Schedules

This course introduces the constitutional framework, political culture, branches of government, political behavior, and nongovernmental institutions (e.g. political parties, media, or interest groups) that dynamically shape American politics.  Approaches vary by instructor, potentially including some mix of simulations, class debates, offsite observations, and comparative and critical examinations, but share a common set of objectives: 1) cultivating a broad and conversational understanding of key ideas, issues, and problems particular to American politics through classic and contemporary readings; 2) stimulating further inquiry into how American politics works and why it matters and 3) developing students' own reasoning, critical thinking, writing, and public speaking skills. This course is principally designed for beginning political science majors and non-majors who have not taken an AP course in US Government and Politics.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q1

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course has three broad goals. The first is to develop the foundational knowledge and conceptual literacy necessary to engage with International Relations' multidimensional concerns. These include issues such as world order, power, hierarchy, political violence, international law, development, religion, human rights, gender, humanitarianism and international organizations (such as the United Nations). The second is to introduce students to the different perspectives or intellectual frameworks for making sense of international relations (also known as global or world politics), including realist, liberal, constructivist, historical materialist, postcolonial and feminist approaches. The third is to encourage students to reflect on some of the ethical issues inherent in both the study and practice of international politics. Emphasis will also be placed on developing a range of critical, analytical, research and writing skills required for the further study of international politics. The course is thus intended to prepare students for advanced work in the field, although it is also appropriate for those merely seeking to satisfy an interest in the study of global politics.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course has three broad goals. The first is to develop the foundational knowledge and conceptual literacy necessary to engage with International Relations' multidimensional concerns. These include issues such as world order, power, hierarchy, political violence, international law, development, religion, human rights, gender, humanitarianism and international organizations (such as the United Nations). The second is to introduce students to the different perspectives or intellectual frameworks for making sense of international relations (also known as global or world politics), including realist, liberal, constructivist, historical materialist, postcolonial and feminist approaches. The third is to encourage students to reflect on some of the ethical issues inherent in both the study and practice of international politics. Emphasis will also be placed on developing a range of critical, analytical, research and writing skills required for the further study of international politics. The course is thus intended to prepare students for advanced work in the field, although it is also appropriate for those merely seeking to satisfy an interest in the study of global politics.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

What does it mean to theorize “the political”? How does one undertake such an inquiry? What is the relationship between the political, the economic, the social, and the cultural? This course is designed to help students answer these questions and introduce them to the field of political theory. We will explore the work of some of the most influential thinkers in the history of political thought – namely, Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Arendt. We will also engage contemporary scholarship in the discipline and try to understand where political theory is headed today. This course will move beyond the scope of a traditional introductory survey and consider the ways in which political theory has historically ignored questions of racism, sexism, and colonialism. In an attempt to decolonize the canon, we will consider the ways in which these issues have been ignored despite the fact that they have lurked in the background of some of the most important texts in the history of political thought.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

