Fall 2019

semester status
Active

Constructivism

Level
Semester
Fall 2019
Instructor(s)
Units
4
Section
1
Number
225
CCN
33024
Times
W 10am-12pm
Location
202 Barrows
Course Description

This seminar traces the development of the constructivist program in international relations in order to better understand its elements, assumptions and methods and apply those to current issues.  We start by uncovering the roots of constructivism in sociology and philosophy and examine structuation theory, the English School, world systems theory, regime theory, and sociological institutionalism.  The second part of this course focuses on the constructivist agenda in international relations, its boundaries and its critics.  In the last part of the course we examine current research in international relations that draws on sociological methods, including work on the role of norms, epistemic communities, transnational civil society, and the origins of the state. 

Selected Topics in Area Studies: Russian Politics: From Lenin to Putin

Semester
Fall 2019
Units
4
Number
149K
CCN
33456
Times
W 6p-9p
Location
166 Barrrows
Course Description

This is a specialized course devoted to contemporary politics, economic development, and social issues in Russia. Students will learn about Russia’s political and economic history, social development, and current challenges. Russia’s relations with the other post-Soviet states are also studied in detail.  The course is an in-depth overview of the geopolitical, cultural, and other factors that shape Russia’s behavior on the international arena, with an emphasis on Russia’s ideology, institutions, and leadership. The course provides knowledge on Russia’s influence and conflicts in such regions as the Caucasus, Central Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and especially North America (with a strong focus on U.S.-Russia relations). In addition to political and social issues, the course analyzes energy geopolitics, climate change, cyber-security, and other urgent aspects that involve Russia.

Students who took PS 129B or 141A "Russian Politics" with Professor Fish cannot take this course due to the substantial similarity in course content. 

Instructor: Dr. Ekaterina "Kate" Svyatets (Svyatets@yahoo.com)

Subfield: Comparative Politics

 

Japanese Politics

Semester
Fall 2019
Units
4
Section
1
Number
143B
CCN
31833
Times
TuTh 8-9:30a
Location
HMMB 390
Course Description

This course examines the politics and policy of contemporary Japan, applying a range of theoretical perspectives to analyze both recent history and current events. After a brief historical review, we survey the core political institutions of the postwar era, examine patterns of political interaction, and investigate current debates over policy issues. We focus particularly on political change since 1993, including the new electoral system and party realignment. Specific topics include social issues, the economic crisis, political and economic reform, U.S.-Japan relations, defense and foreign policy.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

Instructor: Deirdre Martin

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Semester
Fall 2019
Instructor(s)
Units
4
Section
1
Number
5
CCN
23043
Times
TuTh 2:00-3:30
Location
Dwinelle 155
Course Description

International relations, including everything from trade to terrorism, fundamentally shape our world. In this course, students will develop analytical tools to identify puzzles and theorize about answers on crucial issues of international relations. Students will also gain skills and experience to empirically explore these questions, including through critical engagement with different types of academic articles, the examination of quantitative evidence, the exploration of cases, and policy analysis of evolving situations. This course assumes no background of international relations and serves as a prerequisite for several upper-level classes on international relations.

COLLOQUIUM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

Semester
Fall 2019
Instructor(s)
Units
1
Section
1
Number
179
CCN
22999
Times
W 4-5
Location
Wheeler Aud
Course Description

This one-unit course will feature a guest speaker each week discussing an issue currently in the news. The class is open to all students, and there are no prerequisites. The class is offered Pass/Not Pass, based on a final examination. May be repeated for credit.

This course does not count as an upper division Political Science requirement.

Requirements

The Apperson Product Form # 2833 which will be used for the final examination will be available for purchase at ASUC bookstore.

Junior Seminar: The Right to Vote in America

Semester
Fall 2019
Instructor(s)
Units
4
Section
1
Number
191
CCN
17309
Times
Tu 2-4
Location
791 Barrows
Course Description

Most Americans take for granted their right to vote, whether they choose to exercise it or not. But the history of suffrage in the U.S. reveals the deeply contested nature of the vote in the United States over the last two centuries. Efforts to enlarge the American polity and include previously excluded groups have been countered by doubts about democracy, resistance to suffrage expansion and adoption of measures hindering access to the ballot. This course will consider both the history, the politics and the legal doctrines defining the right to vote in America. 

Subfield:   American Politics

 

Requirements

The Junior Seminars are intense writing seminars which focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course. The seminars will provide an opportunity for students to have direct intellectual interactions with faculty members while also giving the students an understanding for faculty research.

Junior seminars fulfill upper division requirements for the major.

 

Prerequisites

Political Science Majors of Junior and Senior status (must be 3rd or 4th year students with at least 60 units completed) with a minimum overall UC GPA of 3.3. Students must place themselves on the waitlist through CalCentral in Phase II. Priority may be given to students who have not yet taken a junior seminar.  Selection and notification will occur early August 2019.

JUNIOR SEMINAR: HUMAN RIGHTS, GLOBAL POLITICS, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Semester
Fall 2019
Instructor(s)
Units
4
Section
2
Number
191
CCN
17310
Times
W 2-4
Location
791 Barrows
Course Description

This course examines the interplay among domestic politics, international relations and international law in the creation, diffusion and enforcement of human rights norms. It considers the theories, principles and concepts related to human rights and their role in global politics and international law, the role of national and international institutions and actors in the current international human rights regime, recent developments in human rights law and their impact on the relations among states.  We will also discuss current debates about how to enforce human rights norms, including whether military intervention is justified.

 

Subfield:  International Relations

Requirements

The Junior Seminars are intense writing seminars which focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course.   The seminars provide an opportunity for students to have direct intellectual interactions with faculty members while also giving the students an understanding for faculty research.

This junior seminar falls within the "International Relations" subfield, and can fulfill an upper-division requirement for the major.

 

Prerequisites

Political Science Majors of Junior and Senior status (must be 3rd or 4th year students with at least 60 units completed) with a minimum overall UC GPA of 3.3. Students must place themselves on the waitlist through CalCentral in Phase II. Priority may be given to students who have not yet taken a junior seminar.  Selection and notification will occur early August 2019.