Course Offerings

201 –Introduction to Politics – An introduction to the fundamental principles of politics and government. This course develops the theoretical foundations and analytical frameworks enabling students to understand and interpret democratic and alternate forms of government and will provide insight into the inherent difficulties faced by democracies. Three hours. Staff.
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202 – American Government and Politics – This course considers the fundamentals of American government and politics. It is a survey of the theoretical principles upon which the U.S. national government was founded as well as a practical look at the structure and function of U.S. national government. Emphasis is placed on the U.S. Constitution, American political institutions, mass political behavior, and mediating institutions such as political parties, interest groups, and the media. Three hours. Staff.
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301 – Research Methods – The course will introduce the student to the statistical methods applied in the study of politics – domestic, comparative, and international. With an emphasis on applied research, students will learn the basic statistical measurements of central tendency, dispersion, correlation, sampling and survey research, as well as the more commonly used approaches to hypothesis testing. This course should normally be taken by the end of the sophomore year. Three hours. Bell.
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307 – Political Communication – An introduction to the theory and research on the public multi-media communication activities of elections, governance, and policy advocacy. The course considers five approaches taken by communication scholars to this study: the examination of genres of political communication such as inaugural, state of the union, and war declaration addresses; the examination of presidential “style”; the rhetorical criticism (using several approaches) of specific examples of discourse; the examination of the rhetorical difficulties women and minority group members have with political discourse as it has been defined through decades of practice; and the scrutiny of election campaign communication activities including convention speeches, debates, and television advertising. Throughout, the course traces changes in the media being used and in the relationships among the media, the public, those involved in politics as candidates and otherwise, and the institutions of government. Same as COMM 307. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Sheckels.
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308 – American Campaigns and Elections – A study of contemporary American political campaigns and elections. The election cycle will be examined from three different perspectives: the political campaign/politician, the mass media, and the voter. State level and federal elections will be analyzed during election years. Same as COMM 308. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Conners.
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311 – Environmental Law – Students will gain an overview of the essential concepts of environmental law that shape the practice of environmental and political science, and learn how to analyze issues in their legal contexts with regard to the environment. The course provides a historical survey of the field from its common law roots to its current applications dealing legislatively with a variety of complex environmental issues, such as air and water pollution, loss of species diversity, and global climate change. It is taught as a seminar in which the historical development of common law concepts and the evolution of the present complex of statutory laws are highlighted through study of the major court cases that have guided environmental legislation and policies. Same as EVST 311. Three hours. Staff.
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312 – State and Local Government and Politics – This course examines the workings of state and local governments and the politics that surround them. Students will learn about the organization, structure, function, and administration of state, urban, and municipal government, and explore the varied actors and stakeholders who demand policy change from local officials. Issues examined may include education, criminal justice, zoning and economic development, and social services. Course content will be based in part on current events taking place at the Virginia State Capitol and in regional local governments. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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313 – Social Movements – This course will examine the theory and history of social movements and other forms of contentious politics. The course will focus on movement politics in the United States, although other contexts will be considered. Students may learn about movements from the past (e.g., abolition) and present (anti-globalization forces, Tea Party activists), as well as from the left (civil rights, feminism) and right (Religious Right). Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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314 – Religion and Politics – This course explores the crucial effects of religion on political outcomes. While focusing on the contemporary United States, students will also look to examples from other contexts and countries. The course will cover a number of concepts from the interdisciplinary study of religion and politics, including religious social movements, religious fundamentalism, religious doctrines of war and peace, and the challenges to religion’s role in politics offered by atheists and other critics. Students also will explore selected, contemporary public policy issues that have a religious dimension, such as abortion and marriage equality; these latter topics likely will provide the basis for student research papers. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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315 – Public Policy – Public policy refers to the process of making and implementing public laws, rules, regulations, and programs and to the policy sciences, which evaluate existing public policies and new policy initiatives in order to assist policy makers. This class will be divided roughly in half, with the first part of the class focusing on the making of public policy, and the second part focusing on evaluating public policies. The class is designed to provide students with an understanding of the complexity of making public policy, as well as perspective on implementing, evaluating, and adapting policies to reach collective goals. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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316 – Judicial Process and Behavior – An analytical course dealing with the role of the judicial branch in America’s political life. The course explores the courts as political institutions, the processes courts use, the ways judges behave, influences on judges and justices, and the policy-making aspects of what judges do. The emphasis of this course is at the federal level, although consideration will be given to both state and federal courts and judges. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Bell.
