Undergraduate

It is commonly said that justice requires giving people their due, but what are people due and in virtue of what? Is justice about maximizing happiness and minimizing harm? Is it about protecting
individual liberty? What about equality? What kind of equality? How should we conceive of equality across racial and gender lines? Are liberty and equality opposing political values? In a just society, how would basic liberties, educational opportunities, and income and wealth be distributed? We will pursue these questions by examining four leading theories in Western political thought – utilitarianism, libertarianism, egalitarian liberalism, and Marxism. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of these theories, we will discuss their implications for a range of controversial issues, including the regulation of sex, labor market regulations, public funding for education, affirmative action, and immigration.

Note: This course is room shared with Legal Studies 107

Instructor: Professor Christopher Kutz

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.

This course is designed to introduce students to the major theoretical approaches to international politics, to explore important historical and contemporary questions and debates in international affairs, and to teach students to think critically about international relations.

Political Science 5 is a prerequisite for Political Science 124A "War!" and most upper-division Political Science courses within the international relations subfield.

Please note that this course description is from Fall 2013.

Most Americans take for granted their right to vote, whether they choose to exercise it or not. But the history of suffrage in the U.S. reveals the deeply contested nature of the vote in the United States over the last two centuries. Efforts to enlarge the American polity and include previously excluded groups have been countered by doubts about democracy, resistance to suffrage expansion and adoption of measures hindering access to the ballot. This course will consider both the history, the politics and the legal doctrines defining the right to vote in America. 

Subfield:   American Politics

This course examines the interplay among domestic politics, international relations and international law in the creation, diffusion and enforcement of human rights norms. It considers the theories, principles and concepts related to human rights and their role in global politics and international law, the role of national and international institutions and actors in the current international human rights regime, recent developments in human rights law and their impact on the relations among states.  We will also discuss current debates about how to enforce human rights norms, including whether military intervention is justified.

Subfield:  International Relations

The methods used to manage the power of the bureaucracy in the American political system. An introduction to theories of organizational behavior. The effects of administration structure upon the creation and distribution of public benefits.

Subfield:   American Politics

Please note that this description is from Fall 2013.

Instructor: TBA

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 will focus on the transformative process through which the nations of contemporary Southeast Asia have confronted political crises and instability and the various levels of success with which they have attempted to implement comprehensive programs of reform.  This course will analyze several different areas of political activity, such as:  state-led initiatives (political economy) regarding development and resource distribution; citizen and opposition movements both within and outside formal state institutions which seek to influence, alter, or overturn state action and policy; institution-building and the cultivation of social capital; and regional and transnational flows of capital and labor which act in alliance with or in opposition to national economic institutions.  Specific topics will include a comparative analysis of state policy; the relationship between illicit economies (such as narcotics) and ethnic insurgency; the nascent political voice of religion and ethnicity as nationalist or opposition ideologies; the expansion and influence of local NGOs (legal aid, human rights, women’s rights, etc.); political violence and alternative paths to the expression of discontent; and corruption.  After a general overview of Southeast Asia as a regional political theater, we will turn our attention to a series of in-depth case studies.  

Please note that this course description is from Spring 2015

This course presents a broad introduction to contemporary politics and society in Russia. What was the Soviet Union, and why did democracy fail in Russia after the USSR fell apart? What kind of regime has Vladimir Putin constructed, and how did he and his team do it? How can we understand Putin’s command and popularity at home? What are the regime’s goals at home and in the broader world, and what kind of challenges do Russia pose to the West? How can we understand the nature of the new Russian capitalism? How is society changing? What comes after Putin? The course is recommended for juniors and seniors but is open to all students.

Please note, the course's previous ID was POL SCI 129B. POL SCI 141A and POL SCI 129B are the same course.