Undergraduate

This class will introduce students to the complex phenomenon of human trafficking (also referred to as a form of modern day slavery) as defined in the United Nations Anti-Trafficking Protocol as well as the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and its subsequent reauthorizations. In this class, we will discuss trafficking in human beings in its historical, legal, economic, political and social contexts, identifying the scope of the global problem, different forms of human trafficking, regional trends and practices, including trafficking in the United States, and the different actors involved at all levels.  We will discuss the complexity of human trafficking in order to understand root causes in a globalized world, as well as the relationship between supply and demand in diverse forms of trafficking.  We will examine the roles of government, the international community, civil society and individual actors in addressing the problem and will conclude with strategies that have proven effective in different parts of the world as well as in the United States.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Define human trafficking;
2. Identify the components of a comprehensive anti-trafficking framework; and
3. Assess critical challenges in eradicating human trafficking in a global society.

This course was originally listed as PS123C. PS138M replaces PS123C as of Fall 2024.

This course will be offered as Comparative Politics, not International Relations.

Students who have taken PS123C "Human Trafficking" with Prof. Cecilia Mo in previous semesters cannot take this course as it's the same course renumbered.

The goal of this class is to familiarize students with the various ways in which actors can manage and resolve their conflicts. We will talk about conflict management in both international and civil conflicts. We will examine the various strategies that the belligerents themselves can employ to address their differences and the conflict management techniques of third parties. Students will learn about strategies such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication, sanctions, humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping, nation-building, and the design of peace agreements. We will also talk about the role of the United Nations, regional organizations, and major powers like the U.S. in conflict management. While the main goal of the class is to familiarize students with central concepts and theories of conflict management, we will also take a look at cases that illustrate when and how different strategies work or when and why they might not be successful.

Subfield: International Relations

Note: This description is from Fall 2013

This seminar introduces students to contemporary African politics through artistic work by African authors and filmmakers. We will examine how art represents and interprets the exercise of power in political, social and economic life, looking at how politics enters daily life and how, in turn, daily life shapes politics. The semester begins with the political upheaval of colonialism and independence before addressing themes of autocracy, resistance, corruption and economic precarity as well as the continued pursuit of democratic rights and dignity. We will read and watch material from across the region, putting each piece in dialogue with relevant academic scholarship to think comparatively about political experiences and trajectories.

The course will be run as a seminar, requiring students to have read (or watched) assigned material prior to class so that they are ready to actively participate in class discussion. Students will be assessed through their class participation, short-writing and a final project.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

This course explores questions surrounding war and conflict from two perspectives: contemporary social science research and fictional narratives, including novels, films, and short stories.  Students are expected to read approximately 200 pages per week and to write extensively throughout the course.

Subfield: International Relations

Berkeley Connect is a mentoring program, offered through various academic departments, that helps students build intellectual community. Over the course of a semester, enrolled students participate in regular small-group discussions facilitated by a graduate student mentor (following a faculty-directed curriculum), meet with their graduate student mentor for one-on-one academic advising, attend events and/or panel discussions, and go on field trips to campus resources. Students are not required to be declared majors in order to participate. There is no homework associated with Berkeley Connect: no exams, no papers, no quizzes.

 We encourage students in their first year at Berkeley, as freshman or transfers, to participate.

198BC is an elective course only.  It does NOT count as a requirement for the major.

Homelessness, global warming, corruption, bankrupt pension systems, educational inequality... This course explores what we can learn in general about the way societies try to address and solve difficult and seemingly intractable public problems. Can we attribute success or failure to institutions and their capacity to solve problems? Are problems difficult to solve because they are so complex and we lack know-how or because of a failure of political will? What are the characteristics of organizations or communities able to solve problems proactively or creatively? How do public problems get politically framed and how are they used to mobilize constituencies? The course draws on literature in public administration, public policy studies, and democratic theory to try to better understand some of the major social, political, environmental, and economic problems of our contemporary world.

Note: This description is from Spring 2014

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.

This course provides an overview of California politics, with a focus on contemporary issues and an analysis of who wields power and why. Specifically, the course will focus on: the demographic, social and economic forces that shape the State's politics; direct democracy (the referendum, recall and initiative process); the three branches (legislative, executive and judicial); the state budget; campaigns and campaign finance reform,  local government (with a focus on county government) and California's education system (early learning through higher ed).  

Subfield:   American Politics