Courses

Introduction to government through the American experience. Concentrates on analysis of the institutions of government and politics as mechanisms of social control. (AM)

Introduction to the basic concepts and practice of international politics. (IR)

For description, see SOC 2220

For description, see PHIL 1940

This course focuses on political campaigns, a central feature of American democracy. We will examine how they work and the conditions under which they affect citizens’ decisions. The course looks at campaign strategies and attributes of candidates, as well as how and whether they affect key outcomes such as the decision to turn out, who to vote for, and whether to spend money and volunteer time helping favored candidates win.

The major political actors, institutions, and political styles in large American cities: mayors, city councils, bureaucracies, ethnic and racial minorities, urban machine politics and the municipal reform movement. The implications of these political forces for policies pertaining to urban poverty, homelessness, and criminal justice.

For description, see LAW 4131

For description, see GERST 4030

The United States stands alone among Western, industrialized countries with its persistent, high rates of incarceration, long sentences, and continued use of the death penalty. In order to pave the way toward the massive use of incarceration, ideas must develop about categories of people considered to be outlaws and about the relationship of these groups to those considered to be law-abiding. Our purpose in this course is to understand how social and political actors, through a range of categories and understandings involving ideas about rights, race, and responsibility, have enabled and/or deterred the rapid expansion of incarceration.

The purpose of this course is to analyze authoritarian leaders and political systems. We will focus on some historical cases, such as Stalinism in the Soviet Union and Haile Selassie’s regime in Ethiopia, and contemporary cases, such as Zimbabwe and Russia. In addition, we will analyze why, when and how authoritarian regimes endure, and why they fall.

For description, see PHIL 3460

For description, see SOC 2480

A survey of American political thought from the Eighteenth Century to the present. Particular attention will be devoted to the persistence of liberal individualism in the American tradition. Politicians, pamphleteers and poets will provide the reading. The professor offers insightful historical and social context.

America is marked by multiple traditions and identities as well as a state on steroids, or imperium, and a nation on stilts, or civilization. These traits are reflected in its foreign policies. (IR)

How important are regional groupings, non-governmental organizations, narco-terrorists, ethnic groups and transnational environmental issues, within international politics? These forces seem to be occupying an increasingly central position in the international arena, yet the factors that have caused their rise, and the degree to which they have transformed the face of international politics, are still poorly understood. In this course we will address such issues through exploring how students of international politics have described and explained the emergence of these new forces in the international system during the post-Cold War period. In short, the course will focus on determining the extent to which we are witnessing a transformation of the international political system, and why such a change is (or is not) taking place.

This seminar discusses the extent to which recent changes in U.S. politics can or cannot be understood as indicating an underlying “realignment” in American party politics.

Governments and their leaders can be pressed from above, from within, from below and from the side (transnationally) to promote human rights. How do these legal and ethical pressures work? What are their conceptual foundations? What are the structural relations and tensions among them? Our seminar will address these questions with a primary focus on international humanitarian conventions and their application in different countries, especially “big powers” like the United States, Russia and China, as well as in India, the European Union, and Brazil. We will examine national human rights policies and practices in relation to supra-national covenants and bodies (the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Court of Human Rights); independent agencies within governments (the US Helsinki Commission, the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation); and local or transnational nongovernmental organizations (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Moscow Helsinki Group, the European Roma Rights Centre). Readings will include classic statements of human rights like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Helsinki Final Act (1975), as well as court decisions and reports by human rights organizations

This course examines the growth and change of the American national state from the early 20th century to the present. It is concerned with the responses of the national government to changes and pressures originating in society, economy and the international distribution of power, as well as the state’s effect on society, market and world politics. We will explore pluralist, class-based, state-centered and other approaches in an effort to see which provides a better explanation for the rise (and contraction) of the national state in three main arenas: economic regulation, social welfare and rights; and national security.

