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Political Science Current Courses

Spring 2024

Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
POSC 120-01 American Government
Instructor: James Hoefler
Course Description:
A basic introductory course in American federal government which emphasizes its structure and operation. Special attention is given to the executive, legislative, and judicial processes.
09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
DENNY 212
POSC 120-02 American Government
Instructor: Sarah Niebler
Course Description:
A basic introductory course in American federal government which emphasizes its structure and operation. Special attention is given to the executive, legislative, and judicial processes.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 203
POSC 170-01 International Relations
Instructor: Andy Wolff
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 170-01. An introduction to global politics which examines the interaction of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in the world arena. Topics covered include traditional concerns such as war, balance of power, the UN and international law along with the more recent additions to the agenda of world politics such as international terrorism, human rights, and economic globalization. This course is cross-listed as INST 170.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 304
POSC 170-02 International Relations
Instructor: Kristine Mitchell
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 170-02. An introduction to global politics which examines the interaction of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in the world arena. Topics covered include traditional concerns such as war, balance of power, the UN and international law along with the more recent additions to the agenda of world politics such as international terrorism, human rights, and economic globalization. This course is cross-listed as INST 170.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
ALTHSE 201
POSC 180-01 Political Philosophy
Instructor: Harry Pohlman
Course Description:
Cross-listed with PHIL 180-01. An introduction to the history of political thought, focused on such problems as the nature of justice, the meaning of freedom, the requirements of equality, the prevalence of moral dilemmas in political life, the question of whether we ought to obey the law, and the importance of power in politics. We will also discuss how these issues continue to resonate today.This course is cross-listed as PHIL 180.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TW
DENNY 313
POSC 221-01 Constitutional Law II
Instructor: Harry Pohlman
Course Description:
An exploration of American constitutional rights. Both historical developments and contemporary issues are addressed. Topics include racial and sexual equality, affirmative action, seditious speech, and school prayer. Prerequisite: 120, or permission of the instructor.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TW
DENNY 110
POSC 233-01 Gender, Politics, and Policy in the U.S.
Instructor: Katie Marchetti
Course Description:
Cross-listed with WGSS 202-03. Overview of gender and politics in the United States. Examines the roles women play in the U.S. policy process, how public policies are "gendered", and how specific policies compare to feminist thinking about related issue areas. The course also discusses gender-based differences in political participation inside and outside of government.This course is cross-listed as WGSS 202. Prerequisite: 120 or AP credit equivalent.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
ALTHSE 110
POSC 234-01 Gender and Justice
Instructor: Kathryn Heard
Course Description:
Permission of instructor required. Cross-listed with LAWP 234-01, PHIL 261-04, SOCI 230-04 and WGSS 302-02. This course analyzes how legal theorists have drawn upon notions of gender, sex, and sexuality in order to understand and critique the American legal system and its norms. It considers questions like: How might a feminist perspective on the law illuminate instances of systematized inequality or legalized discrimination? Can queer theorists engage with the law in order to alter it, or does the very act of engagement hinder the possibility of future socio-legal change? How can the law better represent women of color, working women, queer women, stay-at-home mothers, transgender or non-binary individuals, women seeking surrogate or abortion services, and more, without reinforcing traditional understandings of what it means to be a woman? These questions and more will be taken up as we move through a rich combination of political philosophy, legal cases, and works of socio-legal analysis. Prerequisites: One POSC, LAWP or WGSS course or permission of instructor. This course is cross-listed as LAWP 234 and WGSS 302.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
DENNY 317
POSC 245-01 Political Parties and Interest Groups
Instructor: Katie Marchetti
Course Description:
A study of the functions, structures, and operations of American political parties and interest groups. Course topics include how political parties and interest groups represent people and policies, the sociodemographic bases of political parties, the role of third parties in the U.S. political system, how lobbyists interact with government officials, and the influence of organized interests in politics. Prerequisite: 120, or permission of the instructor.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
DENNY 112
POSC 246-01 The Legislative Process
Instructor: David O'Connell
Course Description:
An analysis of the legislative branch of government, especially Congress. Emphasis is placed upon the legislature as a social system, the decision-making process, the interrelationships with the political parties and interest groups, the executive and the judiciary. Prerequisite: 120, or permission of the instructor.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
EASTC 411
POSC 252-01 African Government & Politics
Instructor: Ed Webb
Course Description:
Cross-listed with AFST 220-03. An introduction to the politics of contemporary Africa. After reviewing the large historical, international, and socio-economic patterns of African politics, the course examines in greater depth a sampling of national political systems and salient regional or continent-wide themes. Prerequisite: one course in political science.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
DENNY 204
POSC 258-01 Human Rights
Instructor: Rachel Jacobs
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 290-01. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodies a global consensus on the fundamental importance of human rights as a political value. But the idea and its practical applications have provoked intense controversy around the world on issues such as freedom of expression, capital punishment and torture, gender and sexuality, religious freedom, social and economic justice, and cultural and minority rights. Prerequisite: one social science course or permission of the instructor.