What does it mean to theorize “the political”? How does one undertake such an inquiry? What is the relationship between the political, the economic, the social, and the cultural? This course is designed to help students answer these questions and introduce them to the field of political theory. We will explore the work of some of the most influential thinkers in the history of political thought – namely, Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Arendt. We will also engage contemporary scholarship in the discipline and try to understand where political theory is headed today. This course will move beyond the scope of a traditional introductory survey and consider the ways in which political theory has historically ignored questions of racism, sexism, and colonialism. In an attempt to decolonize the canon, we will consider the ways in which these issues have been ignored despite the fact that they have lurked in the background of some of the most important texts in the history of political thought.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In a notable turn around, a significant number of African societies, in recent years, have experienced both economic growth and renewal of the spirit of women and men acting as citizens. These are commendable achievements. Yet, old quotidian urgencies such as precarious personal safety, hunger, poor health, and political disorder are still prevalent. This is the dialectic of development. This course explores these contradictions. Most of the attention will be given to the concepts of power, politics, and development in contemporary Africa. The course concludes with each student submitting a research paper on a specific problem (e.g. environment, economic, social, cultural, political) confronting one country of the student's choice. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores the significance, possibilities and limits of litigation as a way of shaping public policy and society. Focusing mainly in the American context, the course connects two areas of interest: the use of litigation as a strategy for rights movements (from the NAACP to contemporary movements such as gay rights) and the use of class action lawsuits and tort law to compensate people for injuries, especially in matters affecting public health (e.g. asbestos, tobacco). The course gives special emphasis to the work of lawyers and the role of the legal profession.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is designed to encourage and facilitate students’ direct involvement with politics, while reflecting and discussing what they learn with peers. Students in this course will partner with a local organization of their choice with help from the Internship Office and/or Civic Engagement Center (CEC) to determine the best fit among a wide range of social change, community organizing, political, legal, and direct service organizations. Through reflection and deep discussion, students will reflect individually and as a cohort, learning from each other as well as their organizational partners. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is designed to encourage and facilitate students’ direct involvement with politics, while reflecting and discussing what they learn with peers. Students in this course will partner with a local organization of their choice with help from the Internship Office and/or Civic Engagement Center (CEC) to determine the best fit among a wide range of social change, community organizing, political, legal, and direct service organizations. Through reflection and deep discussion, students will reflect individually and as a cohort, learning from each other as well as their organizational partners. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course explores legislative politics through a combination of academic theory and focused field experiences. Each student must simultaneously enroll in a credit-bearing internship at the Minnesota State Legislature. The class examines the basic structures, players and forces that shape legislative decision-making, the motivation or individual legislators, and their interactions with other political actors and institutions. Prerequisite(s): POLI 100 recommended. Course not available to First Year students. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is designed to introduce students to global governance. It begins with a discussion of the concept of global governance. It then turns to some of the central features of contemporary global governance, including the changing status of the state and of international/world organizations and the role of global civil society. The emphasis here is on how patterns of global governance have changed and are changing and on the implications of these changes for democracy, social justice, etc. The remainder of the course focuses on the areas of international peace and security, human rights and international humanitarian law, and economic governance. By addressing such topics as the International Criminal Court and the role of the IMF and the World Bank in economic development, these parts of the course highlight the contested nature of global governance in each of the three issue areas. Prerequisite(s): POLI 120 recommended.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course deals with the liberal and conservative currents(s) running through the Western tradition of political thought from the time of the French Revolution to today.  Its main goal of to provide a solid introduction to these two bodies of philosophical speculation.  Through a close reading of texts and commentaries, we will critically (though empathetically) examine the relevant works of thinkers such as John Locke, Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, John Henry Newman, Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley Jr., Leo Strauss, John Dewey, Friedrich von Hayek, Irving Kristol, Michael Oakshott, and Alasdair MacIntyre.  The focus of our inquiries will be upon topics such as "how should I lead my life?" (ethics), and "how should we lead our lives together?" (politics). Important secondary goals of the course include: familiarizing students with the various "languages" or "idioms" of conservative and liberal political thought; helping students understand the great political debates between conservative and liberals; applying both conservative and liberal political frames/concepts to a range of contemporary "hot-button" social and political issues. As an intermediate-level offering, this course is designed primarily for Political Science majors and non-majors in cognate fields (such as Philosophy) who have some experience in the discipline.  The course has no pre-requisites, however, and is therefore suitable for all students seeking to satisfy an interest in liberal and conservative political thought.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