“Yes, we can!” President Barack Obama was elected amidst great hopes among Americans that the nation can, with good leadership, address pressing issues. In this course, we assess Obama’s domestic policy agenda’s prospects for success by considering the institutional and political context of recent years, the challenges and opportunities posed by existing policies, and past efforts to address key issues. In the first few weeks of the semester, students will learn about the institutional features of the relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill and the rise of partisan polarization in Congress in recent years. The body of the course will focus on prominent issue areas on which Obama aims to make a difference: taxes and inequality, health care, higher education, K-12 education, and the environment. In each case, we will examine the issue in historical perspective by analyzing past reform efforts, and we will examine the Obama administration’s record to date and consider the implications for success over the next few years. Students will have the opportunity to write in-depth research papers. (AM)

Concentrates on history and criticism of U.S. policies and the politics associated with them. Particular attention is given to the origins and character of the regulatory state and the welfare system. (AM)

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the study of the nexus between violence and the creation of the modern state. It is intended to familiarize students with the role that war and other forms of violence have played in shaping the state in comparative perspective. Relying on the emergence of the modern state in Western Europe as a point of departure, the course studies the processes of state formation and state building in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

An interdisciplinary seminar that addresses political philosophy debates on the right to education, with special reference to school funding standards; and major court decisions on education equity issues, especially racial segregation; gender discrimination; affirmative action and voluntary integrative enrollment schemes; and state court litigation pertaining to the education amendments in the state constitutions. Our readings will be primarily drawn out of a casebook (e.g., Gee and Daniel, Law and Public Education), but we will also read several articles by education experts and legal scholars, such as Linda Darling-Hammond, Jack Balkin, and Catharine MacKinnon.

For description, see HIST 4450

For description, see SHUM 4851

For description, see CAPS 4870

Designed to support thesis writers in the honors program during the early stages of their research projects.

The goal of this course is to introduce probability and statistics as fundamental building blocks for quantitative political analysis, with regression modeling as a focal application. We will begin with a brief survey of probability theory, types of measurements, and descriptive statistics. The bulk of the course then addresses inferential statistics, covering in detail sampling, methods for estimating unknown quantities, and methods for evaluating competing hypotheses. We will see how to formally assess estimators, and some basic principles that help to ensure optimality. Along the way, we will introduce the use of regression models to specify social scientific hypotheses, and employ our expanding repertoire of statistical concepts to understand and interpret estimates based on our data. Weekly homework assignments require students to deploy the methods both ‘by hand’ so they can grasp the basic mathematics, and by computer to meet the conceptual demands of non-trivial examples and prepare for independent research. Some time will be spent reviewing algebra, calculus, and elementary logic, as well as introducing computer statistical packages

General survey of the literature and propositions of the international relations field. Criteria are developed for judging theoretical propositions and are applied to the major findings. Participants are expected to do extensive reading in the literature as well as research. (IR)

The topic for the field seminar in political thought this year will be the Enlightenment. We will read and discuss central texts of 18th-century Enlightenment thought, including texts by Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Condorcet, Hume, Smith, Burke, Paine, and Kant. We will explore the political dilemmas to which these Enlightenment texts responded—such as political theology, feudalism, and absolutist monarchy—and critically evaluate their attempts to establish a more secular, rational, and democratic form of politics. Was there a single Enlightenment? How do we characterize it? How do we assess its political, moral, and philosophical legacies?

This course examines the growth and change of the American national state from the early 20th century to the present. It is concerned with the responses of the national government to changes and pressures originating in society, economy and the international distribution of power, as well as the statev’s effect on society, market and world politics. We will explore pluralist, class-based, state-centered and other approaches in an effort to see which provides a better explanation for the rise (and contraction) of the national state in three main arenas: economic regulation, social welfare and rights; and national security.

In the mid-twentieth century United States, egalitarianism seemed to be on the rise as the ranks of the middle class swelled and policymakers eradicated laws that had long sanctioned racial and gender hierarchies. Then, beginning in 1973, economic inequality escalated and grew sharply for 35 years, only tapering during the current recession. Over this period, it stratified Americans by income and wealth, and reinforced old divisions of race and gender. How have these developments transformed American politics, and vice versa? We will examine trends across the political system, investigating aspects of political voice, including political participation and public opinion; political institutions, including Congress, political parties, and interest groups; and public policy, considering the extent to which it ameliorates or fosters inequality. The course offers a broad survey of important literature in the field of American politics. Throughout, we will give some attention to the prospects for modification of these trends during the Obama Administration.

