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

In Comparative Politics we use comparison to analyze political outcomes within and across countries, Why do Mexican presidents exercise strong centralized authority while Brazilian presidents must contend with powerful governors? Why do Muslims and Hindus fight in some Indian states but not in others? Why does Rwanda have such a high proportion of female legislators whereas the U.S. has such a low proportion? When confronted with large-scale protests in their cities, do state security forces in China, Russia, and the United States respond with similar methods or do they differ? Through comparative analysis, students will learn to describe diverse political institutions, to propose explanations for divergent outcomes, and to evaluate scholarly and popular arguments about politics.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
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 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. Significantly, 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:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Students are introduced to the issues and challenges confronting American cities today, and the public policy options and remedies city governments employ to address urban problems.  Using a historical approach, we trace the origins of machine politics and campaigns against their rule, the evolution of the "urban crisis" of the twentieth century, and the rise of the fragmented urban metropolis.  Next, we explore how persistent economic and racial segregation, interurban rivalries, fiscal constraints, and identity politics shape power relationships and local governmental capacities to deliver services and revitalize neighborhoods.  Along the way, in simulated challenges, we ask students to present and defend their own policy proposals to urban problems (e.g. fair elections, downtown development, affordable housing, urban sprawl) and, in a longer research paper, investigate how one or two cities have struggled with or successfully addressed an urban challenge. Prerequisite(s): POLI 100 recommended.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

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 provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally. Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores legislative politics through a combination of academic theory and focused field experiences. Preference will be given to students simultaneously interning at the Minnesota State House of Representatives or Senate, MN Governor's Office, or with the Capitol Pathways Program. The class examines the basic structures, players and forces that shape legislative decision-making, the motivation of individual legislators, and their interactions with other political actors and institutions. Prerequisite(s): POLI 100 recommended.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Comparative study of political institutions and conflicts in several Latin American countries. Through a mix of empirical and theoretical work, we analyze concepts and issues such as authoritarianism and democratization, neoliberalism, state terror and peace processes, guerrilla movements, party systems, populism, the Cuban Revolution, and U.S. military intervention. Themes are explored through diverse teaching methods including discussion, debates, simulations, partisan narratives, lecture, film, and poetry. This class employs an innovative 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-presure 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 explores the rapidly evolving field of transitional justice, examining how and why regimes respond to wide-scale past human rights abuses. Drawing on examples worldwide, it asks why states choose particular strategies and examines a variety of goals (truth, justice, reconciliation, democracy-building), approaches (trials, truth commissions, file access, memorialization, reparation, rewriting histories), actors (state, civil society, religious institutions), experiences, results, and controversies. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Wealth has held an allure for many modern thinkers; the creation of a wealthy society often associated with "civilization" itself. The relationships among work, wealth and well-being are a perennial concern and have been central to the study of political economy, since its inception in the mid- to late-18th century. How does work produce wealth for the individual and for society? How, or when, does individual and social wealth translate into individual and/or social well-being? And, how does the character of work affect individual well-being or happiness? This course will examine the answers given to these questions (and myriad corollary questions) by writers within the political economy tradition.

General Education Requirements:

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

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 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:
Writing WA
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 this class, reproductive justice will become a critical framework for both political theory and political action. As a theoretical framework, reproductive justice is a way of thinking about freedom and the rights to maintain bodily autonomy, to have children, to not have children and to parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Insofar as reproductive justice centers the politics of sex, we’ll begin this class thinking about sexual autonomy (including access to contraception, sex education, prevention and treatment for STIs, etc.). From there, we’ll move into U.S. histories of forced sterilization, the fight for access to safe and legal abortion and the risks of childbirth and infant mortality, especially for BIPOC people. These histories will bring us into an exploration of reproductive justice as a framework for political practice and as a social justice movement. It’s about the legal and political action that may limit or expand the scope of justice to include things that would make reproduction meaningfully free (e.g., access to health care and safe housing, a living wage, and decarceration). We’ll study these issues through legal cases, historical readings, political theory, ethics and personal narratives that put focus on reproductive justice in the U.S. This class requires your thoughtful participation both in writing and discussion.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The specter of colonialism continues to loom large in contemporary society. Aiming to unpack this persistent influence, this course offers an in-depth examination of its enduring impacts. Utilizing scholarly debates and a curated selection of films, it offers a comprehensive exploration of colonialism’s multifaceted legacies, integrating academic and cinematic perspectives for deeper understanding. The first half of the course delves into theorizing the colonial experience and expansion, while the second half critically examines colonialism’s profound shaping of various aspects of today’s international order. This analysis includes a focus on the United Nation’s role in creating and perpetuating global inequalities during the decolonization process, alongside an exploration of colonialism’s impact on democracy, development, human rights, the environment, and ethnic conflicts.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The Middle East has often been portrayed as a stronghold of entrenched authoritarian leadership and a nexus for intense ethnic and religious conflict, including political violence. This course seeks to dissect the underlying reasons for the endurance of such perceptions and to investigate the motivations that have propelled citizens throughout the region to challenge and attempt to dismantle autocratic regimes. It probes the extent to which colonial legacies have contributed to and sustained these political quandaries. Furthermore, the course interrogates the ascendancy of Islamist movements in numerous Middle Eastern nations and examines the causes behind the surge in sectarian conflict. The course is crafted to provide a nuanced understanding of Middle Eastern politics, blending in-depth analysis of essential questions with a comprehensive examination of particular events and patterns across different countries within the region. The course addresses themes such as the endurance of authoritarianism, the dynamics of Political Islam, the patterns of sectarian conflict, the trajectory of economic growth and stagnation, as well as the catalysts and underpinnings of the Arab Spring(s) and Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This seminar-style course explores vital questions in America's political development, focusing particularly on the moments with questions of law and the identity of people have been contested around economic issues. Topics vary but may include the evolution in property rights for women, the law of slavery, the legal status of Native Americans, and the evolution of welfare rights. The course employs tutorials, in which students tackle key questions through essays, which are then discussed in small groups in the instructor's office. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Traces the evolution of (global) political economy as a peculiarly modern way of understanding and organizing (global) social life. Particular attention will be paid to how the distinction between the political and the economic is drawn and implemented in interconnected ways within nation-states and in international society. Course includes a detailed study of one of the key components of the international political economy: international trade, international finance, technological processes, etc. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

How did the Arab Spring and Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement deploy a similar tactical repertoire, yet provoke different outcomes?  Comparing movements for Black lives in Colombia and South Africa, does participant diversity boost or undercut mobilization?  And does mobilization of identity explain how indigenous Bolivians ejected U.S. corporations and scored lasting victories against the white power structure?  This advanced research seminar engages theories that seek to explain the origins and development of movements, including LGBTQ+ movements struggling to avoid deradicalization in Germany, feminist organizations in Nicaragua navigating tensions between autonomy and agenda-setting, mobilization of Brazilian prisoners resisting pandemic lockdowns within lockdowns, and artists making visible the erased contributions of Kenyan women to the global climate justice movement.  Students planning to conduct social movements research while studying away may write a research prospectus to launch that field research project. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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:

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

In Comparative Politics we use comparison to analyze political outcomes within and across countries, Why do Mexican presidents exercise strong centralized authority while Brazilian presidents must contend with powerful governors? Why do Muslims and Hindus fight in some Indian states but not in others? Why does Rwanda have such a high proportion of female legislators whereas the U.S. has such a low proportion? When confronted with large-scale protests in their cities, do state security forces in China, Russia, and the United States respond with similar methods or do they differ? Through comparative analysis, students will learn to describe diverse political institutions, to propose explanations for divergent outcomes, and to evaluate scholarly and popular arguments about politics.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

An examination of the evolution of influential political concepts and theories from ancient cultures to the present day, by those writing in/from/to the West. Introduction through textual analysis to historical and contemporary understandings of key terms such as authority, legitimacy, liberty, republicanism, democracy, revolution and "the good." Additionally, the course provides an introduction to political theory methods of analysis and critique, through the development of skills in reading, critical thinking, and writing.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

