Undergraduate

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 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 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

The United States social fabric is interwoven by more than 60 million Latinos. The term “Latino”, however, is not a monolith. It masks heterogeneous political experiences and views. Latinos have divergent immigration histories and socialization experiences in the US, all of which have differently shaped their political perspectives and engagement patterns. This course examines the past and present of Latino politics in the US. The course reviews the history of conquest, colonization, and immigration that gave rise to the Latino population in the US, the differences and similarities in the contexts of reception of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Central American, the cultural and institutional determinants of Latino identities, and the historical and institutional contexts shaping the contemporary political attitudes, behaviors, and representation of Latino voters.

The course follows and builds on two textbooks: Latino Politics by Lisa García Bedolla and Christian Hosam, and Latino Politics in America by John García and Gabriel Sanchez. Students will attend lectures, engage in reading-based participation and active learning, take one exam, and complete a final research paper. Students will start developing their research paper early in the course. Discussion sections will be designed to introduce students to the writing of a research paper and quantitative data analysis, and to provide a forum for students to present advances on their papers and to receive feedback from their peers and instructors.

Subfield: American Politics

Note that PS166 is the same course as PS109L renumbered. Please do not enroll in PS166 "Latino Politics" if you have already taken PS109L "Selected Topics: Latino Politics" in a previous semester as it will be considered duplicate credit.

This course examines public opinion in American Politics and how to measure it. The course considers the nature of public opinion, survey methods, the role of polling in opinion expression, opinion formation, citizen knowledge, the role of media in shaping opinion, the effect of opinion on policy, and political polarization.

Instructor: Stephanie Nail

This four credit course, not offered here before, will focus on constitutional decision-making and judicial structure and practices in the federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.  The assigned reading will include foundational opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court as well as decisions and issues from its most recent terms, as the Supreme Court’s composition has changed, and the process that has led to that change.  The role of state courts also will be a touchpoint in light of their growing role in addressing issues of individual rights and liberties and election law.  In two words, with respect to both public policy and individual rights, the principal question addressed over the semester is this:    “Who decides?”  Government or the individual, the state system or the federal?  The course anticipates remote appearances from several appellate experts, including journalists and authors writing today who cover the court system.  Successful completion of the course will require a combination of brief papers and at least two examinations, a mid term and final,  with a complementary emphasis on class participation. 

Instructor: Brady Williamson

The overwhelming majority of governments throughout history have been dictatorial. Even the recent spread of democracy has not extirpated authoritarian rule: as of 2012 roughly one quarter of all countries are considered full-blown autocracies. Whatever the benefits of democracy, it seems dictatorship is here to stay. This course explores the characteristics and dynamics of non-democratic regimes: how and why they come about, what sustains them, why some people resist them and others do not, and how and why they decline and fall. We will explore a variety of examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Using films and novels in addition to political science literature, we will investigate how dictators maintain their power, how ordinary people react to repression, and the links between dictatorship and security and economic development.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

Note: Course description is from Summer 2014

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

Subfield: Comparative Politics

This course provides a political economy framework to understand the origins and persistence of global gender inequality. We will look at variation in gender equality indicators to systematically address how women’s socio-economic status and political power have varied across time (in historical perspective) and place (in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas). Each week is based around a set of motivating questions, which generally cover the themes: How does the sex with which you were born matter, and why? How do different forms of economic production affect the distribution of resources between men and women? What generates and sustains patriarchal power structures? We will examine a range of substantive issues that concern gender (in)equality in a wide range of societies to gauge which kinds of explanations are the most persuasive. Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to the way gender intersects with other identities, such as race/ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality, class, and partisanship.

Course was originally listed as PS149 for the Fall 2023 semester.

The welfare state is widely regarded as an endangered species. To some, it has become an unaffordable luxury. Heavy social spending may have been acceptable during boom times, but in today's competitive, globalizing environment, "economic" concerns must take precedence over "social" concerns, the "production" of wealth over its "redistribution." To others, the welfare state is not just expensive, but pernicious. Social spending fuels a "culture of dependency," encouraging idleness and setting "poverty traps" from which recipients cannot (or will not) escape. Thus, it is time to "end welfare as we know it."

This course, operating from a comparative, cross-national perspective, presents a different understanding of the welfare state. First, the welfare state is not an "it," but a "they." Welfare states vary tremendously from one country to the next, whether measured in terms of size, instruments, or objectives. Second, although social and political considerations shape welfare policy, economic considerations are no less critical. In other words, rather than operating on parallel tracks, "social policy" and "economic policy" are tightly coupled. Third, "ending welfare as we know it" is not synonymous with ending the welfare state. Social spending is fueled by powerful forces, including economic, so that contemporary welfare reform is as much
an exercise in reallocation and reorganization as in budget-cutting. 

Please note that this description is from Fall 2012.