Graduate

This course is a  seminar which can be taken for 0 - 2 units, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory with the following course description:

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in progress by graduate students. To receive credit for the course, the student will participate fully, including, as asked, either making a presentation of work in progress or serving as lead  discussant for another student's work. Appropriate works-in-progress include  (but are not limited to) a paper in preparation for submission to a journal, a dissertation prospectus (including early drafts), a dissertation chapter, or a job market paper. Anyone working on theory is welcome.

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in quantitative modeling. 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 and participate actively.  Some weeks we will invite external speakers to present their work.  In other weeks, students may present their own work-in-progress or lead a discussion 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

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. 

This description is from Spring 2015

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in progress by graduate students. To receive two units of credit, a student must make at least one presentation of work in progress and serve as a discussant for another student's presentation. To receive one unit of credit a student must regularly attend class and participate in discussion, but will not be required to make a presentation. Appropriate works in progress include (but are not limited to) a paper in preparation for submission to a journal, a dissertation prospectus (including early drafts), a dissertation chapter, or a job market paper. Anyone working on American politics, political behavior, public law, or public administration is welcome.

A comprehensive review of the major topics in political behavior through intensive examination of the theories, findings, and proceedings of the most significant studies in the field.

Much political behavior, particularly in countries such as China, does not take place within institutionalized channels.  This is partly because the Party/State aggregates preferences poorly and the popular classes often become frustrated with existing opportunities for participation.  Moreover, honest elections occur only at the lowest levels -- if at all -- and many forms of political activity are forbidden.  In these circumstances, how do ordinary Chinese press for attention to their grievances and for a modicum of responsiveness?  And how do the authorities respond to popular activism, whether it appears on the streets or online?  In this seminar, we will read recently published books and articles that bring to light ongoing debates and emerging topics in the literature on protest and repression. We will pay particular attention to issues prominent in the Xi Jinping era, including COVID lockdowns and protest; digital activism, repression and surveillance; and the outsourcing of repression. Efforts will also be made to introduce students to new methods, such as protest event analysis, and the application of social movement concepts, including emotions, protest leadership, and mobilizing structures and protest diffusion, to the China case.  Finally, we will examine how protest unfolds in two social groups: workers and veterans.

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.

Discussion sections meet Fridays 12-1:30pm in SOCS791.