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317 – The American Presidency – A functional study of the American presidency analyzing the president’s role in the formation of public policy and his participation in the national political system. Emphasis will be placed on concepts and techniques of presidential leadership, administrative control and political response, and innovation. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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318 – Congress and the Political System – An analytical treatment of the national legislature and its performance within the American political system. This study of the institutional environment of Congress will include consideration of recruitment patterns, internal leadership structures, the role of party, constituencies and interest groups, decision-making, and the relations with the bureaucracy. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Bell.
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319 – Environmental Policy – Students will be afforded the opportunity to develop an awareness and an appreciation of the national public policy-making process, especially as it applies to the environment. Students will be involved actively in the study of environmental policy making through a variety of approaches: seminar discussions, the case study approach to problem solving, cooperative research projects and presentations, and field trips. Same as EVST 319. Three hours. Staff.
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320 – American Foreign Policy – This course will examine both the nature of the foreign policy decision - making process and the substantive content of policy. Specifically, the course will study the roles that the Department of State, the President and his advisers, the Congress, the press, and public opinion play in the formation of foreign policy. In terms of policy content, the course will concentrate on post-WW II American foreign policy topics; relations between the United States and the Communist states, our allies, the non-aligned world, and the United Nations. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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321 – International Relations – This course will introduce the student to the nature of the problems facing the contemporary international system. Emphasis will be placed on the relationships of man, the state, and the international system to world politics. There will also be a survey of several of the more prominent approaches being advocated in order to limit and control the high level of violence which characterizes the world today. Same as INST 321. Three hours. Badey.
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322 – International Organization – This course will include a survey of the evolution of international organizations and a detailed examination of the structure and functions, both political and administrative, of the organs of the United Nations. A series of case studies involving the League of Nations and the United Nations will be used in this examination of international organizations. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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326 – U.S. Intelligence and Foreign Policy – An examination of the history, structure, and function of the U.S. Intelligence Community since 1947. This course studies the collection, collation, evaluation, analysis, interpretation, and integration of information as an input to foreign policy. Analyzing the use and often abuse of U.S. covert actions since 1948, the course explores the inherent tensions between the need for secrecy and democratic processes. Noting the momentous political, economic, and technological changes since the end of the ColdWar, the course identifies new challenges and threats that face the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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327 – International Terrorism – This course introduces students to international terrorism and political violence. It analyzes international terrorism from an individual, organizational, and systems perspective. In addition to examining history, causes, methods, and characteristics of terrorism, this course seeks to provide students with a basis for understanding why international terrorism occurs and what, if anything, governments can do to reduce or to prevent it. Three hours. Badey.
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331 –Major Governments of Western Europe – A comparative survey of the structure and operation of the political systems of Great Britain, France, and Germany. Consideration will be given to both the formal governmental structures and to the informal political processes of these countries. (Knowledge of European history is assumed.) Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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332 – Russia and the Soviet Past – An examination of the current government and political system of Russia in the context of the development, character, and structure of the former Soviet Union. The course will also cover the process of disintegration of the former Soviet empire. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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333 – Latin American Politics – This course surveys the governmental structures and political processes of Latin America. The course focuses on the political theories and political cultures of the region, regime types and the processes of regime breakdown, debt relief, political reform, the drug trade, and environmental protection. Students also study micro-level political behavior by looking at how Latin Americans seek to influence their political environment. Thus the course discusses social movements, patron-clientage, ethnic identity and relations, political parties, and voting. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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334 – African Politics – This course surveys governmental structure and political processes in Africa south of the Sahara. Specifically, the course addresses the capacity of the modern African state to govern. The course addresses the history of the colonial state and its modern impact on politics, the question of why states collapse and how to rebuild them, and the ability of the modern state to accommodate sub-national and ethnic identities. Along with discussing the pessimistic conclusions about African politics drawn by many analysts, students consider successful cases of effective governance in the region, and how Africans organize to influence policy. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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335 – The Political System of China: Past and Present – A survey of the structure and operation of the Chinese political system. Consideration will be given to the development of the Chinese political system during the Imperial Dynastic period, the Republican period, and the present period of Communist rule. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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337 –Mexican Politics – This course introduces the students to a variety of political actors and current issues in Mexican politics in an intensive way. The course includes lectures from Mexican politicians, activists, and scholars, as well as visits to the state legislature, courts, political party offices, and other points of interest. Topics covered include national politics, political parties, federal-state and state-local relations, social movements, the administration of justice, and economic and political relations with the United States. The course also instructs students in the ethics and responsibilities, as well as the rewards, of field research in political science. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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338 – Government and Politics of the Middle East – This course seeks to introduce the student to politics and society in the Middle East. A determined effort will be made to take a balanced view of the area, neither looking at it through Western eyes nor through the eyes of any particular adversary in the numerous regional conflicts. Emphasis will be placed on the political cultures of the area, as well as on the variety of socio-political structures and processes present. This will be followed by a number of comparative case studies on contemporary aspects of Islamic traditionalism, the culture of transition, political modernization, and evolution and revolution in the political processes of the Middle Eastern states. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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339 – Politics of Nationalism – This course deals with one of the most powerful forces to mobilize people in the modern era – nationalism. Students explore the sources and history of nationalism, individual and collective motivations for national identity and action in the name of the nation, and the political patterns associated with nationalist cultures. The course illustrates issues in the study of nationalism through intensive case studies. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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342 – Introduction to Political Theory – Political theorists ask important questions about the fundamental elements of politics, such as: What is the best kind of regime? How should we distribute wealth and resources? What is the proper relationship between religion and the state? Who should be included in (and excluded from) a political community? This course will consider these questions and others through an examination of selected thinkers, ranging from Plato to Machiavelli to Marx. Three hours. Meagher.
