Undergraduate

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Is this necessarily true? Wars are brutal and horrific events, but are they all necessarily the result of miscalculation, accident or fanaticism? Can war serve a rational purpose? Are wars governed by rules and do states care about these rules? Are some periods in history, particular parts of the world or certain types of states, more war prone than others? What are tribal, ethnic, religious or national groups actually fighting over? Can their conflicts be prevented, moderated or halted? Are democracies more peaceful than dictatorships? Are Protestants more peaceful than Catholics? Are women more peaceful than men? Is terrorism on the rise and why has it developed a unique relationship with religious fundamentalism? Have nuclear weapons changed the face of modern war? How do nuclear weapons work anyway?

This course seeks to answer these and other questions surrounding the phenomenon of war. We begin with a four-week survey of the history of war in the Western Hemisphere to examine the relationship between societies, the manner in which they fought and the weapons they used. We will then seek answers to riddle of war from a variety of disciplines: What can soldiers, philosophers, economists, psychologists and sociologists teach us about war?

The core of the course seeks to introduce students to theories of war from within International Relations theory. We will utilize in-class exercises, movies and discussion sections to get at some of the most challenging questions surrounding war. Finally, we will examine several pressing issues relating to modern warfare: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, civil wars, genocide, religiously motivated violence, nonviolence, terrorism, and the future of war.

Subfield: International Relations

Please note the description is from Spring 2012

For more than sixty years, the European Union has represented the world’s most advanced experiment in governance beyond the nation-state. More recently, however, this experiment has become mired in financial turbulence and growing social protest, and for the first time faces the withdrawal of a member. This course takes a broad view of the promise as well as the challenges of European integration. It looks at the EU’s institutional components, the events leading to the single currency in the 1990s, enlargement eastward into the post-socialist world, and the major crises that have been challenging Europe since 2008: the financial crisis, the rise of populism, and Brexit. These topics allow us to assess Europe’s ability to craft adequate responses to the challenges posed by economic transformation, terrorism, multiculturalism, and worldwide financial interdependence, and to come to a better understanding of the EU’s current and future role on the world stage.

Instructor: Matthew Stenberg

The remaking of the world since 1945 has led to increased demographic
diversity within many countries, and greater acknowledgment of
diversity’s worth. “Multiculturalism” refers to the political, legal
and philosophical debates and strategies which emerged in response to
this newfound social diversity. In this class we will survey the main
questions surrounding multiculturalism in contemporary Anglophone
political theory: What is multiculturalism? Why did it come about? How
should liberal democracies respond to it? The central debate in
political theory is whether there should be group-specific rights for
cultural minorities, and how these relate to key democratic values
such as freedom and equality. We will examine those who advocate for
special rights based on the importance of culture for autonomous
choice, social equality, and self-respect. We also consider various
challenges to such rights: for example, that they rest on the mistaken
accounts of culture and identity; or that some cultural rights are
incompatible with equality or freedom, particularly that of women and
children within minority cultures. We will also examine recent
real-world political and legal responses to multiculturalism in the
USA and across the world. Issues covered include immigration, national
minorities, indigenous peoples, identity politics, nation-state
building, liberal-democratic citizenship, constitutionalism,
nationalism, globalization, decolonization, the role of the state, the
limits of toleration, and the relationship between social theory and
practice.

Instructor: Richard Ashcroft

This course will study the foundational texts of modern political thought, including Machiavelli’s Prince, Bodin’s On the State, Grotius’ War and Peace, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, and Rousseau’s Social Contract.  Topics for study and examination will include the theory of the modern sovereign state; the origin of the state (especially the theory of the social contract); the concept of natural rights; theories of political liberty and equality; the permissibility of political resistance and revolution; early modern ideas of democratic and non-democratic forms of rule; religion and politics. 

Please note that this course description is from 2018.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a better understanding of how political parties operate within the American political system, with a particular eye to ongoing contemporary problems of polarization between the major parties. In the first unit, we will examine the dynamic of partisan conflict throughout the history of the United States, the functions served by these parties for both citizens and elites, and why the American system favors a two-party dynamic. In Unit 2, we will then consider a variety of perspectives on the widening ideological, emotional, and demographic divides between Democrats and Republicans, both in terms of what explains this polarization, and what consequences for democratic governance we can expect it to have in the present and future. Students will attend lectures and discussion sections, read a variety of both academic and journalistic texts, take two exams, and complete a written project drawing from one of several offered argumentative or research assignments. Students will also be expected to keep up with both current events and ongoing conversations in political media.

Instructor: Thomas Kent

Fall 2021 REMOTE course.

An inside look at how political campaigns operate from the people who run them. Class material will be directed toward students who are interested in direct involvement in campaign politics or who are looking for a greater understanding of the political process. Students will be required to develop a complete written campaign strategy document in order to fulfill class requirements. Students will be expected to follow political and campaign news through the news media and be prepared to discuss those developments in class. Serious lectures, discussion and classroom exercises on campaign strategy and message development and delivery, with a special focus the role of political media. This section will focus predominantly on campaign advertising, news media coverage, the emerging role of the Internet, and other means by which candidates communicate their message to the voters.

Subfield: American Politics

Please note that the description is from Fall 2013.

Analysis of principal institutions, function, and problems of the Presidency and the federal executive branch. Special attention will be given to topics of presidential leadership, staffing, executive-legislative relations, and policy formation. Comparative reference to executive processes in other political systems.

Please note that the description is from Fall 2012.

Subfield: American Politics