: special relativity and quantum theory, concentrating on wave mechanics.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 233  and PHYS 205   both with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 336 - Electronics

    A comprehensive treatment of basic electronics. The course covers analog and digital electronics. The analog section includes DC and AC circuits, filters, diodes, transistors, and operational amplifiers. The digital section includes combinational and sequential logic, integrated circuits, and interfacing.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: PHYS 336L  
    Prerequisites: PHYS 205  or PHYS 233   both with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: PHYS 282


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  • PHYS 336L - Electronics Lab

    Required corequisite to PHYS 336 .

    Credits: 0.25
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: PHYS 336 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: PHYS 282L


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  • PHYS 350 - Biophysics

    An introduction to biological physics including a survey of topics such as diffusion, Brownian motion, non-Newtonian fluids, self-assembly, cooperativity, bioenergetics, and nerve impulses, as well as experimental techniques and analytical approaches. Students first develop the interdisciplinary knowledge needed to address biophysical questions. The course then focuses on the reading, presentation, and critique of current biophysics research literature. Although challenging in its breadth, this course is intended to be accessible to juniors and seniors majoring in physics, chemistry, or biology.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: BIOL 350  
    When Offered: Spring semester only, in alternate years

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: MATH 161   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year, Sophomore
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty, and following a course-like format. The content and syllabus must be approved in advance by the department chair.

    Credits: variable
    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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  • PHYS 392 - Independent Study - Research

    Opportunity for research-based individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. This course does not count towards the upper-level course requirement for the physics or Astronomy-physics majors or for honors.

    Credits: variable
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334  (waived for Astrogeophysics majors) 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: PHYS, ASTR, ASGE, NASC only
    Class Restriction: Only Junior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 410 - Advanced Topics and Experiments

    This is a required senior research experience. Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, each student works on an experimental or theoretical project that ideally produces original results. A final thesis and a formal oral presentation are essential components of the course.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only

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


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  • PHYS 410L - Advanced Topics and Experiments Lab

    Required corequisite to PHYS 410 .

    Credits: 0.00
    Corequisite: PHYS 410  
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 431 - Classical Mechanics

    A detailed study, using vector calculus, of important problems in the mechanics of particles and extended bodies including a derivation of Lagrange’s and Hamilton’s equations, and other advanced topics.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 432 - Electromagnetism

    A study of Maxwell’s equations and their applications to topics in electrostatics and electrodynamics, including electromagnetic waves.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 433 - Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

    An introduction to the physical concepts underlying the formalism of thermal physics. Emphasis is on the role and meaning of entropy in physical systems and processes. Topics include black body radiation, liquid helium, superconductivity, negative temperature, and the efficient use of energy.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 434 - Quantum Mechanics

    An introduction to the theory and formalism of quantum mechanics. This course addresses the philosophical and mathematical foundations of the theory. It develops the linear algebraic formulation using spins, photon and atoms; and cover topics that include time evolution, angular momentum, the harmonic oscillator, the Schrodinger equation, entanglement, and quantum information. A series of optional laboratories gives students vivid examples of quantum mechanical principles.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: PHYS 434L  
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 434L - Quantum Mechanics

    Required corequisite to PHYS 434 .

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: PHYS 434 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 448 - Nonlinear Dynamics & Chaos

    An introduction to the techniques and concepts used to analyze real-time dynamic models that involve nonlinear terms. Applications are emphasized and demonstrate the universality of chaotic solution behavior. This course is team-taught by members of the physics and mathematics departments.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MATH 448  
    When Offered: Spring semester only, in alternate years

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: MATH 308  or PHYS 302 or PHYS 431   (One with a grade of C- or higher.)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: Students should enroll through the department for which they intend to use the credit
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: PHYS 458


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  • PHYS 451 - Computational Mechanics

    Investigates general algorithms and their implementation for the exploration of problems in classical and quantum mechanics. Applications range widely from solar system dynamics and chaotic systems to particles in general quantum potentials. Fourier analysis, including the fast Fourier transform, and its application to the understanding of physical systems and data analysis, are also studied. Each student undertakes a major numerical project of his or her choice.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only, in alternate years

    Corequisite: PHYS 451L  
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a grade of C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 451L - Computational Mechanics Lab

    Required corequisite to PHYS 451 .

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: PHYS 451 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 453 - Solid State Physics

    Several important properties of matter in its solid form are examined. The ordered, crystalline nature of most solids is used as a starting point for understanding condensed material and as a basis for introducing the band theory of solids. The course investigates thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties of metals, semiconductors, and insulators.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only, in alternate years

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334  and (PHYS 201  and PHYS 202 and PHYS 203 and PHYS 204) or (PHYS 201  and PHYS 205 ) all with a C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 456 - Relativity and Cosmology

    At the beginning of the 20th century, Einstein’s discovery of the Special and General Theories of Relativity revolutionized understanding of space and time. This course studies both theories; the emphasis is on General Relativity, including cosmology and the study of black holes.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334   with a C- or higher.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHYS 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty, and following a course-like format. The content and syllabus must be approved in advance by the department chair.

