Undergraduate

The class exposes students to the multiple forms of lawmaking in the American legal system, ranging from the elaboration of common law and constitutional rules by judges, to the fashioning of statutes by members of Congress, to the dissemination of regulations by executive agencies, to the use ballot initiatives to put legal rules up for direct vote by the people themselves. Together these forms of law constitute the American legal system. The course explores how each of these distinct forms law differs with respect to such criteria as democratic accountability and legitimacy, efficiency, stability, and their capacity to incorporate policy expertise. A primary lens through which the course approaches law is by reading and discussing court opinions."   

Professor Farhang's 150 "American Legal System" is the same as his Public Policy 190 "Special Topics in Public Policy" and Legal Studies 138. This is the exact same course listed under Political Science. 

IMPORTANT! Please note you will NOT be able to take Political Science 150 with Professor Farhang, if you have already completed (or plan to take) Political Science 150 with either Kagan or Farhang, or Public Policy 190 with Farhang or Legal Studies 138.

Note: This description is from Fall 2015

Subfield:  International Relations

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. 

Students who have taken Professor Silverberg's junior seminar "Accountability for International Human Rights Violations" in the past (last offered Fall 2012) cannot take this seminar as it has the same content with just a different title.

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

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- the three official branches of state government (executive, legislative and judicial)- the three unofficial branches (the media, lobbyists and interest groups)- campaigns (candidates, initiatives, consultants, pollsters, political parties and money), local government, the state budget and education policies.

Subfield:   American Politics

Please note this description is from Fall 2013

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.

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.

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

French political life has long gravitated around a " Republican model" marked by an unmediated relationship between the citizen and the state, socialization into French values through secular public education, a special vocation for France on the international stage, and an activist state.   Recent developments have called the Republican model into question.   This course will examine the transformation of France's Republican model-its origins, operations, and responses to contemporary challenges.

Subfield: Comparitive Politics

Please note that the course description is from Fall 2013.