Also see the department's study abroad 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 political democracies and alternate forms of government and will provide insight into the inherent difficulties faced by political democracies. Three hours. Mr. Badey, Mr. Turner, Mr. Unger.
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 the 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.
301 - Modern Political Analysis - 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. Computer-intensive. Three hours. Ms. Bell, Mr. Turner. Back to top
307 - Political Communications - 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. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Mr. Sheckels. Back to top
312 - State and Local Government and Politics - A survey of the structure and functions of state and local government in the United States. Local and state politics will also be considered. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
315 - Introduction to 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. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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. Prerequisite: PSCI 212. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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. Prerequisite: PSCI 212. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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. Three hours. Mr. Unger. Back to top
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 advisors, 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. Speaking intensive. Three hours. Mr. Unger. Back to top
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 IRIS 321. Three hours. Mr. Unger. Back to top
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. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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 Cold War, the course identifies new challenges and threats that face the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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. Mr. Badey. Back to top
330 - Major Governments of Eastern Europe - A comparative survey of the development, structures and operation of the political systems of major governments of Central Eastern Europe to include Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. Consideration will be given to formal governmental structures as well as informal processes in these countries. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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. Freshmen admitted with permission of instructor only. Three hours. Mr. Turner. Back to top
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 in alternate years. Freshmen admitted with permission of instructor only. Three hours. Mr. Turner. Back to top
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 in alternate years Three hours. Staff. Back to top
336 - The Political System of Japan - A survey of the structure and operation of the Japanese political system. Consideration will be given to the historical development of modern Japan beginning with the opening of Japan by the West. The major emphasis of the course will be placed on the emergence of Japan as a democratic government and as a great economic power in the postwar period. Offered in alternate years Three hours. Staff. Back to top
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 Yucatan 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. Mr. Turner. Back to top
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. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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. Freshmen admitted with permission of instructor only. Three hours. Mr. Turner. Back to top
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. Staff. Back to top
391-392 - Independent Study - Three or six hours. Staff. Back to top
411 - Political Parties and Voting Behavior - This course examines major findings describing and explaining why Americans have political opinions and act politically as they do. In addition, the course will study the structure and functions of the American political party and electoral system. Prerequisite: PSCI 212. Offered alternate years. Computer-intensive. Speaking-intensive. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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). Offered alternate years. Four hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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. Freshmen admitted with permission of instructor only. Three hours. Mr. Turner. Back to top
432 - The History of Western Political Thought - This course will survey the development of the concepts of order, constitutionalism, and freedom in Western thought from their Greek origins through the 20th century. The three orienting concepts will be traced through the contributions made by the great political thinkers of Greece, Rome, early Christianity, the Middle Ages, the Reformation and the rise of the nation-state, the age of the social contract, and the development of ideologies; conservatism, liberalism, socialism, communism, and fascism. Four hours. Mr. Unger. Back to top
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. Speaking-intensive. Three hours. Mr. Badey. Back to top
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, the Washington or New York supervisor, and the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors with the permission of the instructor. Application required; see page 43. Three hours. Mr. Unger. Back to top
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. Three hours. Staff. Back to top
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 211-212 and permission of the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors only. Application required. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
456 - Advanced Internships in the State Legislature - A continuation of PSCI 455. Offered alternate years. Prerequisites: PSCI 455 and permission of the instructor. Application required; see page 43. Three hours. Ms. Bell. Back to top
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 or six hours. Staff. Back to top
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 or six hours. Staff. Back to top
497-498 - Senior Project - Senior majors may, with departmental approval, conduct an independent research project on some area or problem in political science. Six hours. Staff. Back to top
Also see the department's study abroad course offerings