Session A

American ideas have been indebted to and haunted by European thought. This Atlantic exchange framed the only two creative political moments in our national life that led to the founding and re-founding of a sovereign state. The first, the American Revolution, which on some accounts stretched past constitutional authors to the Civil War, was caught up in the dilemmas of crafting a political space for an expanding commercial republic. The second, the Progressive Era, which began in remembrance of Lincoln and culminated in the political economy of the New Deal, inherited a novel set of questions regarding time, history, and destiny.In both opposition to and collaboration with these state-centric moments lay the anti-politics of American society: thriving first in Jefferson’s “empire of liberty,” the tragic romance of frontier settlement, and the Emersonian literature of inner emigration. In recent decades prospering in a symbolic renewal of Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson: a human rights centered discourse that beckoned to those excluded from the original Jeffersonian promise. For purchase, Wooten, The Essential Federalist. Also Royce, California: A Study of American Character plus a course packet with selections from Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Bancroft, Tocqueville, Hegel, Fuller, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Whitman, Lincoln, Royce, Turner, Croly, Dewey, Bourne, Du Bois, Wilson, TR, FDR and MLK.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 and subsequent events, including two ongoing wars, have forced Americans to confront the phenomenon of international terrorism in a much more regular and engaged manner.  In essence, terrorism has gone from being a marginal security concern for most Americans to becoming one of the most pressing issues of our day, both nationally and internationally.  Yet, in reality, “terrorism” has been a persistent and widespread phenomenon throughout the rest of the world well before the events of 9/11.  It has deep historical roots, and has been an integral part of human political behavior and interaction.  This course seeks to analyze the phenomenon of “terrorism” in a highly-analytical and academic (as opposed to normative) way including examining its causes, dynamics, and possible solutions.  In this attempt, the course employs an interdisciplinary approach including insights from the fields of political science, history, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.  The course also combines a blend of theory (both explanatory and analytical), methodology, and empirics to help students better understand and grasp the multi-faceted complexity of “terrorism” and its wider implications. Thus, the primary goal of this course is to provide students with a critical and rich understanding of the phenomenon of “terrorism,” and to spark their intellectual curiosity for future empirical research on the topic.

What is the nature of ethnicity? How is ethnicity politicized into nationalism? What is the nature of nationalism? How does nationalism often lead to political violence? What are the dynamics of political violence? Finally, what strategies can the central state use to deal with violent ethnonationalist movements? This course seeks to answer these types of questions both conceptually and within a comparative framework. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding and critically assessing competing descriptive and explanatory theories for these phenomena. In addition, we will analyze the comparative origins, dynamics, and trajectories of several ethnonationalist movements within the context of the thematic readings. The primary goal of this course is to provide students with a critical understanding of the complex phenomena of ethnicity, nationalism and political violence, and to spark their intellectual curiosity into areas for future explanatory research.

RUSSIA AFTER COMMUNISM
This course presents a broad introduction to contemporary politics and society in Russia. It focuses on Russia, with secondary attention to other countries of the former Soviet Union. What was Soviet-type socialism and how is its legacy shaping post-Soviet Russia? Where is Russia headed: toward democracy as it is known in the West, a new form of authoritarianism, reversion to the old system, or something else? The political upheaval and social movements that swept Russia and the other Soviet republics during the Gorbachev period will be explored. We will then examine the Yeltsin, Putin, and post-Putin periods and current problems of political change. The topics to be investigated include the dilemmas of transition from a command economy to capitalism, struggles among emerging social interests, public opinion, social integration and disintegration, nationalism, and Russia’s place in the world.

No laptop computers are allowed in class.
 

A course about race and gender in American politics from the nineteenth century to the present. The first part is focused on the women’s rights movement from its origins in the anti-slavery movement through passage of the women’s suffrage amendment. The second part of this summer-length version of a semester-long course will consider highlights of twentieth century women’s political issues, including the Civil Rights Movement, race and gender in the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas controversy, and if time permits, discussion of the 2008 presidential election.

This course provides an introduction to comparative politics. It aims to furnish students with the tools necessary to study politics and society in comparative perspective. The course is divided into five parts. The first introduces basic concepts and methods of comparative analysis and examines some of the core assumptions about human nature that underpin social scientists’ thinking. The second surveys the variety of political regimes under which people live. The third portion of the course examines the factors that influence which type of political regime prevails in particular national settings. The fourth section focuses on economic development. The fifth investigates problems of peace and conflict.

No laptop computers are allowed in class.

This course explores the sources of public opinion and political behavior through the application of psychological theories about personality, learning, cognition, emotion, social influence and group dynamics. The first part of the course focuses directly on psychological theories and concepts, illustrating them with political applications. The second part of the course focuses upon topics traditionally taken up by political scientists, bringing psychological perspectives to bear. There are no prerequisites.

This course is a highly interactive examination of the United States Supreme Court and judicial review from 1787 to the present. Combining historical, institutional and analytic approaches, the course focuses on the Court's landmark constitutional decisions and the theories and techniques of constitutional interpretation that have enabled the judiciary to influence, shape and constrain the American political system. Key issues will include the continuing struggles over the power of judicial review, the Court's role in policing the separation of powers at the national level - between Congress and the President - and the battle for power between the states and the national government. Other topics include property rights and economic liberties, campaign finance reform, and war and emergency powers.

RUSSIA AFTER COMMUNISM
This course presents a broad introduction to contemporary politics and society in Russia. It focuses on Russia, with secondary attention to other countries of the former Soviet Union. What was Soviet-type socialism and how is its legacy shaping post-Soviet Russia? Where is Russia headed: toward democracy as it is known in the West, a new form of authoritarianism, reversion to the old system, or something else? The political upheaval and social movements that swept Russia and the other Soviet republics during the Gorbachev period will be explored. We will then examine the Yeltsin, Putin, and post-Putin periods and current problems of political change. The topics to be investigated include the dilemmas of transition from a command economy to capitalism, struggles among emerging social interests, public opinion, social integration and disintegration, nationalism, and Russia’s place in the world.

No laptop computers are allowed in class.
 

This course provides an introduction to comparative politics. It aims to provide students with the tools necessary to study politics and society in comparative perspective.

How can countries with warring ethnic groups hope to achieve peace?  Is there a “recipe” for economic development, and can it be applied to all countries, everywhere?  Is it possible to build democracy in places like China, Russia, and Iraq—or is democracy inappropriate, or impossible, within some cultural contexts?  These are some of the fundamental questions for Comparativists, and we will be wrestling with these issues in this course.  Within Political Science, the subfield of Comparative Politics is concerned with studying politics in countries outside the United States.  This course is designed to give you an introduction to processes of political and economic development both within and across countries around the world.  In the process, the issues raised will challenge us to think, analyze, and write with both creativity and rigor.

 Wendy Muse Sinek

Instructor, UC-Berkeley Extension, Fall Program for Freshmen

Visiting Instructor, National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

wsinek@berkeley.edu