Undergraduate

The Middle East seems plagued by endless strife:  wars, civil wars, insurgencies, terrorism.  Is that perception true?  If so, why is this region so conflict-prone?   What factors motivate, constrain, and shape these conflicts?  How can policy makers influence war in the Middle East?  This undergraduate lecture class takes on these and other thorny questions.  It is a sequel to PS124A (“War!”) and builds on insights from that class to explore war in a particular part of the world.

This is not a class on Middle East politics.  It is an IR class focused less on the politics of particular states and more on relations between states, especially violent relations.  This is not a class on the Arab-Israeli conflict or on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Both are important cases of war in the Middle East and will be explored alongside other significant conflicts in the region. 

Most importantly:  This is not a class designed to defend a specific claim or theory about conflict in the Middle East.  On the contrary, this is a social science class:   My goal is to teach the importance of exploring pressing policy questions by testing the strengths and weaknesses of competing and often contradictory theories in an even-handed manner.  At the same time, students will be expected to reach their own conclusions and produce pragmatic recommendations in the form of policy memoranda.

This class begins, like its counterpart, with a historical overview of war in the region.  The second part of the class introduces theories that complement and elaborate on theories from PS124A:  arguments about the relationship between war and resources, religion, authoritarianism, civil-military relations, territorial disputes, sovereignty, and power.  In the third part of the course, we will explore current policy concerns related to conflict in the region:  Nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the civil war in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drone warfare, and the U.S. role in the region.

Are human rights women's rights? Are women's rights human rights? This course examines the international human rights system (treaties, conventions, institutions and case law) through the lens of gender, exploring the ways in which they are organized around gendered assumptions that shape and limit their ability to reach and remedy the reality of women's lives. The course also considers the tension between international human rights law and local gender justice as well as how international human rights have evolved in response to the rise of global feminisms. The course explores these issues through a series of case studies examining such issues as sexual violence, human trafficking, religious freedom and women's access to education, health care and employment.

Subfield: International Relations

Note: This description is from Fall 2013

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 course explores international and sub-national conflict and security issues from the perspective of political psychology.  The first part of the course introduces several frameworks from psychology that can be applied to the study of conflict and security.  The second part of the course uses these frameworks to explore both historical and contemporary topic.

Is there a connection between the unprecedented presidential campaign of 2016, the dysfunctional government in Washington, D.C., and in the so called “culture wars” in America?  The sophisticated social science that has analyzed our election choices and identified our political differences has not been able to explain why the world’s most powerful and wealthy society is so deeply divided on so many issues, and in such personal and polemical ways.  Coupled with random mass killings, police involved shootings and the shooting of police, what is behind the violence in our society so different than in other first world democracies.  It may be that social science cannot answer that question on its own.  It may be that a theoretical analysis of our history and culture can offer insight and context that is beyond mere empirical analysis. 

The history of the American political founding generally follows a routine script.  The story goes that Americans fought for self-government from an overbearing political authority wielded by the British Crown and established individual freedom to pursue private prosperity and social emancipation.  Later, fear of the British Crown morphed into fear of any central political authority in general to the point where today Americans mistrust government.  In that script, African slavery and Native American dispossession are viewed as historical exceptions that still require a coherent explanation, but are unrelated to the issues at the core of contemporary American politics.

In this course, the revolution against traditional political authority embodied in Thomas Jefferson's and Thomas Paine's attacks on the British crown, the rise of slavery, and the conflict with Native America will be viewed as co-extensive and coherent elements of our past and our national cultural and social development.  In short, I will argue that America possesses a distinct cultural identity that has shaped our politics, policies, the shape of our national government, and remains at the core of our popular culture. 

I will place these historical elements in context with the theory of cultural trauma that resulted from the 3^rd Estate European poor displaced to North America between the 16^th and 19^th centuries.  I will connect that trauma to our national fear of political authority in America.  I will also suggest that this fear is what binds both the progressives who attack the National Security Administration to the conservatives who stand by gun rights. This cultural and social trauma becomes the catalyst of America’s cultural identity, and that cultural identity may be the basis of our existing political structure, the character of contemporary politics, and our approach to much of our public policy. 

 I will offer a cultural trope; the American Western, that contains all the aspects of a cultural identity built out of trauma and fear.  We will see its imprint in many cultural social and political artifacts.  I will speak to the significance of the “Western”, its frontier setting and its uber-masculine character.  Through this cultural lens, students will be offered a way of understanding contemporary American politics and public policy that was previously unknown to them. Using original materials from the antebellum, including biographies, history, literature, and commentary, as well as contemporary images from American popular culture [such as film clips, news, and documentaries], a connection between the past and present will be presented.  

The American Cultures requirement seeks comparisons and contrasts of at least three cultural entities in its format.  The requirement will be achieved through contrast and comparison of Native American, European American, and African American cultural identities in the ante and post bellum, and their interplay in the story of American political history.  This is a course in political theory that will give context to both culture and politics in America.  Your work will be presented in three separate papers (a 6-page take-home midterm, 12-page term paper, and a 6-page take-home final exam), and discussions of course materials in sections.  Attendance at both lectures and sections are elements of the course grade.  There will be a focus on writing skills and framing expository arguments, as well as discussion and participation in lecture, section and office hours.

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.

Nomination and election, constituent relations, the formal and informal structures of both houses, relations with the executive branch, policy formation, and lobbying.

Subfield: American Politics

Note: This description is from Spring 2013

Political theory is about ideas, including freedom, equality, and justice.  Political ideas matter because we act on them; they inform our institutions of governance.  They matter too because we debate our future using them; they tell us what is to be done.  By the end of this course, you should have a better grasp of the ideas that inspired the world in which we live and the ideas that might direct our future. To be effective, political theories have to contain ideas that support one another in wider webs.  Ideologies are examples of webs of political ideas, containing ideas about what the world is like, why it is as it is, and what it might become.  After a brief examination of the nature of political theory and ideology, we will study the main ideologies found in contemporary political debate: liberalism, conservatism, socialism, nationalism, feminism and environmentalism.

This course will introduce students to some key concepts used in contemporary comparative political analysis. It will do so through an examination of the reasons for why some modern nation states provide better living conditions for their citizens. Are these differences due to factors such as political institutions, legislative arrangements, parties and party systems, or social forces such as culture and ethnicity? Class lectures will focus on developing an understanding of how political scientists use these terms and whether they provide adequate explanations for why states vary so substantially in their performance. There will be two lectures per week and one required discussion section.

This description is from Fall 2012.