Spring 2020

In this iteration of the course in Renaissance and Early Modern Political Thought, we will focus on a close reading of The Elements of Law (1640) by Thomas Hobbes.  This work has a similar range to that of Hobbes's 1651 Leviathan, though with much less attention to theological and ecclesiastical matters.  The earlier weeks of the course will be devoted to a consideration of background materials that are also of intrinsic interest, including Jean Bodin's Six Books of the Republic.

This course examines the growth and development of American political institutions over time. We will be concerned with analyzing, explaining, and understanding key transformative sequences in American politics, tracing the implications of these transformations for later American politics, and considering alternative possible paths of development. Key questions include: in what sense has the American political system “developed”? What is the role of America’s liberal political culture in shaping American political institutions? What is the relationship between changes in the economy and changes in state and party organization?

Note: This description is from Spring 2012.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a better understanding of how political parties operate within the American political system, with a particular eye to ongoing contemporary problems of polarization between the major parties. In the first unit, we will examine the dynamic of partisan conflict throughout the history of the United States, the functions served by these parties for both citizens and elites, and why the American system favors a two-party dynamic. In Unit 2, we will then consider a variety of perspectives on the widening ideological, emotional, and demographic divides between Democrats and Republicans, both in terms of what explains this polarization, and what consequences for democratic governance we can expect it to have in the present and future. Students will attend lectures and discussion sections, read a variety of both academic and journalistic texts, take two exams, and complete a written project drawing from one of several offered argumentative or research assignments. Students will also be expected to keep up with both current events and ongoing conversations in political media.

Instructor: Sean Freeder

This course explores central themes and ideas in the history of African American political thought: slavery and freedom, solidarity and sovereignty, exclusion and citizenship, domination and democracy, inequality and equality, rights and respect. Readings will be drawn, primarily, from canonical authors, including, among others: Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Marcus Garvey, and Martin Luther King, Jr. This is an introductory course, which emphasizes both thematic and historical approaches to the study of political theory.This course explores central themes and ideas in the history of African American political thought: slavery and freedom, solidarity and sovereignty, exclusion and citizenship, domination and democracy, inequality and equality, rights and respect. Readings will be drawn, primarily, from canonical authors, including, among others: Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Marcus Garvey, and Martin Luther King, Jr. This is an introductory course, which emphasizes both thematic and historical approaches to the study of political theory.

Note: Course ID to change later this semester. It will be updated with a specific suffix.

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in quantitativemodeling. Anyone working on quantitative modeling or empirical testing of quantitative models is welcome to attend. To receive credit for the course, a student must attend regularly, participate actively, and make at least two presentations per semester. Presentations can be of the student's own work-in-progress or of work by other scholars (including both influential/classic works or interesting current working papers).

Variable Unit Course: 1.0 to 3.0

Please see click on the link below for more information regrarding MIRTH

http://polisci.berkeley.edu/research-and-teaching/lectures-colloquia/monday-international-relations-thoughts-series-mirth

Spring 2020 Schedule:

Schedule: TBA

http://polisci.berkeley.edu/research-and-teaching/lectures-colloquia/research-workshop-american-politics-rwap-colloquium

TBA

TBA

This course counts toward completion of the course-out option in Models and Politics.

Knowledge of game theory at the level of PS232A will be assumed 

This course provides an introduction to the methodology of game theory and related modeling techniques, with a focus on applications in the study of politics.  The goal of the course is to get students familiar with the basic tools and frameworks of formal models as used in political science research.  This will enable you to be a more-informed reader of the growing body of literature that uses these methods or that tests predictions derived with them.  It should also prove useful in structuring your thinking about political actors and outcomes even when you are not explicitly using a formal model.  This course will also provide a starting point for students who hope to pursue more advanced training and even to use formal theory in their own future research.