This course is designed to provide doctoral students in political science with an introduction to experiment and survey design. Students will discuss all major types of experiments (e.g. field, lab, survey, natural, and economics), methods for analyzing experimental data, and methods for designing questionnaires that appear in experiments. The goal will be to convey a rich appreciation for the possibilities that experimental research offers, as well as a thoughtful understanding of the shortcomings of this research method. In addition, students will gain valuable knowledge in questionnaire design that can be used not only in experiments but in all forms of research that involve surveys (such as focus groups, one-on-one interviews, etc.).

This course provides a graduate-level survey of the field of comparative politics, introducing students to classic works as well as recent contributions that build upon those works. Readings will draw from leading theoretical approaches—including structural, institutional, rational choice, and cultural perspectives—and cover a broad range of substantive topics, such as democratization, authoritarianism, states and civil society, political economy, and political participation and representation.

This seminar compares non-democratic political systems in order to understand: how they come about, what sustains or undermines them, why some people resist them, how they fall, and what happens after. The course also examines if and how authoritarian regimes differ from one another and from democratic regimes in the conduct of their foreign policy. The course explicitly seeks to generalize about authoritarian regimes across time and place and will include cases from Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

“The Politics of Immigration” explores key questions and themes in the politics of immigration, touching on immigration politics and policy, as well as immigrant politics, from a variety of perspectives in political science. The course will draw extensively on contemporary work in the field, in both American and comparative politics. Topics to be addressed may include migration, citizenship, immigration policy, immigrant political integration, transnationalism, right wing reaction, local vs national dynamics, new destinations, and more.

For description, see HIST 4450

This research seminar surveys the related fields of social movements and contentious politics. Using theories that derive from both the collective behavior and political process traditions of social movement research, the course explores general approaches to the study of contentious politics that are applicable to protest cycles, strike waves, nationalism, democratization and revolution. Readings will analyze movement dynamics in both industrialized and developing regions, and explore the relationships between social movements and more formal political arenas and institutions, such as states and party organizations. Students will write review essays or research papers. (CO)

An interdisciplinary seminar that addresses political philosophy debates on the right to education, with special reference to school funding standards; and major court decisions on education equity issues, especially racial segregation; gender discrimination; affirmative action and voluntary integrative enrollment schemes; and state court litigation pertaining to the education amendments in the state constitutions. Our readings will be primarily drawn out of a casebook (e.g., Gee and Daniel, Law and Public Education), but we will also read several articles by education experts and legal scholars, such as Linda Darling-Hammond, Jack Balkin, and Catharine MacKinnon.

In contemporary political contexts “democracy” is often invoked as the very ground of political legitimacy. There is very little agreement, however, on what democracy means or how it is best embodied in state institutions and law. This seminar will introduce students to select debates in contemporary democratic theory over the normative meaning of democracy and the limitations of contemporary democratic practice. Beginning with the work of Rousseau and ending with debates over “radical democracy,” we will explore the following themes: How do democratic theorists and democratic actors negotiate the paradoxes of collective self-rule? What is the relationship between liberalism and democracy? Do rights suspend democracy or establish its preconditions? What are the best procedures for democratic decision-making? How does democracy deal with difference? Is democracy best understood as a form of government or a practice of resistance to domination? (PT)

Concentrates on history and criticism of U.S. policies and the politics associated with them. Particular attention is given to the origins and character of the regulatory state and the welfare system. (AM)

We will begin with Hart’s classic work, The Concept of Law, and then consider Dworkin's criticisms. Then we will make a detour to Rawls’s liberal democratic theory; by doing so, we will place normative questions pertaining to public reason, equal liberty rights, distributive justice, and democratic forms of deliberation on the table. Returning to legal theory, we will consider Michelman’s work on Rawls, social rights, and the constitution; and Cover’s theory of plural nomian fields. Dworkin’s confidence in the judiciary raises serious questions about the role of judicial review in a liberal democratic society; we will consider the critical approaches of Waldron, Tushnet, and Post and Siegal in this regard. Finally, we will read several works from the critical race theory field; in the fall 2011 version of this course, we will concentrate on the writings of Charles Lawrence.