An examination of the evolution of influential political concepts and theories from ancient cultures to the present day, by those writing in/from/to the West. Introduction through textual analysis to historical and contemporary understandings of key terms such as authority, legitimacy, liberty, republicanism, democracy, revolution and "the good." Additionally, the course provides an introduction to political theory methods of analysis and critique, through the development of skills in reading, critical thinking, and writing.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will begin with an introduction to human rights as a global framework for understanding and addressing key issues and challenges in the world today. After this introduction, we will explore a number of these issues and challenges, potentially including climate change, displacement, inequality, authoritarianism and genocide. For each ‘human wrong,’ we will explore the nature of the challenge as well as the possibilities and limitations of the human rights framework (as well as related frameworks on refugees and on war and armed conflict) in crafting a response. Class sessions will be discussion-based and assignments will include a mix of writing assignments and in-class activities (simulations, etc.).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Analysis of institutions and procedures such as parties and elections, and also informal activities such as social movements, interest groups, and community action.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Quantitative Thinking Q1
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The readings and assignments in this course are designed to help students understand how social policies and programs contribute to Americans' lived experiences.  We will examine various theoretical justifications for the policies that constitute the American welfare state, then confront and dissect major strands of the American social safety net to better understand how political institutions and policy mechanisms contribute to both diversity and inequality in individuals' social, economic and political outcomes (based in race, class, gender, dis/ability, region, political jurisdiction, etc.).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The readings and assignments in this course are designed to help students understand how social policies and programs contribute to Americans' lived experiences.  We will examine various theoretical justifications for the policies that constitute the American welfare state, then confront and dissect major strands of the American social safety net to better understand how political institutions and policy mechanisms contribute to both diversity and inequality in individuals' social, economic and political outcomes (based in race, class, gender, dis/ability, region, political jurisdiction, etc.).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

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. Through reflection and deep discussion, students will reflect individually and as a cohort, learning from each other as well as 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. Through reflection and deep discussion, students will reflect individually and as a cohort, learning from each other as well as their organizational partners.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally. Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The leaders of NGOs, governments, and social enterprises recognize that problems such as poverty, pandemic disease, and inequality almost always have political causes and consequences. People with a background in Political Economy of Development are in high demand for their expertise on achieving positive outcomes for humanity and the environment. Few topics in Political Science have more direct relevance to policy-making and matters of "real-world" urgency. This course will provide you with knowledge that you can apply, if you wish, to a variety of roles in the development sector. By the end of the semester, you will complete a portfolio of assignments that simulate the kinds of projects you would do as a professional development analyst, Foreign Service officer, impact evaluator, or social entrepreneur. This class emphasizes practical skills but also covers theories and philosophies of development. Readings, discussions, and activities will help you grapple with (but not necessarily answer) the following questions: What defines someplace as more "developed" than someplace else? What explains variation in development? Does social science hold the key to good development policies? What can I personally do to improve the world?

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 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. A widespread tendency in contemporary Western societies is to associate metaphysics with religion, if not with what is often dismissively called the "irrational." This course will dismantle this myth by reading closely European philosophy and political theory, mostly since the seventeenth century, in their relation to theology and their reception by twentieth-century critical theory. This will allow us to examine the ways in which secular thought emerges not as an alternative to metaphysics-something which thought cannot supersede anyway-but rather as a different way of dealing with the very same metaphysical questions and issues that concern religion, from the meaning of life to the imminence of death, and from (actual or imagined) guilt to the hope for redemption. We shall endeavor to identify the similarities and differences between the 'secular' and the 'religious' ways, including their respective relations to rationality and their functions in ideology. Readings may include: Aristotle, Talal Asad, George Bataille, Walter Benjamin, Kenneth Burke, Richard Dienst, Emile Durkheim, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, Peter Harrison, Jacques Lacan, Karl Marx, Marcel Mauss, Carl Schmitt, Baruch Spinoza, Alberto Toscano, Max Weber, Slavoj Zizek.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This two-credit course is a unique opportunity for upper-level students to work with Tonderai Chikuhwa, a longtime senior U.N. administrator and Macalester alumnus. The course will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the United Nations in protecting civilians in armed conflicts. It introduces a key mission of the U.N.: the strategic expansion of human rights in international peace and security since 2000. The inquiry focuses on the imperatives to protect women and children in armed conflicts established by the U.N. Security Council in 1999 and 2000. It will explore the Secretary-General’s reports on Children and Armed Conflict; Women, Peace and Security; and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence; and the Security Council resolutions responding to these reports. The course will unpack the Security Council's compliance regimes, and investigate the complex political and operational challenges in implementing civilian protection under international humanitarian law.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This is a course about the end of the so-called “unipolar moment” in world politics (1991-201?) and the character of the international order that has succeeded it. The end of the Soviet-American Cold War, of course, gave rise to a “new world order” dominated militarily by the United States, economically by the developed capitalist countries, and ideologically by the liberal-democratic West. That world order persisted, more or less unchallenged, for about three decades (though the expectation among some – notably Francis Fukyama – was that it would last much longer as the triumph of liberal capitalism in 1991 marked the “end of history” in the sense that, with communism vanquished, there were no competing ideologies left standing to drive history dialectically forward). Now, however, we appear to be witnessing the end of “the end of history” – and the return of some older, more deeply-etched patterns of geopolitical competition and conflict.The question at the heart of this course is: “what are those older, more deeply-etched patterns?” Are they, as some very influential thinkers would have us believe, the patterns of the “Cold War” – the patterns etched during the era of existential Soviet-American rivalry from the late-1940s until the late-1980s? Or is that framing not only misleading, but dangerous? The course begins with an exploration of the bold claim that we are now mired in a “Cold War II.” It then surveys some of the literature challenging that claim and exploring some of the dangerous consequences of adopting it. It then proceeds to review the evidence, looking not only at the debates about Chinese and American grand strategy but at the actual interaction of these two powers in key regions of the world – with the ultimate goal of answering the question: “is this relationship a Cold War or something else?”

General Education Requirements:

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:
Social science

Course Materials

This course seeks to provide an overview of politics in Latin America, examining the formation of the region's political institutions. The course begins by learning about the evolution of political institutions during the 1930s and 1940s, influenced by industrialization and populism, which laid the groundwork for military dictatorships. We will explore how many of these regimes decline and regional democratic transition. In the second half of the course, we'll analyze how countries across the region have adapted to contemporary challenges, such as identity politics, criminal violence, and economic inequality. The course will blend lectures and student-led discussions, exploring the work of academics, musicians, and authors who have contributed to our understanding of the region.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course will examine the historical origins and political contours of global capitalism through a focus on the international relations of colonialism and empire. We will analyze how concepts, institutions, and social relations such as private property, commodity production, markets, and free labor have been central to the construction of capitalist modernity. We will analyze these pillars of the global economy beyond the commonplace assumption of their emergence in Europe and examine how they have been shaped by global relations of conquest, indigenous dispossession, slavery, racialized exploitation, imperial war, and forms of social control such as policing and incarceration. We will trace the afterlives of these structures beyond formal decolonization and further explore abolitionist and anti-colonial modes of structuring political-economic life.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

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

When, if ever, is war justified? Do political ends really justify the means used to achieve them? When it comes to war, are there means (e.g., targeting civilians or using chemical weapons) that would never be justifiable no matter the ends? These are some of the questions that animate this class and, together, we will confront them by way of a deep study of "just war" theories. We'll learn about "warism" as a political ideology that takes war for granted, assuming it is both justified and necessary. Then we can contrast warism with pacifism and turn our attention to anti-war protests. As we think about war, we'll also think more broadly about how violence relates to politics. What is the relationship between violence and power? Is violence the most effective means to pursue political ends? Here, we ought to consider how the very idea of war influences how we think about politics itself (and why so many US policies are framed as wars, e.g., War on Poverty and War on Drugs). In all, the class is rooted in approaches to politics that emphasize political theory and social justice.

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

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