In this course we will explore questions about citizenship and immigration in the contemporary world. Readings will be drawn from scholarship in political theory, law, and the social sciences with the goal of integrating insights from these different fields in new, thought-provoking ways. 

The first half of the course will focus on citizenship. How should we conceive of citizenship? As a formal legal status, an entitlement to a set of rights, active participation in self-governance, an identity, or something else? What is the relationship between citizenship, on the one hand, and race, class, gender, sexuality, and national origin, on the other? Which rights have historically been attached to citizenship status and which rights have been extended to noncitizens? What would cosmopolitan citizenship look like?

The second half of the course will focus on immigration. Why do people migrate across international borders? Should people be allowed to migrate across borders? States exert control over migration but what, if anything, justifies this control? What is the impact of migration on sending countries, receiving countries, and migrants themselves? What are the key dynamics in the politics of immigration and how do they constrain immigration policymaking? What are the current immigration categories and priorities in U.S. immigration law? What kinds of immigration policies should the U.S. and other liberal democratic countries pursue? 

The course is cross-listed with the Law School. Restricted to Graduate student enrollment only.

This seminar offers an overview of the history of moral philosophy, paying special attention to arguments about the relationship of morality to law, as well as the connections between moral philosophy and political economy. We will begin by studying canonical texts before turning to more contemporary work. Authors will include Aristotle, Cicero, Pufendorf, Hume, Smith, Bentham, Kant, Mill, Edgeworth, Pareto, Sen, Williams, Anderson, Rorty, and others.

The course begins August 17th and is combined with Law.

Are you interested in, or even just curious about, earning a PhD in political science or a related
field? Great! Berkeley’s Political Science Department is thrilled to announce a new initiative to
help undergraduate students learn about pursuing a PhD in political science.
This initiative is designed to help students learn about what it means to earn a PhD in political
science and how to prepare for and apply to PhD programs. The goal is to build a community of
undergraduate scholars who will be connected with each other and with faculty and graduate
students at Berkeley. Students will learn about political science research, ways to prepare to be
a competitive PhD applicant, and receive support and advice on the application process.
The program is open to students who are in at least their second year of college studies. The
program is focused on helping students from historically minoritized or underrepresented
groups, including but not limited to, non-cis-gendered individuals, members of the queer
community, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), Latinx, individuals who are
differently abled or who experience disability, first-generation college students, and those from
low-income / low-resource backgrounds.
Students who are selected for the program will participate in a series of workshops throughout
the semester, will be advised on pursuing research opportunities as an undergraduate, and will
have the opportunity to receive mentoring from graduate students and faculty. Students may
earn one credit unit for completing the program.

Please complete this form to apply for the course: https://forms.gle/pjhUZbuUkvbhdRwPA

The Middle East in world affairs, international relations and domestic policies of contemporary states in the Middle East; policies and strategy of major powers; supranational movements, regional political and security organizations. The area comprises Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, and the Arab countries.

Instructor:  TBD

How are individuals forged (or not) into political communities? By whom? For what ends? How can these political projects face the reality of division, diversity, and difference? Is there even such a thing as a common interest? Is solidarity possible in a world constructed and striated by social powers of all kinds? To what extent can solidarity resist the individualization that characterizes contemporary political and economic life? How are contemporary social movements linked to a much longer political history and much wider theoretical tradition?

In this course, we will consider these questions through a variety of historical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory. We will endeavor to understand these texts on their own terms, in their historical contexts, and their broader implications for contemporary political life. We will not settle these questions but deepen our understanding of the complex theoretical and political history of social solidarity.

Instructor: Brian Judge

In the first part of the course, we will focus on the theoretical side of political science. The main goals here are to understand what makes a good political science theory, and to give a brief overview of how game theory and related tools make up a powerful way to construct theories. This side of the class will be less data-focused, we will also see how the programming tools you learn in Data 8 can be used in this part of the scientific process. We will pivot to the empirical side in the second part of the class, we will cover how political scientists and other social scientists think about the challenges of causal inference, and the tools we use to overcome them.

Populism has a long history in the United States. Democratic president Andrew Jackson, Louisiana governor Huey Long, Dixiecrat George Wallace, the Populist Party of the nineteenth century, the Occupy Movement, the Tea Party and President Donald Trump have all been labelled populists. What does populism mean? Does the populist label fit all of these seemingly disparate people/movements? In this course, we will examine the historical episodes of populism to better understand the rise of President Trump and his own brand of populism. We will also compare populism in the United States to populism in the United Kingdom.  In the final weeks of this course, we will examine the factors driving the rise of populism most recently and consider its impact on democracy.