Spring 2019

For Spring 2019, Professors Daniel Lee will be teaching with Joshua Cohen , and will focus on the themes of sovereignty and human rights. The list of invited speakers is below.

The format of the course is as follows. For the sessions with guest presenters, lunch will be served starting at 12:00. We’ll begin at 12:15. A designated commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest from 2:10 to 3:00.

This is a cross-listed/room-shared course. Law Students enroll through the Law School

(Law 210.2B), the Philosophy Department (Philosophy 290-6), or the Political Science Department (PS 211). The first class will meet on Friday, January 25.

Schedule:

Jan. 11: Intro Week 1 (Law students only)

Jan. 18: Intro Week 2 (Law students only)

Jan. 25: Intro Week 3
Feb 1: Aila Matanock (UC Berkeley: Political Science)
Feb. 8: Saira Mohamed (UC Berkeley: Law)
Feb 15: Steve Krasner (Stanford: Political Science)
Feb 22: David Dyzenhaus (Toronto: Law and Philosophy)
March 1: Margaret Moore (Queen’s University: Philosophy)
March 8: Jenny Martinez (Stanford: Law)
March 15: Sam Moyn (Yale: Law and History)
March 22: Jennifer Pitts (Chicago: Political Science)
April 5: Quentin Skinner (Queen Mary London: History)
April 12: John Tasioulas (KCL: Law, Philosophy, and Politics)
April 19: Adom Getachew (Chicago: Political Science)
April 26: Jeanne Morefield (Whitman: Politics): Law students are not expected to attend, Barrows 202
May 3: Evan Fox-Decent (McGill: Law): Law students are not expected to attend, Barrows 202

Class meetings will be held in Boalt 141, unless otherwise noted

Class meetings:

• The class will be meeting in Boalt Hall 141 January 25th through April 19th. 
• From April 26th through May 3, the class will meet in 202 Barrows.

This course is an introduction to political theory, the academic study of political ideas and values.  Students will be invited to study and debate the central interpretive problems and foundational concepts of political theory such as the state, citizenship, authority, liberty, equality, and justice.  Students will be encouraged consider how political theorists have historically attempted to classify and defend different forms of political rule (such as monarchies, republics, and democracies).  The course will also introduce students to selected excerpts in major texts in the history of political thought, such as Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Hobbes’ Leviathan, and Mill’s On Liberty, as well as ongoing problems in contemporary political theory such as global justice and the politics of race, gender, culture, and the environment.

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Origin, application and utility of major concepts featured in the study of international relations. Relation of various strands of political and social theory to international relations.

The goal of this yearlong course is to provide a forum in which students propose, develop, and complete a research project that produces a journal-length paper of publishable quality. This paper will typically serve as students' second-year M.A. essay, and the course is intended as a complement to that requirement. This course is primarily oriented towards second-year Ph.D. students in any subfield (students in other years may participate with the professors’ consent). The course meets regularly during parts of the fall semester and irregularly during the spring semester. In the first few weeks of the course, we discuss the process of moving from research topic to research question; and we survey published articles by recent Ph.D. students/assistant professors, focusing on the structure and nature of the writing and presentation as well the quality of the argument and evidence. We then move to students’ research proposals for the rest of the fall semester. During the spring semester, students meet individually with the course instructors and their advisors, develop and revise drafts of their papers, and present their work at a department “APSA-style” conference. In order to complete the course and receive credit, students must complete the requirements for both semesters.

This colloquium exposes graduate students and faculty to work by leading scholars of comparative politics working in diverse substantive areas. Graduate students are expected to read circulated papers of visiting speakers ahead of the colloquium and participate actively in raising questions and making comments.  They are encouraged to meet visiting speakers in their areas of interest in group or one-on-one sessions. 

NOTE: This description is from Spring 2015

This course aims to furnish students with the tools needed to study politics and society in comparative perspective. The first part of the course introduces concepts and methods of comparative analysis and examines core assumptions about human nature that underpin social scientists’ (and all of our) thinking. The second part investigates the variety of political regimes under which people live around the world. Third, we will consider the factors that influence which type of political regime prevails in particular national settings. Why do some countries get democracy while others do not? The fourth section focuses on economic development. Why are some countries able to break out of poverty while others are not? Attendance at lecture and discussion section required.

This course can satisfy either the Social & Behavioral Sciences or International Studies breadth requirement.

Topics from multi-equation causal modeling and introductory econometrics, with special emphasis on procedures appropriate for political data, including survey data.

This data intensive seminar is for students interested in research on any aspect of contemporary Indian politics.  Enrolled students will be expected to write a research paper using data from election and other surveys carried out in India. Basic instruction on how to use R will be provided at the start of the class.  

TBA

A weekly seminar on political thought in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern political theorists, typically including Tocqueville, Hegel, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, and Weber.

Please note that this description is from Fall 2011.