How should we organize and live our lives together? This is the central question that social and political philosophers ask. In this course, we'll tackle this high-stakes question, with a focus on contemporary texts. To do this, we'll investigate a number of real-world social and political phenomena, tentatively including: the state; the modern workplace; the institution of marriage; the prison system; political partisanship; voting; and protest movements. And we'll explore the philosophical questions that underlie our investigation of these phenomena - questions about authority, freedom, equality, oppression, sociality, knowledge, trust, identity, respect, and much more. By the end, you'll walk away with a deeper appreciation of the complexities of living life with and alongside each other.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will equip you with the skills and intuition to think about politics in a more critical and organized way.  You will practice the scientific method - identifying a problem worthy of study, developing testable hypotheses, designing a research strategy, gathering data, analyzing data, and interpreting your results - and contemplate the philosophical conundrums that underlie our efforts to describe, explain, and interpret complex phenomena. Empirical Methods: The department requires its majors to take one course in empirical research methodology before their senior year. In addition to this course, there are a number of other courses that fulfill this requirement, including: POLI 272, SOCI 269, SOCI 270, SOCI 275. In some cases, research methods courses taken in other social science disciplines may be used to fulfill this requirement following approval by the political science department chair.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores ethnic nationalism's causes and consequences in Eastern Europe. Drawing on several disciplines, we begin by examining the core concepts and theories in the contemporary study of nationalism. We then explore both the historical roots of Eastern European nationalisms, and their implications for democracy, minority inclusion, regional stability, and European integration.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In his 40-year career at Macalester, Professor Chuck Green functioned as a one-man `leadership academy,- inspiring and guiding students to make the transition from detached observers to engaged citizens. Through his teaching, mentoring, and example, Professor Green instilled in students a sense of confidence and optimism about their ability to engage proactively in the world. The Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship honors this legacy. Students with sophomore or junior standing may apply for this seven-month fellowship that includes a spring seminar and a full-time, fully-funded summer field experience. Chuck Green Fellows will study democratic engagement in social and organizational change, identify a client organization working for the public good with whom the student can analyze and address a problem, and then work with that client on a mutually agreed-upon solution. The Fellowship culminates in the early fall with an event in which Fellows, faculty, and clients have an opportunity to reflect on the fellowship experience. The Fellowship counts as an intermediate course and fulfills the practicum requirement of the political science major. Contact the political science department for a full description and application. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In his 40-year career at Macalester, Professor Chuck Green functioned as a one-man `leadership academy,- inspiring and guiding students to make the transition from detached observers to engaged citizens. Through his teaching, mentoring, and example, Professor Green instilled in students a sense of confidence and optimism about their ability to engage proactively in the world. The Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship honors this legacy. Students with sophomore or junior standing may apply for this seven-month fellowship that includes a spring seminar and a full-time, fully-funded summer field experience. Chuck Green Fellows will study democratic engagement in social and organizational change, identify a client organization working for the public good with whom the student can analyze and address a problem, and then work with that client on a mutually agreed-upon solution. The Fellowship culminates in the early fall with an event in which Fellows, faculty, and clients have an opportunity to reflect on the fellowship experience. The Fellowship counts as an intermediate course and fulfills the practicum requirement of the political science major. Contact the political science department for a full description and application. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

When Guatemala’s elite rejected the 2023 election results, how did Mayan activists and the indigenous Xinka Parliament use mass mobilization to successfully inaugurate the first progressive president in decades? When U.S. billionaires initiated the hyper-privatized Economic Development and Employment Zone (ZEDE), how did Afro-Honduran communities defend their ancestral Garifuna lands in court and cancel the unconstitutional project? And in Panama, environmentalists achieved a 2023 ban on new mines and closed one of the world’s largest copper mines, but can they stop the new president from re-opening the mines? With an emphasis on the agency, resilience, and voices of diverse communities throughout the isthmic region of Central America, this course examines the achievements of political parties, social movements, and local organizers. Topics include Left-Right party politics in Belize and Costa Rica; the “Sons of Mother Earth” Afro-Indigenous party on the Miskito Coast; feminist and anti-feminist battles in Nicaragua; migrant caravans as a form of resistance; and grassroots challenges to mass incarceration in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the intersections between the US Civil Rights Movement and the Troubles in Northern Ireland, exploring themes of power, marginalization, and the fight for justice. The primary objectives are to expose students to the parallels between Black Americans’ and Irish Catholics’ ongoing fights for civil rights and social equity, focusing especially on women’s roles in both movements. The course also digs into the role of political polarization in both contexts, emphasizing the ongoing barriers created by racial and religious divides. The Good Friday Peace Accords were signed more than 25 years ago, but Northern Ireland today remains divided along sectarian lines in many ways. Travel to Northern Ireland in May will give students a much deeper and nuanced understanding of the history and politics of the place, the challenges inherent in moving from a divided to a more unified society, and an opportunity to learn from people on the ground who are committed to building peace. For students living in an increasingly polarized United States, time spent in Northern Ireland to be a sobering reminder of the challenges ahead and the possibilities for progress. The course's focus on individuals committed to building peace in Northern Ireland provides students with real-world examples of conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts. This exposure can inspire students to consider similar approaches in addressing divisions within their own communities. A $3,000 travel fee is due by January 15, 2026.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