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381-382 – Special Topics in Political Science – These courses focus on areas of political science not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Three hours each. Staff.
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391-392 – Independent Study – Three hours each. Staff.
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401 – Senior Seminar in Political Science – The seminar provides students with the opportunity to apply the tools, concepts, and skills they have gained from the major in political science to investigate specific topics. Seminar students will meet to discuss common themes, but each student will write a major research paper on a particular question of importance to the discipline. Student research findings will be reported in both written and spoken form. Extensive consultation between the student and the department’s faculty members will be expected. Three hours. Staff.
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421 – Constitutional Law – A survey of the development of the Constitution through judicial interpretation. Cases will be analyzed in several areas, including: presidential powers, congressional powers, civil rights (including defendants’ rights, minorities’ rights, and women’s rights), civil liberties, and the First Amendment (speech, religion, and assembly guarantees). Prerequisite: PSCI 202. Offered alternate years. Four hours. Bell.
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423 – International Political Economy – This course studies the domestic, international, and ecological sources of economic policy choices made by state and non-state actors. The course is designed to survey the theories of economic policy behavior, and the actions and results of various actors’ efforts to influence the international economic environment. Specific attention is given to patterns of trade, finance and property rights, the development of trading blocs and the World Trade Organization, and to the issues of interdependence and world market constraints on national political choices. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Turner.
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441 – International Law – A survey of the general principles and theories of the law of nations, including the use of case studies to illustrate the growth and development of international law. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Badey.
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442 – Advanced Political Theory – This course will explore ideas, issues, and themes from the study of political theory. Specific topics may vary, and may range from ideologies such as liberalism and socialism to theoretical concepts such as democracy and power to specific historical figures and eras. This course is designed for the advanced student. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Meagher.
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450-451 – Internships in Political Science: Washington, D.C. and the United Nations – Qualified students will be able to combine their classroom knowledge with practical experience in internship placements in Washington, D.C. and in New York with work at the United Nations. In Washington-based internships, students will be placed on the staffs of Representatives and Senators, with congressional legislative and party committees, and with private interest groups and think tanks. In New York, students will be placed with non-governmental organizations affiliated with the United Nations. Students will complete a project that will be agreed to by the student, theWashington or NewYork supervisor, and the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors with the permission of the instructor. Application required; see Internship Program. Three hours each. Bell.
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452 – Internships in Political Science – Qualified students will be able to combine their classroom knowledge with practical experience in internship placements in governmental offices, party or interest group organizations, or law offices. Students will complete a project mutually agreed on by the student, the supervisor, and the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors with the permission of the department. Application required; see Internship Program. Three hours. Staff.
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455 – Internships in the State Legislature – Qualified students will combine academic preparation with supervised practical experience in working for a member of the state legislature or a lobbying organization. Students are expected to work on a full-time basis and complete a project mutually agreeable to the student, the supervisor and the instructor. Prerequisites: PSCI 201-202 and per- mission of the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors only. Application required; see Internship Program. Three hours. Turner.
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456 – Advanced Internships in the State Legislature – A continuation of PSCI 455. Prerequisites: PSCI 455 and permission of the instructor. Application required; see Internship Program. Three hours. Turner.
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487-488 – Departmental Honors – One of two departmental honors courses for students enrolled in the Honors Program. The course will involve a program of reading and research in an area of political science appropriate to the student’s interest. Three hours each. Staff.
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491-492 – Independent Study – An independent study under the guidance of a member of the department. At least a 3.25 cumulative GPA and approval by the curriculum committee are required. Three hours each. Staff.
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496-498 – Senior Project – Senior majors may, with departmental approval, conduct an independent research project on some area or problem in political science. Six hours. Staff.
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