09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
DENNY 304
POSC 259-01 Law, Politics, and Society in Asia
Instructor: Neil Diamant
Course Description:
Cross-listed with EASN 259-01 and LAWP 259-01. This course examines the interaction between law, legal institutions and citizens in China, Japan, and India. Covering history and the contemporary scene, course focuses on how law works in practice and is understood and used by ordinary people in Asia. It covers areas such as marriage and divorce, the legal profession, lost property, civil rights, the environment, sexuality, mediation, land development and property, among others. Comparisons between the United States and Asia, as well as between Asian countries, will be emphasized. This course is cross-listed as EASN 259 and LAWP 259.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
STERN 103
POSC 270-01 European Union
Instructor: Kristine Mitchell
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 270-01. The European Union (EU) continues to evolve, and this course will help students to contextualize the EU's development since the mid-1950s, understand the way that it currently functions, and think about how it is likely to develop in the future. Students will become familiar with the political processes and multi-level institutional structure of the EU, the relations between the EU and its member states, and contemporary EU issues. This course is cross-listed as INST 270.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
ALTHSE 201
POSC 277-01 International Politics of the Middle East
Instructor: Ed Webb
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 277-01 and MEST 266-01. This course examines key factors and events in the formation of the modern Middle East state system and evolving patterns of conflict and cooperation in the region. Students will apply a range of analytical approaches to issues such as the conflicts between Arabs and Israelis, Iraq's wars since 1980, and the changing place of the region in global politics and economics. Prerequisite: one course in any of International Studies, Middle East Studies, or Political Science. This course is cross-listed as MEST 266 and INST 277.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
DENNY 203
POSC 280-01 American Foreign Policy
Instructor: Rachel Jacobs
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 280-01. A survey of U.S. foreign policy since World War II. American approaches to such issues as containment, detente, arms control, deterrence, international law, and foreign aid will be discussed. Students will also address issues of U.S. foreign policy formulation, including the roles of the public, Congress, and the president in the foreign policy process. Prerequisite: 170 or INST 170 or permission of the instructor. This course is cross-listed as INST 280.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
DENNY 304
POSC 281-01 American National Security Policy
Instructor: Andy Wolff
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INST 281-01. Analysis of formulation and implementation of American national security policy within the context of American society and the international system. National security will not be considered simply in a military/strategic sense but as connoting the preservation of the core values of a society. Prerequisite: POSC 170 or 120 or INST 170 or permission of the instructor. This course is cross-listed as INST 281.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
ALTHSE 08
POSC 290-01 Politics of U.S. Presidential Primaries
Instructor: Sarah Niebler
Course Description:
The people can vote for whom they please if they let me do the nominating. Boss Twead While the exact wording of this quote is not known for certain, the principle is clear nominations matter! In this class, we will examine the history and contemporary nature of the presidential nominating process in the United States. Given that this class is happening during a presential election year, we will have the opportunity to observe the nominating process as it plays out in real time. Thus, the overarching question we will consider is the degree to which existing theories and literatures about presidential nominating contests tell us anything important about what we observe in spring 2024. To answer this question, we will study the history of nominating contests in the U.S., including the McGovern Fraser Commission and the post-1968 reforms. We will also consider rules of the game, including things like delegate selection procedures, frontloading, and primaries versus caucuses. Then, we will examine factors that have been said to influence how people choose for whom to vote in primaries, such as debates, media (traditional and social), advertisements, money, endorsements, and polling. Finally, we will consider possible reforms to the nominating process in the U.S.