On July 4, 2026, the United States will observe the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776. Views on the document run the gamut, including unbridled praise, reservations about its "incomplete project", and unabashed criticism. This course seeks to make students into sophisticated participants in this debate. Topically, the course will trace the origins of an American national project against the backdrop of the British empire, examine the revolution and Declaration in detail, and follow the document's role in subsequent political discourse in the U.S. and around the world. Topics will include debates over John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, national identity and civic education, citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, and history and memory in American political life. Coursework will include civic engagement activities.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This seminar develops tragedy as a rigorous analytic vocabulary for the study of international relations: a way of seeing how fate, hubris, competing goods, and moral luck structure choice under anarchy and make even prudent statecraft liable to ruin. Beginning with Greek drama and Thucydides as the conceptual forge, the course turns to modern tragic realism with Robert D. Kaplan as its anchor, treating geography, scarcity, demography, and cultural fault lines as durable constraints that discipline ambition and produce recurrent patterns of overreach and retrenchment. In conversation with Richard Ned Lebow, we examine tragic choice and the tension between necessity and ethics in decision-making; with Mervyn Frost, we probe how normative claims collide with prudential judgment when rules meet contingency; and with John J. Mearsheimer, we interrogate structural incentives that render great-power rivalry tragic even for status-quo actors. Case work will connect raison d’état, the security dilemma, nuclear deterrence, humanitarian intervention, and contemporary great-power competition from Westphalia to the present, emphasizing secondary scholarship (especially Kaplan) while integrating focused primary texts—selected Greek plays, curated Thucydidean passages, and brief modern documents—to cultivate theoretically informed, historically grounded, policy-relevant analysis.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is designed to introduce students to the study of international relations theory as an academic discipline. It is intended to prepare students for graduate work in the field, but should be appropriate for those merely seeking to satisfy an interest in international relations theory. The course is intended primarily for advanced political science majors and non-majors in cognate fields who have significant experience in the discipline. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The past two decades appear to have been very successful ones for humanitarianism. Funding for humanitarianism has skyrocketed; humanitarian organizations have expanded their public support, as well as their activities; and, increasingly, humanitarian issues have found a place at the center of policy decisions. It is also generally agreed that humanitarianism is in crisis owing to the growing awareness of the sometimes harmful effects of aid; the expansion of the concept of humanitarianism to include human rights, development, and peace-building; and the increasing involvement of states in humanitarian operations. This advanced-level course explores the nature and dilemmas of contemporary humanitarianism. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

A workshop for students pursing honors projects in the political science department. S/N grading.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course has three broad goals. The first is to develop the foundational knowledge and conceptual literacy necessary to engage with International Relations' multidimensional concerns. These include issues such as world order, power, hierarchy, political violence, international law, development, religion, human rights, gender, humanitarianism and international organizations (such as the United Nations). The second is to introduce students to the different perspectives or intellectual frameworks for making sense of international relations (also known as global or world politics), including realist, liberal, constructivist, historical materialist, postcolonial and feminist approaches. The third is to encourage students to reflect on some of the ethical issues inherent in both the study and practice of international politics. Emphasis will also be placed on developing a range of critical, analytical, research and writing skills required for the further study of international politics. The course is thus intended to prepare students for advanced work in the field, although it is also appropriate for those merely seeking to satisfy an interest in the study of global politics.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course has three broad goals. The first is to develop the foundational knowledge and conceptual literacy necessary to engage with International Relations' multidimensional concerns. These include issues such as world order, power, hierarchy, political violence, international law, development, religion, human rights, gender, humanitarianism and international organizations (such as the United Nations). The second is to introduce students to the different perspectives or intellectual frameworks for making sense of international relations (also known as global or world politics), including realist, liberal, constructivist, historical materialist, postcolonial and feminist approaches. The third is to encourage students to reflect on some of the ethical issues inherent in both the study and practice of international politics. Emphasis will also be placed on developing a range of critical, analytical, research and writing skills required for the further study of international politics. The course is thus intended to prepare students for advanced work in the field, although it is also appropriate for those merely seeking to satisfy an interest in the study of global politics.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Democracy requires elections, and elections require campaigns. This class analyzes all of the above, with a focus on partisanship, ideology, and money. Given this fall's midterm elections, what roles will those factors play, in particular? Moreover, how will historical patterns of disenfranchisement and broader systemic inequities affect democratic ideals and the pursuit of truly free and fair elections?

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

An exploration of the structure of the American Political System as seen through the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The central topics include the development of the federal-state relationship, the separation of powers in the national government, the limits of government power over the economy, and the role of the judiciary. This course takes in the sweep of American history from 1789 to the present. Prerequisite(s): POLI 100 recommended.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is designed to encourage and facilitate students’ direct involvement with politics, while reflecting and discussing what they learn with peers. Students in this course will partner with a local organization of their choice with help from the Internship Office and/or Civic Engagement Center (CEC) to determine the best fit among a wide range of social change, community organizing, political, legal, and direct service organizations. Individually and as a cohort, students reflect on their work with their organizational partners.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is designed to encourage and facilitate students’ direct involvement with politics, while reflecting and discussing what they learn with peers. Students in this course will partner with a local organization of their choice with help from the Internship Office and/or Civic Engagement Center (CEC) to determine the best fit among a wide range of social change, community organizing, political, legal, and direct service organizations. Individually and as a cohort, students reflect on their work with their organizational partners.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is designed to introduce students to global governance. It begins with a discussion of the concept of global governance. It then turns to some of the central features of contemporary global governance, including the changing status of the state and of international/world organizations and the role of global civil society. The emphasis here is on how patterns of global governance have changed and are changing and on the implications of these changes for democracy, social justice, etc. The remainder of the course focuses on the areas of international peace and security, human rights and international humanitarian law, and economic governance. By addressing such topics as the International Criminal Court and the role of the IMF and the World Bank in economic development, these parts of the course highlight the contested nature of global governance in each of the three issue areas. Prerequisite(s): POLI 120 recommended.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is intended to introduce students to the military, political, economic, cultural and/or diplomatic dimensions of various regional conflicts or "security complexes." The specific region to be covered will vary from year to year, but it is expected that regions of pressing interest or greater significance to international peace and security will be covered most regularly. This course is designed for political science majors, but is also suitable for others who need to fulfill a distribution requirement in the social sciences or who simply want to satisfy an interest in a specific regional conflict or international politics/security more generally. Prerequisite(s): POLI 120 recommended.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Comparative study of political institutions and conflicts in Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Mexico, with attention to Pink Tide leaders like Hugo Chávez, Lula da Silva, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, right-wing populists like Jair Bolsonaro and Javier Milei, and new leaders like Claudia Sheinbaum and Bernardo Arévalo. As U.S. imperialism strikes Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, and Central America, can party politics and social movements yield leadership to defend Latin American sovereignty? Through a mix of empirical and theoretical work, we analyze authoritarianism and democratization, unions vs. neoliberalism, state terror and peace processes, liberation theology, anti-racist and feminist organizing, and Indigenous mass mobilization. Themes are explored through diverse teaching methods including discussion, debate, simulations, lecture, film, memoir, and poetry. This class employs an innovative portfolio system of qualitative assessment. Students take the course “S/SD/N with Written Evaluation.” This provides a powerful opportunity for students to stretch their limits in a learning community with high expectations, but without a high-pressure atmosphere. This ungraded course has been approved for inclusion on major/minor/concentration plans in Political Science, Latin American Studies, and Human Rights and Humanitarianism.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course introduces students to comparative and historical methods used in the social sciences, most prominently but by no means exclusively in sociology and political science. Comparative-historical researchers use huge comparisons to understand big structures and large processes that have immense importance for social life. The course addresses questions such as: How do social scientists gather and analyze evidence about macrosocial phenomena? What types of logic guide the definition and selection of cases? In addition, we learn about analytical choices facing comparative-historical researchers, including different methods of comparison and analysis of historical evidence. Beyond reading and discussing material about comparative-historical methods, we will analyze examples of research and apply lessons we learn to gain more familiarity with using comparative-historical methods.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course fulfills the political theory requirement for the Political Science major. No prior experience required. According to Cedric Robinson, capitalism, from its advent, "pursued essentially racial directions." This insight led Robinson to a theory of “racial capitalism” that has been taken up by several scholars across disciplines. Through this course, we will attempt to answer the following questions: What is racial capitalism? How do we understand its key components (racism and capitalism) and how do they relate to one other? Is the question of the relationship between racism and capitalism a historical one or a purely theoretical one? How have these concepts influenced contemporary political struggles? What role do slavery, property relations, prisons, and the police play in the reproduction of racial capitalism?