    Credits: variable
    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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  • PHYS 492 - Independent Study - Research

    Opportunity for research-based individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. This course does not count towards the upper-level course requirement for the physics or Astronomy-physics majors or for honors.

    Credits: variable
    Prerequisites: PHYS 334  (waived for Astrogeophysics majors)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: PHYS, ASTR, ASGE, NASC only
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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Political Science

Course classifications:

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

  • POSC 150 - America as a Democracy (AM)

    While most Americans take it for granted that our political system is a democracy and that it serves as an ideal by which other systems might be measured, the United States is only one of many stable democratic polities in existence today. This course identifies various characteristics of democratic systems that set them apart from others, and compares the operation of our presidential system with the parliamentary model adopted by many industrialized 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


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  • POSC 151 - Politics and Moral Vision (TH)

    This introduction to political theory addresses the ways in which personal morality and ideas of human flourishing determine one’s perceptions and responses to political institutions that shape the life and culture of one’s nation. Using a wide variety of texts, the moral underpinnings of different political systems are discussed in terms of fundamental normative concepts such as right, duty, virtue, liberty, and equality. Other essential terms, basic to building a foundational political vocabulary, such as liberalism, conservatism, individualism, communalism, and modernity are also explored. This introduction to normative political theory gives special emphasis to the genesis and development of liberal democracy and the tensions between its component parts, particularly as they relate to visions of a well-lived, moral life. This course is designed to enrich one’s perceptions of the evening news and the political discourse of our times. (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 152 - Global Peace and War (IR)

    Designed to provide students with an understanding of how international politics - politics between governments - differs from politics within a state. Students consider how the international system has evolved and currently operates, and examines some of the enduring questions of international relations: Why is there war? How can war be avoided? Is international equality a prerequisite for order? Can order, justice, and cooperation be achieved in a non-institutionalized and non-hierarchical system? (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: None


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  • 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


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  • 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: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • 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


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  • 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


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  • 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


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  • POSC 213 - Comparative Politics: The Third World (CO)

    What is the Third World? Should countries as diverse as India and Cuba be included in its description? Why is democracy so fragile in Latin America? How can women contribute to development? This course tries to answer these questions by examining the historical origins, political evolution, and economic development of Third World countries from Thailand to Tanzania. Using the tools and methods of comparative inquiry, students explore the states, societies, and economies of different regions included under the rubric of the “Third World” such as the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The role of women, health, population, migration, and democratization issues in these regions are discussed, as well as the theories and methods used by comparativists in order to explain political systems and economic changes in the “Third World.” (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


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

    Introduces students to the politics of East and Southeast Asia. Students compare and contrast the diverse political and economic evolution of countries across the region by examining the historical development of state structures, regime types, and the development of institutions and organizations such as parties and civil society groups. Students focus on the experiences of the East Asian “early developers” (Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan), the transition to democracy across the region, and consider 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: None


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  • 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: None


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  • 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: None


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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


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  • 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 313 - Political Corruption

    Like it or not, corruption is a significant form of political influence, as much a part of politics as voting or writing a member of Congress. Indeed, in some parts of the world, corruption is not the exception, but the norm. This course examines the limits of privately interested political action in a variety of societies and considers possible explanations for corruption, examines case studies drawn from American politics and from other nations, and identifies the consequences of corruption, both for whole societies and for important groups within them. Reforms are a concern as well. Finally, the class considers the ways people in a variety of cultures judge right and wrong, and how they respond to the wrongdoing they perceive around them.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 150  or POSC 151  or POSC 152  or POSC 153 
    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 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


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  • 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: None


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  • POSC 322 - The Politics of Privatization

    The adoption of neoliberal economic policies has been one of the most significant reforms undertaken around the world in the last two decades. Privatization, in particular, has been so popular and so widespread that one writer has remarked that even the United States, the quintessential free market economy, was “looking for something to sell.” This course examines political and economic explanations for the global adoption of privatization and economic restructuring in the 1980s and 1990s. It looks at the conditions under which governments enacted policies and compares the outcome of privatization measures in selected countries and sectors in East and Central Europe, Latin America, and Africa. It analyzes the claims of critics of privatization and the responses of privatization’s winners and losers. Students examine recent changes in the approach to the distribution of public goods and explore innovative public-private partnerships such as that between the development agency, CARE, and the coffee company, Starbucks, to provide water, sanitation, or micro-credit in developing countries.

    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 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 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: 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


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  • 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


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  • 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
    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 337 - 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. This course investigates “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


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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
    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


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  • 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: None


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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 350 - Africa in World Politics

    Examines relations between African states and between African and foreign states. Major topics include the effects of the international system on economic and political development, African states’ use of foreign policy to achieve development goals, the role of the major outside powers, intra-African conflicts, African organization, the role of African thought in foreign policies, and the international relations of southern 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


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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: None


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  • POSC 357 - International Institutions

    This analysis of the role of international institutions in international politics emphasizes both the United Nations and the major international economic institutions (WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank).

    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 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: 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 363 - International Relations of the Middle East

    Focuses on the process of foreign policy formation in Middle Eastern countries from the point of view of these nations themselves. Topics studied include the Arab-Israeli conflict, the political economy of the region, state formation and development, democratization, political Islam, and US policy toward the Middle East.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 363 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: POSC 215  or MIST 215  or HIST 105  or ANTH 252  or MIST 252  or GEOG 305  or MIST 305  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: Some prior study of the Middle East is strongly recommended.
    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: None


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  • POSC 367 - The European Union

    Examines the development and consequences of European unification after World War II. Major topics include the nature and history of integration, concepts of sovereignty and the nation-state, the role of international organizations in world politics, the institutional structure of the EU, major initiatives such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Market, the meaning and repercussions of the Maastrict Treaty, and the development of a single currency. Includes the opportunity to participate in a model European Union with American and European students.

    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 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 370 - International Relations in the Post-Cold War Environment

    The end of the Cold War and the introduction of a large number of non-traditional issues (environmental, economic, and normative) to the international agenda have raised very serious questions about the discipline of international relations itself. How new or old will the new international relations be? What conceptual framework should be used to explore these issues? What issues should be the focus? The course begins with a reassessment of the grand tradition in international relations and of how the order, upon which it was based, fell. The emerging world order and the agenda of new issues with which it confronts us, the likely new patterns of cooperation and conflict those issues will foster, and the possibilities for a new consensus are considered.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: 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 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 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 386 - Enlightenment Political and Social Thought

    Important Enlightenment-era political treatises are explored in this course. The bourgeois sensibilities of Montesquieu, Hume, Smith, and Voltaire are compared — culminating in the tenets of classical liberalism — to the more radical and perfectionist aspirations of Rousseau, Diderot, and Condorcet. For both schools of thought, the focus is on those aspects and ideas that cast light on matters of continuing concern and that help explain the 19th–century emergence of liberalism, romanticism, and radicalism.

    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 387 - Reason and Relativism in Social and Political Thought

    How can one understand human beings when they seem to have such a complicated variety of interests and motives? Not only does behavior vary dramatically across cultures and over time, but so do conceptions of truth, God, religion, morality, justice, and the good. Differences abound. The intent of this course is to look at the controversies that divide social and political theorists in their effort to understand human beings and the human condition. In the process students discover that beneath conflicting theories are recurring themes concerning subjectivity and objectivity, the nature of human beings, theories of self and other, as well as a debate over rationality, irrationality, truth, and knowledge. By better understanding these controversies students gain new insights into human nature, human knowledge, and the human condition.

    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 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

    What are the chances that the new democracies established around the world in the past century will survive? Most have had relatively free and honest elections; some have even had peaceful transfers of power later on; most are somewhere in the process of changing to market economies. But in many places, the quality of life has deteriorated in important respects, and democratization is stale-mated by economic crises, ethnic and religious conflicts, low levels of political participation, crime, and other problems. This seminar explores 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. Major topics include the role of civil society, relationships between wealth and power, ethnic conflicts and national identity, political participation and accountability, building democratic cultures, and models of democracy appropriate for different societies.

    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 418 - Seminar: Urbanism and Civil Society: Decline and …?

    In this seminar, students consider both the life cycles of American industrial cities and the rise and fall of “urbanism”–informal, interpersonal processes of leadership, problem solving, and street-level self-government that took root as such cities developed and then eroded as they declined. Urbanism is one important variety of “social capital” and “civil society,” and helps students understand such concepts in detail. With strong urbanism in place, an unambitious local government can succeed; without it, even the best ideas backed by generous funding are likely to fail. The class focuses on the city of New Haven, Connecticut, and close reading of several classic texts. Students use the “Sim City 4” urban simulator to explore the processes outlined in the readings, and build and analyze simulated cities of their own. More recent readings on urban trends and styles of development round out the class’s consideration of the ways in which cities once governed themselves and of the problems they face in the future.

    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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