11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF
DENNY 203
POSC 290-02 The Politics of American Pop Culture
Instructor: David O'Connell
Course Description:
This class will explore the important interactions between pop culture and American politics. Over the course of the semester, we will explore topics such as the impact of hip hop music on political behavior, the partisan and informational consequences that come from watching comedy programs like Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, government censorship of entertainment products, the politics of sports and fashion, and the impact that pop culture has had on the criminal justice system. This class will also feature a number of in-depth case studies, ranging from the political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger to Michael Jordan's lack of political activism.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
ALTHSE 08
POSC 290-03 Zionism: Ideology, Institutions, Cultures & Contestations
Instructor: Neil Diamant
Course Description:
Cross-listed with JDST 262-01 and MEST 262-01. This course aims to provide students with a multi-dimensional understanding of Zionism as a political ideology that found its expression in the creation of a state, the establishment of a particular set of economic and cultural institutions as well as in the creation of new conceptions of land, space, and group interaction. At once a future-oriented revolutionary ideology and revivalist movement based on the idea of returning to an ancient homeland, the significance of Zionism in 20th and 21st centuries cannot be understated. Zionism (or rather, Zionists), produced a state Israel whose foundation has roiled politics in the Middle East until today. This course will look at the particular historical circumstances that gave rise to Zionism in the late 19th century, Zionist institutions, political culture and dominant historical narratives. The course will conclude with a detailed examination of more contemporary critics of Zionism both from within Israel and outside of it.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
STERN 103
POSC 290-04 Race and the Rights of Citizenship
Instructor: Kathryn Heard
Course Description:
Permission of instructor required. Cross-listed with LAWP 290-01 and SOCI 230-05. In the United States, citizenship is often described in idealistic terms. Not only are all American citizens meant to have equal standing before the law, but so too should those who desire to become American citizens have equal access to the procedures, protections, and promises of citizenship. Cast in this light, citizenship is meant to signal a sense of recognition and belonging free from differential treatment on the basis of one's identity or status. Yet despite these narratives, the history of American citizenship is one that is marked by the colonization, domination, and disenfranchisement of groups defined as racially "other" - and therefore outside the bounds of citizenship. In this course, we will ask: How do we understand the coexistence of claims to equal citizenship in the United States given the historical realities of enslavement and race-based exclusion? What does it mean to be an American citizen and how has that meaning been shaped by the construction of racial identities across space and time? How might considerations of race in matters of citizenship also be shaped by other factors like sex, gender, national origin, religion, and class? Is citizenship actually a universal concept - that is, a concept that is open, in principle, to anyone at any time? Or is it an exclusive concept - reserved for a select few? And if racial injustice is not separable from citizenship, then is it possible to remake American citizenship along more egalitarian lines? To answer these questions, we will draw from a rich array of legal texts, political philosophy, history, sociology, first-person narratives, and Black, Asian, and Indigenous literature.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, T
ALTHSE 206
POSC 290-05 Justice and the Common Good
Instructor: John Harles
Course Description:
As Aristotle long ago observed, a fundamental purpose of politics is to deliberate about two ideas central to our lives in community: justice and the common good. What kinds of resources, relationships, and opportunities are necessary for a flourishing and virtuous life? What principles of distributive justice should pattern our access to that life--what we have a right to, what we deserve, what we need, or what is fair? And what role does the state have in helping us to secure such a life, one that respects our essential equality as human beings? Drawing on the work of political philosophers as well as contemporary applications of their general principles, this course aims to carefully explore these questions. Special attention is also given to the status of market economiesas help or hindrance--in competing conceptions of justice.
12:30 PM-01:20 PM, MWF
DENNY 110
POSC 390-01 Leadership
Instructor: James Hoefler
Course Description:
This political science senior seminar will explore the science and the art of leadership in the public realm. The course will cover executive-level and legislative leadership but will also include examination of leadership in the bureaucracies and in the military, as well as leadership of political and social movements. Not appropriate for first years.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, T
DENNY 204
POSC 390-02 American Political Development
Instructor: David O'Connell
Course Description:
Since the early 1980s, political science has witnessed an explosion of research on the subject of American political development (APD). APD is more than just political history. APD has common methodologies and a number of central topics, most prominently the state, liberalism, the trajectories of public policy, and analyses of the importance of timing and sequencing. This course will provide students with a critical introduction to the APD body of research. In order to do so the class will be organized around a guiding theme- the influence of ideas and emotions in American political history. The first half of the class will focus on the role of ideas in APD. Units will cover populism, conservatism and religion, among other topics. The second half of the class will concentrate on the role of emotions. Units will be structured around topics like disappointment, racism, fear and political passion. Not appropriate for first-year students.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
DENNY 303
POSC 490-01 Senior Thesis
Instructor: Sarah Niebler
Course Description:
Permission of Instructor Required. Senior political science majors who are interested may apply to take this course during the spring semester of their senior year. The course involves writing a senior thesis based on a question of the students own choosing. Permission of instructor is required.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
DENNY 103
POSC 500-01 Managing Death and Dying
Instructor: James Hoefler
Course Description:

POSC 500-02 Advanced Study in Political Science: Gender
Instructor: Kathryn Heard
Course Description:

POSC 560-01 Gender and Lobbying Research Project
Instructor: Katie Marchetti
Course Description: