POLI 120-01 30531 |
Foundations of International Politics |
Days: M W F
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Time: 10:50 am-11:50 am
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Room: CARN 206
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Instructor: Bora Jeong
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Details
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
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POLI 140-01 30532 |
Foundations of Comparative Politics |
Days: M W
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Time: 08:00 am-09:30 am
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Room: THEATR 205
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Instructor: Paul Dosh
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*First day attendance required*
Details
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
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POLI 160-01 30533 |
Foundations of Political Theory: Decolonizing the Canon |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: CARN 206
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Instructor: Della Zurick
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Details
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:
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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POLI 194-01 30816 |
The Obama Presidency |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: HUM 400
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Instructor: Duchess Harris
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*First day attendance required; cross-listed with AMST 194-01*
Details
This course will ask if the election of the nation’s first Black president changed the face of African-American leadership and activism since the height of the civil rights and Black power movements. We will study African Americans in the political system from a historical context. The running themes of the course are crafted to consider the following questions: What are the historical dynamics that have shaped and continue to shape the relationship between African Americans and the American political system? Under what conditions have Blacks been able to exert influence in the political system? What exactly are Black political interests? Finally, we will analyze the strategies of electoral politics versus social activism.
General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 204-01 30534 |
US City and Metro Politics |
Days: T R
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Time: 03:00 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: CARN 404
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Instructor: Eric Wojchik
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Details
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:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 207-01 30535 |
US Civil Rights and Civil Liberties |
Days: W
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Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: CARN 206
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Instructor: Patrick Schmidt
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*First day attendance required*
Details
An examination of civil liberties and rights in the U.S., focusing on the cases decided by the Supreme Court. Central topics include the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, and religion; privacy and reproductive freedom; and the Fourteenth Amendment protection of equality as it affects discrimination, affirmative action, and voting rights.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 216-01 30536 |
Legislative Politics |
Days: T R
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Time: 03:00 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: HUM 213
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Instructor: Julie Dolan
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*Permission of instructor required*
Details
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.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 222-01 30537 |
Regional Conflict/Security |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: CARN 206
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Instructor: Andrew Latham
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Details
This is a seminar on the political and strategic challenges posed for the United States by the transition from the post-Cold War “unipolar moment” to a new era of “great power competition.” The course will begin with a brief overview of historical patterns of great power competition. It will then proceed to address the current era, focusing on the reemergence of multipolar great power competition and exploring three cases where this form of geopolitical competition intersects with regional conflict dynamics: eastern Europe (Ukraine), the Western Pacific (Taiwan) and the Persian Gulf (the Iranian nuclear program).
General Education Requirements:
Internationalism
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 267-01 30540 |
Liberal and Conservative Political Thought |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: THEATR 001
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Instructor: Andrew Latham
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Details
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
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POLI 268-01 30512 |
Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy |
Days: M
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Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: MAIN 010
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Instructor: Amy Ihlan
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*Cross-listed with PHIL 321-01*
Details
This course will focus on some central topics in contemporary Anglo-American (or "analytic") social and political philosophy. Likely topics would include an examination of John Rawls's theory of justice and the work of critics of that theory, the value of equality, and issues about global justice. Prerequisite(s): A 100- or 200- level Philosophy course.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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POLI 269-01 30541 |
Empirical Research Methods |
Days: M W
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Time: 08:00 am-09:30 am
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Room: CARN 204
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Instructor: Lisa Mueller
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*First day attendance required*
Details
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
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POLI 276-01 30327 |
Marx, the Imaginary, and Neoliberalism |
Days: T R
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Time: 03:00 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: HUM 401
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Instructor: Kiarina Kordela
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*Cross-listed with GERM 276-01, MCST 276-01, and RELI 276-01*
Details
Marx’s contribution to the theorization of the function of the imaginary in both the constitution of subjectivity and the mechanisms of politics and economy—usually referred to as ideology—cannot be overestimated. The first part of this course traces Marx’s gradual conceptualization of the imaginary throughout his work—as well as further Marxist theoreticians, such as Louis Althusser, Étienne Balibar, and Slavoj Žižek—while exploring how the imaginary enabled Marx’s discovery of three further crucial concepts: structure, the unconscious, and the symptom, all of which are central in the analysis of culture and ideology. In the second part of the course, we shall focus on the logic and mechanisms of power in contemporary neoliberalism, including the claim that today Marx’s theory is no longer relevant (readings will include Maurizio Lazzarato, Nancy Fraser, McKenzie Wark). All readings and class taught in English; no pre-knowledge required. Core course toward the Critical Theory concentration.
General Education Requirements:
Internationalism
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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POLI 290-01 30542 |
Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: CARN 105
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Instructor: Lesley Lavery
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*Permission of instructor required*
Details
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
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POLI 294-01 30543 |
Protest Hacking: How the New Science of Social Movements Can Empower Activists |
Days: M W F
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Time: 02:20 pm-03:20 pm
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Room: CARN 06A
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Instructor: Lisa Mueller
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*First day attendance required*
Details
How can activists have more than good intentions and actually move the needle toward their goals? Advances in empirical research mean that social scientists know better than ever what kinds of activism "work," but those tools often remain hidden to activists who can put them to work achieving social justice, environmental protection, and other aims. This course bridges the study and practice of protest. We will synthesize cutting-edge science on effective activism, blending it with moral philosophies on the "right" ways to protest, and examining how real activists operate on the ground. Assignments include academic readings, personal reflection exercises, community outreach, website design, and papers
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-02 30544 |
Science Fiction and Social Justice |
Days: M
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Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: CARN 06A
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Instructor: Della Zurick
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Details
How can imagining the future help us better understand the present and work towards a more just world? This course investigates the political potential of science/speculative fiction to dislodge our assumptions about how the world is and to envision alternative futures. We’ll read core texts of political theory together with science fiction in an attempt to understand what conceptions of justice animate and unleash our radical imaginations and political agency. We’ll also explore the connection between sci-fi and social justice activism. Our goal is a theoretically informed futurism (especially Afrofuturism) that centers the authorship of women sci-fi writers.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-04 30546 |
Political Violence and Peace Studies |
Days: M W F
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Time: 02:20 pm-03:20 pm
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Room: CARN 107
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Instructor: Bora Jeong
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Details
We have witnessed a lot of political violence in many countries, such as violence around elections, civil conflicts, terrorism, coups, and political repression. It is important to understand why political violence happened and what their effects are, especially to prevent and stop the violence. In the first half of this course, we will examine the causes, processes, and consequences of political violence that happened in the world. Then, in the last half of the course, we will focus on peace studies which explore how to prevent, stop, and decrease political violence. Students will learn about actual cases of political violence happening in the world as well as general patterns and trends of political violence and peace studies. Students will be able to critically examine cases of political violence and conflict management tools that have been used to prevent and stop political violence.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-05 30547 |
Politics of East Asia |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: CARN 107
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Instructor: Bora Jeong
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Details
This course introduces some fundamental political themes among selected East Asian countries (China, South/North Korea, and Japan) and presents explanations for the differences. We will attempt to answer questions from the perspective of comparative politics. For example, why are some Asian countries democracies while others are authoritarian? Does the Western model of democracy work for China? What are some of the important similarities in terms of political processes and outcomes that we find in China and in democratic regimes? What is the historical background for democracies in Japan and in South Korea? At the end of the course, students should be able to analyze political events, drawing on the theoretical explanations provided in the class.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-06 30755 |
LGBTQ+ Politics and Policy |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: MAIN 009
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Instructor: Ashley Sorensen
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*Cross-listed with WGSS 294-01*
Details
The advancement of LGBTQ rights in the United States has experienced unprecedented success over the last twenty years, shifting both public attitude towards and legal protection for LGBTQ Americans. This course will provide an in-depth analysis of current LGBTQ policy achievements in the United States, including the recognition of marriage equality in all 50- states, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and increased anti-discrimination protections. Emphasis will be placed on how these victories were achieved, including background on the strategies and tactics used to generate results. We will also take a critical look at such milestones and examine what they mean for the entire LGBTQ population, including queer people of color, transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, the disabled, and economically disadvantaged. Incorporated into this analysis will be readings from queer liberation scholars to help us evaluate the pros and cons of existing LGBTQ policy gains. The course will explore what full equality might look like for LGBTQ people in the United States with an examination of what can and cannot be achieved through policy. Practical application on how policy is made will be intertwined throughout the course. Topics to be covered include the meaning and measurement of LGBTQ identity; estimates of those who identify as LGBTQ; the measurement of Americans’ attitudes on LGBTQ issues and how these attitudes have changed over the past few decades; assessment of changes in law and policies at the national, state and local levels; and the implications of these changes for the lived experience of LGBTQ people and their families, including health, well-being, stigma and discrimination.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-07 30756 |
Political Psychology and Socialization |
Days: M W F
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Time: 10:50 am-11:50 am
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Room: CARN 107
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Instructor: Ashley Sorensen
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*Cross-listed with PSYC 294-01*
Details
How do campaign advertisements influence voters' perceptions and behavior? Do we all harbor some measure of racism, sexism, or homophobia, and what role do these stereotypes play in political behavior? How and why do ideologies form, and how do identities like partisanship and race/gender influence the way that voters understand the political world? These questions, and many others, are central to political psychology, an interdisciplinary field that uses experimental methods and theoretical ideas from psychology as tools to examine the world of politics. In this course, we will discover the role that several aspects of human psychology (socialization, social identity, personality, genetics/evolutionary factors) have on public opinion and contemporary political behavior. This course is for anyone who enjoys taking personality tests, wants to work on a campaign, has ever been frustrated with someone with a differing political opinion than their own, and/or is curious about whether it is possible for different groups of people to peacefully co-exist.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 294-08 30817 |
Race and the Law |
Days: M
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Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: HUM 400
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Instructor: Duchess Harris
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*First day attendance required; cross-listed with AMST 251-01*
Details
Racism has been written into the United States' laws and entrenched in its institutions for much of its history. Understanding how laws and race intersect to shape institutions is critical to any analysis on race. This course will be divided into two sections. In Section 1, we will examine how court cases and government actions have moved towards equality in six public policy areas: citizenship, education, voting, employment, housing, and marriage. In Section 2, we will learn about and apply the framework of Critical Race Theory to the public policy areas discussed in Section 1.
General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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POLI 294-09 30922 |
Fat Politics |
Days: T R
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Time: 03:00 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: CARN 05
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Instructor: Della Zurick
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*No prerequisites, open to all*
Details
This is a class in body politics that explores the role of body weight/shape in designating certain bodies as more worthy, healthy and desirable than others. Drawing on texts in political theory and fat studies, we’ll evaluate common myths about fat bodies and seek to understand the social construction, medicalization and pathologization of fat in the US. We’ll study the origins and scope of fatphobia, especially its connection to anti-Black racism. Seeing fat as a social justice issue, we’ll also explore various body positivity movements that have attempted to redefine fat identity and examine fat activism as a means of addressing fatphobia, weight stigma and size discrimination.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 300-01 30548 |
American Government Institutions |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: HUM 214
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Instructor: Julie Dolan
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Details
Analysis of the formal institutions of American governance, including the U.S. Congress, Presidency, federal courts, and the bureaucracy. The course relies on extensive role playing to equip students with a hands-on understanding of the procedures utilized by all three branches of government, the complexity of public policy decision making, and the motivations and resources of various governmental actors. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 321-01 30754 |
International Security |
Days: M W F
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Time: 03:30 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: CARN 06A
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Instructor: Alexander Salt
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Details
This is a course designed to introduce students to global or world security studies as an academic field. It begins with a discussion of the various theoretical approaches to the study of international security (including traditional, critical and subaltern approaches). It then proceeds to explore a number of issues that are currently of interest to specialists in the field. While not an exhaustive survey, this course provides a solid introduction to the contemporary study of international security. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore-standing or permission of instructor.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 323-01 30549 |
Humanitarianism in World Politics |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: HUM 216
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Instructor: Wendy Weber
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Details
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:
Internationalism
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 333-01 30370 |
Power and Development in Africa |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: CARN 411
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Instructor: Ahmed Samatar
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*Cross-listed with INTL 301-01*
Details
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. No prerequisites or restrictions.
General Education Requirements:
Internationalism
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 337-01 30792 |
Energy Justice |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: OLRI 247
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Instructor: Roopali Phadke
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*Cross-listed with ENVI 337-01*
Details
Energy Justice builds on the concepts of environmental and climate justice, with a focus on the visible and invisible infrastructures that produce, deliver, maintain and transform our economies and societies. We will chart social movements that have responded to both fossil fuel extraction (pipelines) and the transition to renewable energies. The course will also focus on citizen science as a tool for revealing injustice and promoting justice, such as the work of the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, a non-profit that develops open source, Do It Yourself tools for community based environmental analysis. Students will work in small groups to support research for a local energy client. Students will also develop an independent research project over the semester using the Storymaps platform. This course can substitute for ENVI/POLI 335. Ideally, students will have had ENVI/POLI 215: Environmental Policy and Politics as a prerequisite.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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POLI 352-01 30740 |
Transitional Justice |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: CARN 204
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Instructor: Nadya Nedelsky
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*Cross-listed with INTL 352-01*
Details
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
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POLI 404-01 30551 |
Honors Colloquium |
Days: T R
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Time: 08:45 am-09:30 am
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Room: CARN 204
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Instructor: Lesley Lavery
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|
*Permission of instructor required*
Details
A workshop for students pursing honors projects in the political science department. S/N grading.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Social science
Course Materials
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