Course Offerings
American Politics
PolS 6120. Southern Politics. (3)
The development of Southern political institutions and practices, including the role that Southern political figures have played in national politics and similarities and differences between Southern political behavior and national political behavior.
PolS 6130. American Constitutional Law. (3)
Constitutional structure of the American political system.
PolS 6131. Civil Liberties. (3)
The Constitution, civil liberties, and civil rights.
PolS 6158. Campaign Organization and Management. (3)
A broad introduction to electoral campaign research, organization, and management.
PolS 6162. Politics and Communication. (3)
An analysis of how political communications affects our relationships with political actors and processes.
PolS 8100. Seminar in American Politics. (3)
Introduction to the major institutions and processes in the national political system. Overview of Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Supreme Court.
PolS 8110. State Politics. (3)
Comparative treatment of institutions, authorities, processes, and policy making in the American states.
PolS 8115. Urban Political Behavior. (3)
Relationship between the urban environment and urban politics.
PolS 8139. Studies in Public Law. (3).
Special topics in public law.
PolS 8140. Judicial Process and Policy Making. (3)
Social and political context of judicial decisions with emphasis on Supreme Court decision making. Relation of law to public policy.
PolS 8150. American Political Parties and Interest Groups. (3)
The nature and role of political parties and interest groups in the American political system.
PolS 8155. Electoral Behavior. (3)
Major theories of voting and electoral behavior as they apply to a variety of political offices.
PolS 8160. Public Opinion and Attitudes. (3)
Analysis of contemporary political attitudes and public opinion.
PolS 8167. Women and Politics. (3)
Women's political behavior, women and public policy, and relevant aspects of feminist theory.
PolS 8170. American Legislative Process. (3)
An examination of the politics and processes of legislative institutions. This course will focus on the legislative process, elections, apportionment, institutional hierarchy, partisan politics, and legislative leadership.
PolS 8175. African-American Political Participation. (3)
Voting behaviors and ideological orientation of African-Americans. Changes in the nature and effectiveness of Afncan-American participation from the protests of the Civil Rights Movement to the politics of the 1990s.
PolS 8180. Presidential Politics. (3)
A study of presidential politics including administrative decision making, constitutional powers, elections, presidential-congressional relations, and the President as Commander-in-Chief.
*PolS 8190. Studies in American Politics. (3)
May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
Comparative Politics
PolS 6220. Comparative Legal Systems and Politics. (3)
Survey of the area of legalization, adjudication, and constitutional development in comparative perspective. After analyzing customary legal systems, as well as the two modern types, adversarial precedent and inquisitorial code systems, comparaisons of judicial institutionalization, independence of lawyers and judges, and constitutional accountabilty are evaluated.
PolS 6225. Political Negotiation. (3)
Examines negotiation and conflict resolution as central elements of the political process, whether in international diplomacy, collective barganing in labor disputes, postelection formation of governemnts in parliamentary democracies, or administrative budgeting.
Pols 6256. Political Economy of Japan. (3)
This course explores the politics and political economy of contemporary Japan from several theoretical perspectives. Approaches from political science, sociology, and economics are broguht to bear on basic issues from 1868 to the present. Topics include: the evolution and nature of Japanese democracy, the functioning of the political economy, the "Japanese miracle" economy of the early postwar period and economic decline in recent years, protest and social movements in Japan, and Japan's role in Asia.
PolS 8200. Comparative Politics. (3)
Concepts, theories and methods in the study of comparative politics.
PolS 8205. Comparative Democratization. (3)
Prerequisite: Pols 8200 recommended.
Theories and problems of emerging transitional democracies around the world.
PolS 8210. Political Development. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended.
Theories of the development of political institutions.
Pols 8215. Politics of Peace. (3)
Explores the challenges of building stable political systems in the wake of civil war, using cases drawn from all regions of the world.
Pols 8223 Comparative Electoral Systems (3)
Examines different election systems used in various democracies. Advantages and disadvantages of particular election systems.
Pols 8228 Comparative Party System Development (3)
Drawing on both theoretical literature and empirical research, this course provides an introduction to the comparative study of party system development in democratic political systems. The course explores the experiences of newly democratized countries as well as that of established democracies. Insights will be drawn from Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, and Latin America.
PolS 8235. African Politics. (3)
Comparative theoretical analysis of the politics of Subsaharan African countries.
PolS 8240. European Politics. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended.
Comparative theoretical analysis of the politics of European countries.
PolS 8245. The Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe. (3)
Political, economic and social variables explaining change and the current political and economic structures in the region.
PolS 8250. Latin American Politics. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended
Comparative theoretical analysis of the politics of Latin American countries.
PolS 8260. Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended.
Comparative theoretical analysis of the politics of the Middle East and North African countries.
PolS 8270. Comparative Political Economy. (3)
Analyzes the linkage between economic performance conditions and political behavior in Western developed political systems. Focus covers multiple approaches to political economy: public choice, macroeconomic policy, economic influences on democratic behavior, Marxist political economy, and comparative public policy.