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will equip you with the skills and intuition to think about politics in a more critical and organized way.  You will practice the scientific method - identifying a problem worthy of study, developing testable hypotheses, designing a research strategy, gathering data, analyzing data, and interpreting your results - and contemplate the philosophical conundrums that underlie our efforts to describe, explain, and interpret complex phenomena. Empirical Methods: The department requires its majors to take one course in empirical research methodology before their senior year. In addition to this course, there are a number of other courses that fulfill this requirement, including: POLI 272, SOCI 269, SOCI 270, SOCI 275. In some cases, research methods courses taken in other social science disciplines may be used to fulfill this requirement following approval by the political science department chair.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

All readings and class taught in English; no pre-knowledge required. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has been called the "savage anomaly" of the Enlightenment because his philosophy enables an alternative or 'hidden' modernity based on the interdependence of beings rather than their hierarchy. Ever more political theorists, environmentalists, and ecologists are turning to Spinoza's vision of a nonhierarchical union of nature and society that rejects anthropocentrism as the promise for a more equitable and sustainable life. In this course we shall focus on the foundation of Spinoza's unconventional thesis: his intertwined conceptions of the human being as part of nature-as opposed to the prevailing notion of the human as an autonomous "imperium" in, yet above, nature-and of society as a continuation of nature-as opposed to the dominant theories of the "social contract" that ground society on its break with, or repression of, nature (Grotius, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant). We shall examine Spinoza's entailed radical revision in understanding both the "political" and the "environment." Beyond Spinoza's Ethics and his Theologico-Political and Political treatises, we shall read major commentators on Spinoza's ethical and political theory and on his role in environmental ethics and Deep Ecology.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This 1-credit course will teach and support the work of writing within the genre of legal advocacy. The major project will be the submission of a brief to the annual moot court competition involving constitutional arguments. Students may take this course multiple times, and participating in this course does not exclude someone from also receiving one credit for participating in one of the oral Forensics activities (e.g. moot court, mock trial, ethics bowl).

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Americans today live in a time of deep political polarization, intellectual isolation, and intense partisanship. We are defined in terms of our differences, and our disagreements often appear to be intractable. We rarely have genuine and open interactions with those with whom we disagree; when we do, we often do so on the assumption that they are not just wrong, but are irrational, immoral, and contemptible. This class aims to explore this phenomenon on its sociological, political, ethical and intellectual dimensions. What are the causes and costs of our polarization? Is it possible to remedy our common ailments? Are we able to call upon "the better angels of our nature" and build and maintain civic and personal friendship across our differences and disagreements? We will explore these and many other questions together throughout the semester. However, we will do so in an experimental fashion - testing many of these questions in the context of our seminar room as a microcosm. We will discuss controversial political topics, while building a community of trust, friendship and rigor amid political and intellectual disagreement.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Who profits and who is punished at mega-prisons like CECOT (El Salvador), Pinheiros (São Paulo), and Angola (Louisiana)? What explains divergent outcomes of prison strikes in Alabama and Venezuela? And how have incarcerated women in Colombia successfully demanded alternative sentencing to allow caregivers to remain with their children, while their allies in Minnesota struggle to achieve the same goal? Over 4 million people are now incarcerated in the Americas, and in the largest detention systems over two-thirds of prisoners are Black, Indigenous, immigrants, or other minoritized groups. This course examines the politics of mass incarceration in Latin America and the United States, with attention to community organizations and prison reform and abolition movements. Drawing on imprisoned voices and the work of U.S. and Latin American scholars, we will study carceral imperialism, prisons as a cornerstone of structural racism, and resistance rooted in racial and gender identity. Class normally meets for 90 minutes (M-W 10:50 am-12:20 pm), but the 10:50 am-1:00 pm time slot allows us to take field trips to sites such as All Square & the Legal Revolution, Transformation and Re-entry through Education and Community, and the Global Prison Nursery Network Symposium. Guest speakers may include Mujeres Libres (Bogotá), MOVIR (San Salvador), Juvenile Justice Advocates (Minneapolis/Mexico City), and the Asian Prisoner Support Committee (California).

