Undergraduate

The course will explore some of the many intersections of the public and private sectors in "public-private partnerships."  These partnerships between government and business have become a common device of American urban politics; one that bears little relationship to traditional government contracts.  Through case studies—some successful, some not, and some for which the outcome is uncertain—the class will look at competing public policy, legal, political and financial challenges in these transactions.  The cases will focus on sports stadiums/arenas, frequent occupants of this space (including the SF Giants, Oakland A's and Warriors searches), and the 49ers' new stadium.  It will also consider other uses on public land such as the Exploratorium Museum, housing and perhaps even an oyster farm.

Instructor Name:  Pamela Duffy

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP , Partner

Email: pduffy@coblentzlaw.com

NOTE: Please CC Ali Bond (alibee@berkeley.edu) when emailing the instructor.

This course provides an introduction to the study of American public policy.  In contrast to the approach that might be taken at a Public Policy school, for example, the emphasis is on why government responds to particular problems in particular ways.  The course focuses on the political processes through which the federal government has developed an extensive range of domestic policies in areas such as health care, minority rights, and the environment. 

TBA

Subfield: American Politics

Instructor: Ms. Katie Merrill

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 course can satisfy either the Social & Behavioral Sciences or International Studies breadth requirement.

Please note the description is from Summer 2013

Although Asia has clearly been the world’s outstanding developmental success story since World War II, as reflected for example in the steady increase of emerging Asian in world trade (increasing from 21% in 1990 to 34% by 2006),  the study of Asian politics has been hitherto dominated by area studies and to a lesser extent international relations; the comparative analysis of Asian polities has been rare and relatively unsystematic.  There are good reasons for this, including the bewildering diversity and exoticism of this vast continent, but as Asia rises economically it also becomes more economically and politically integrated, creating a basis to understand its patterned similarities and differences.  Still, this is an introductory course in a field that is only emerging.  The purpose of the course is to immerse advanced undergraduate students in the available analytical literature on contemporary Asia for the purpose of encouraging further comparative teaching and research.  

Subfield:  Comparative Politics

Note: This description is from Fall 2014.

Political Science 143A, the first of a two-semester upper division sequence on modern Northeast Asia, is primarily concerned with the People's Republic of China but also includes segments on China's relations with its immediate neighbors, as well as a look at the components of "Greater China," Hong Kong and Taiwan. Lecture topics will include the Chinese revolution and the old regime, Chinese political culture and the attempt at "cultural revolution," the political and economic dynamics of reform and opening to the outside world, Chinese foreign policy, the Tiananmen incident, and other such topics.

Subfield: Comparitive Politics

Please note that this course description is from Fall 2013

IMPORTANT! Due to the content overlap, if you have taken PS 143C with Professor Lorentzen, or are enrolled in it for the fall, you will not be able to take this course for the Poli Sci major. Also, if you take this course for the major in the fall, you will not be able to take PS 143C in the future.

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.