PolS 8273. Political Economy of Development. (3)
Comparative analysis of theoretical and historical perspectives on the politics of economic growth and development in the developing world.
PolS 8275. Welfare State from a Comparative Perspective. (3)
Introduces recent debates on the welfare state, both as they concern specific social policies and as they treat the welfare state, qua state. Theoretical approaches are assessed in light of case studies including health policy, full employment and old age pensions. Explicit attention is given to the dimensions of comparison across nations (primarily Western Europe and North America).
*Pols 8280. Comparative Political Systems. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended.
Theoretical analysis of selected political systems sand topics in comparative politics. May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
International Relations
PolS 6420. International Law (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8200 recommended
Analysis of origin, principles, enforcement, and adjudication of international law.
Pols 6422. Issues in International Organization. (3)
Survey of contemporary issues concerning international organizations and the international legal order.
Pols 6425. Politics of International Criminal Justice (3)
Politics of international crimes such as drugs and other contraband fissile materials, internet fraud, and war crimes and the national and transnational conspiracies and organizations that commit or control these crimes.
Pols 6427 Politics of INternational Human Rights (3)
Analysis of international human rights issues and institutions at the multilateral, regional, and domestic levels. Attention to foreign policy, gender, minorities, disappearances, and genocide in various regions.
Pols 6460. International Relations of Europe. (3)
This course explores Europe as a regional sub-system in world politics. It examines economic, security, and socio-political relations across the region through a variety of conceptual tools; comparative foreign policy, realism, liberal interdependence and institutional theories, regional interation theory, and social constructivist theories. Particular attention is paid to the unique characteristics, interests, and values shared by European states, and to the way these factors are expressed at the global leval.
Pols 6475. Issues in International Security. (3)
Survey of contemporary issues in international security affairs.
PolS 8400. International Politics. (3)
Concepts and theories in international politics.
PolS 8421. International Organizations. (3)
Analysis of formation, role, process and politics of international organizations.
Pols 8422. NGOs and World Politics. (3)
Survey of the current state of the literature on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and global civil society, exploration of the various roles NGOs play in several of the policy areas including the environment, human rights, international development, trade, humanitarian crises, women's issues, and security.
PolS 8430. International Political Economy. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8400 recommended.
Analysis of contending theoretical approaches in explaining the politics of the international political economy.
PolS 8432. International Political Economy of Science and Technology. (3)
Issues such as technology transfer, the international regulation of technology, competition in technology, asnd state policies toward technology. Examples such as the nuclear industry, biotechnology, the Internet, and space-related industries.
*PolS 8435. Studies in International Political Economy. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8400 recommended.
Topics may include theoretical analysis of trade, monetary and financial regimes, and North-South relations.
PolS 8450. United States Foreign Policy. (3)
Substance and process of U. S. foreign policy.
*PolS 8459. Studies in Foreign Policy. (3)
Topics may include theories of foreign policy making, U. S. national security policy, U. S. foreign economic policy, and comparative foreign policy. May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
Pols 8465. International Relations of East Asia. (3).
Examination of East Asia (Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia) as a regional subsystem in the international system, focusing on security, economic and transnational societal relations in the region. Analysis of conflict and cooperation in the region, using various theoretical frameworks from the international relations literature.
PolS 8470. Military Conflict / International Security. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8400 recommended.
Conditions affecting the prospects for war and conflict within and between nation-states
*PolS 8490. Studies in International Relations. (3)
Prerequisite: PolS 8400 recommended
Topics may include international organization and law, human rights, international social movements, nations and nationalism and international conflict resolution
Political Theory
PolS 6510. Feminist Political Theory. (3).
The treatment of women in Western political thought. Various strands of feminist thinking: liberal, Marxist, socialist, radical, and postmodern.
PolS 6520. Theories on Democracy. (3)
This course examines democracy's theoretical foundation, looking both at contemporary and classical texts.
Pols 6550. Liberalism and Its Critics. (3)
A look at the theoretical foundations of America's most prominent public philosophy: liberalism. Reviews the work of nineteenth and twentieth century British, French and American theorists.
PolS 6570. American Political Thought. (3)
Readings in the development of political ideas underlying American political institutions.
Pols 6585. Political Theory: Race, Class, & Gender. (3)
Political questions concerning race, gender, and class inequalities affect almost every political system in the contemporary world. The course will examine theories on the social construction of race and gender, post-colonial theory, and revisions to classic Marxist theories of social class.
PolS 8500. Scope of Political Science. (3) Philosophical and analytical foundations of scientific inquiry into political phenomena, with particular emphasis on the interrelations of political science and the other social sciences.
Pols 8520. Political Theory of Economic Justice. (3)
Focuses on the proper role of government in the economy. Readings from both classical and contemporary sources about laissez-faire, mixed economy, and democratic socialism.
Pols 8530. Theories of Nationalism. (3)
Review of well-established theories of the nation. Consideration of how the nation is constructed through political structures, changes in economic structure, cultural practices, and "invented memories" about it.
PolS 8540. Political Theory Economic Justice. (3)
This course focuses on the most crucial questions of politics: what is the proper role of government in the economy? The course's perspective is more philosophical and ethical than it is economic. (No background in economics is required.) Students will read both classical and contemporary arguments for the laissez-faire state, for a mixed economy, and for democratic socialism(as well as a few arguments that defy easy categorization). The primary emphasis here will be on examining the assumptions these arguments make, their internal coherence, and the degree to which they adequately address political and economic realities.
Pols 8555 Contemporary Political Philosophy (3)
This course examines contemporary thinking in political philosophy. Particular emphasis is placed on debates within the discipline over matters such as the ethics of war, abortion, civil rights, income distribution, judicial interpretation, and homelessness.
Pols 8560. Classical/Early Modern Political Thought. (3)
Survey of the great writings in political thought from Plato to Hobbes. Examines the contributions these works made to Western conceptions such as democracy, equality, human nature, citizenshipA survey of the historical writings in political thought from Plato to Marx. Special emphasis on the contributions these thinkers made to Western conceptions of democracy, equality, human nature, citizenship, etc., as well as the continuing relevance of the texts for explaining contemporary political phenomena.
Pols 8570. Modern Political Thought. (3)
Survey of the great writings in political thought from Machiavelli to Marx. Examines the contributions these works made to Western conceptions such as democracy, equality, human nature, citizenship, liberty, as well as their continuing relevance for understanding contemporary moral and political dilemmas.
*PolS 8590. Studies in Western Political Theory. (3)
Analysis of a particular concept or period of political theory. May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
Public Administration
PolS 6780. Public Law and Public Administration. (3)
Analysis of the relationships between the traditional body of administrative law and legal elements in the public administration environment.
PolS 8700. Introduction to Public Administration. (3)
Survey that considers the various elements of the public administration literature; the underlying concepts and significant contemporary issues.
PolS 8710. Bureaucratic Politics. (3)
Analysis of the literature on the federal bureaucracy. Institutional perspectives on budgeting, administrative structure and process, implementation, policy making, and political competition with the other branches of U.S. government.
PolS 8715. Public Organizations: Theory and Behavior. (3)
(Same as PAUS 8431)
Development and application of findings in the behavioral sciences with particular reference to communication, human relations, and decision making in public organizations.
PolS 8720. Program Planning and Evaluation. (3)
(Same as PAUS 8521)
Planning and evaluation of public programs.
PolS 8730. Comparative Administrative Systems. (3)
(Same as PAUS 8421)
Cross-national study of administrative-organization patterns as they relate to cultural setting and the larger political system.
PolS 8742. Administrative Thought. (3)
Development of major issues and concepts of public administration.
PolS 8743. Public Personnel Administration. (3)
(Same as PAUS 8141)
Public personnel principles and practices, including selection, appointment, classification, compensation, tenure, promotion, and the role of the personnel officer in govemment.
PolS 8745. Seminar in Governmental Administration. (3) May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
PolS 8770. Public Budgeting. (3)
(Same as PAUS 8151)
Practice and problems of modern fiscal management with special emphasis on budgetary procedures and the means of budgetary analysis.
*PolS 8790. Studies in Public Policy. (1-3)
Intensive treatment of a topic in public policy. May be taken more than once if topics vary.
PolS 8800. Elements of Research Design. (3)
Introduction to major research methodologies. Course will examine components of research design as well as how to collect and analyze data.
PolS 8810. Uses of Intermediate Statistical Methods in Political Science Research. (3)
Intensive examination of quantitative statistics, ranging from classical regression to maximum likelihood models
*PolS 8820. Studies in Research Methodology. (3)
*May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
Intensive examination of a particular methodological skill or skills.
PolS 8860. Dissertation/Thesis Research Seminar. (1) This class is intended to assist students with formulating a methodologically sound, theoretically significant, and policy relevant dissertation/thesis question. The final product of the class is an acceptable dissertation/thesis design.
Research, Teaching, and Internships
*PolS 8900. Comprehensive Readings. (3)
For students preparing for master's or doctoral examinations. To be taken in the quarter in which the examinations are taken.
*PolS 8980. Directed Reading in a Special Area. (3)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be taken more than once for credit if topics vary.
*Pols 8990. Directed Research in Political Science. (3)
Pols 8995. Administrative/Policy Internship. (3 or 6)
Assignment to a staff, high-level administrative, or policy position for pre-service and in-service students pursuing management careers.
*PolS 8996. Research Internship. (1-15)
Prerequisite: Consent of Graduate director.
Assignment to a research project under direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.
PolS 8997. Seminar in Effective Teaching - Post Secondary. (3)
Philisophy andTechniques of teaching at the college level. (NOTE: This course is to be cross-listed with course taught by Academic Foundations for graduate students in Arts and Sciences.)
*PolS 8998. Teaching Internship. (1-15)
Prerequisite: Consent of graduate director
Assignment to an undergraduate or graduate course under the supervision of a faculty member. For pre-service and in-service students interested in college-level teaching. May be taken more than once for credit.
*PolS 8999. Thesis Research. (1-15)
*May be repeated for credit