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Contemporary international order is defined by political insecurity and economic inequality. This stands in contrast to the ideals of liberal internationalism. How did this reality come about? How can it be undone? This course examines the role of settler colonialism, global empire, and decolonization in the making and unmaking of the modern world. We will first examine a range of social and political issues (including borders and policing; sovereignty and international law; incarceration and criminality; development and abandonment) and theorize how insecurity and inequality are products of historical and ongoing settler colonialism. In the second part of the course, we will explore how colonial orderings of the world have been resisted and reconfigured by decolonial, Third World, and Indigenous thinkers and organizers. We will analyze the potential of decolonial and abolitionist movements to remake the world, with a particular emphasis on issues of economic redistribution, community safety, and collective liberation.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This advanced research seminar explores K-12 education politics and policy in the United States. We will consider institutions and structures, explore education policy issues and debates, survey and weigh competing theoretical ideas, and engage in discussions and activities designed to challenge our thinking and understanding of the educational landscape. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing; previous coursework in American politics or public policy as well as research methods is recommended but not required. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing; previous coursework in American politics or public policy as well as research methods is recommended.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). This resolution acknowledged the inordinate impact of armed conflict on women and girls, as well as the crucial role that women can and do already play in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. It urged states and other actors to increase the participation of women - and to incorporate gender perspectives - in all peace and security efforts. Since 2000, there have been nine additional resolutions that together have created the Women, Peace and Security agenda, a global framework for advancing gender equity in all areas of international peace and security. This course will explore feminist scholarship on armed conflict, peace and security leading up to the adoption of UNSCR 1325, as well as the 20 years of research, policy and practice on Women, Peace and Security. We will focus on the contributions and limitations of the WPS agenda as well as on new themes and issues that have emerged over time.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In two separate interviews in the 1970s, Michel Foucault claims he hides his citations of Karl Marx. These claims undermine the dominant scholarly narrative according to which Marx and Foucault offer contradictory frameworks of analysis. Through an exploration of key texts by these authors, this class will explore the possibility of reading Marx and Foucault as theoretical allies rather than enemies. In particular, we will focus on the possibility of reading Marx’s critique of political economy and Foucault’s genealogical analysis of power and subjectivity together. We will compare the methods of the authors, consider their approaches to the study of history, and ask what it means to take up their theoretical work politically.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Should technical experts govern society, or should ordinary people? This advanced seminar examines the enduring tension between technocratic and populist visions of government, which has acquired new urgency amid rapid technological change and the global resurgence of populist movements. These pressures raise compelling questions: How did public attitudes toward scientists affect mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic? How did staffing the state with engineers shape modern China? What happened when Liberia elected a former World Bank official as its president? How should we understand the political affinities between some business/tech elites and populist movements such as MAGA? This course explores origins and variations of technocracy and populism in comparative perspective, drawing on theoretical and empirical approaches. Students will analyze cases from around the world, grapple with concepts that cut across familiar political divides like left vs. right or democratic vs. autocratic, and interrogate their own views about who should govern and why. Through readings, discussions, quizzes, and applied projects, students will sharpen their analytic skills and engage critically with one of the central political debates of our time. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or instructor permission required; POLI 140 recommended but not required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is open to all seniors but is particularly well-suited to students pursuing research in international relations; global governance; international peace and security; human rights; humanitarianism; migration; global economic governance; women and gender.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The goal of the Senior Research Seminar (Capstone) is to launch students on a culminating academic experience organized around the supervised independent study of a political science topic of particular interest and relevance. The Seminar is premised on the assumption that students will have a working familiarity with the foundational knowledge in the sub-field(s) relevant to their reserach project, a mastery of the practical skills introduced in foundation courses and further developed in intermediate courses, and a willingness to engage actively in a rigorous, sustained inquiry into an important topic. In each section of the seminar, a faculty member will coach students through the process of defining a significant and important political science research question, developing a thesis, designing an appropriate research program and writing a 25-35 page original capstone.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The goal of the Senior Research Seminar (Capstone) is to launch students on a culminating academic experience organized around the supervised independent study of a political science topic of particular interest and relevance. The Seminar is premised on the assumption that students will have a working familiarity with the foundational knowledge in the sub-field(s) relevant to their reserach project, a mastery of the practical skills introduced in foundation courses and further developed in intermediate courses, and a willingness to engage actively in a rigorous, sustained inquiry into an important topic. In each section of the seminar, a faculty member will coach students through the process of defining a significant and important political science research question, developing a thesis, designing an appropriate research program and writing a 25-35 page original capstone.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The goal of the Senior Research Seminar (Capstone) is to launch students on a culminating academic experience organized around the supervised independent study of a political science topic of particular interest and relevance. The Seminar is premised on the assumption that students will have a working familiarity with the foundational knowledge in the sub-field(s) relevant to their reserach project, a mastery of the practical skills introduced in foundation courses and further developed in intermediate courses, and a willingness to engage actively in a rigorous, sustained inquiry into an important topic. In each section of the seminar, a faculty member will coach students through the process of defining a significant and important political science research question, developing a thesis, designing an appropriate research program and writing a 25-35 page original capstone.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials