DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

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POL 101 GLOBAL POLITICS
  Examination of major problems and trends in world politics such as ethnic and religious conflict, economic integration and inequality, democratization and security issues, as well as the role of regional and international organizations.
POL 201 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
  Study of the American political system, its attitudinal and constitutional base, its structure and processes.
POL 202 COMPARATIVE POLITICS
  Analysis of major concepts and approaches in the study of comparative government and politics.
POL 207 POLITICAL ANALYSIS
  Introduction to the basic concepts and processes of research in political science.
POL 214 INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
  Analysis of the dynamic forces of conflict and cooperation in world politics.
POL 300 POLITICAL ISSUES
  Introductory examination of contemporary political issues selected by the instructor, topics such as welfare, political morality, political campaigns, institutional reform, and political economy.
POL 301 THE AMERICAN JUDICIAL PROCESS
  Study of the judicial process as part of the political system.  Focus on the participants (police, lawyers, judges, interest groups, litigants, jurors) and the process (criminal, civil, and appellate proceedings).
POL 303 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
  Comparative study of the political institutions, processes, and systems of the fifty states and their effect on the content and administration of selected public policies, programs, and services.
POL 305 INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
  Basic principles of organization and management in executive departments of government at all levels; questions of planning, leadership, and control.
POL 306 PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS
  Introduction to public policy-making systems and the methodology of policy analysis; theories of policy formulation, theories of policy formulation, the policy-making process, means for measuring policy effectiveness, analysis of proposals for policy change.
POL 307 THE POLITICS OF BUREAUCRACY AND REGULATION
  Examination of the nature and meaning of bureaucracy in contemporary American society, its relationship to the private sector, and the devices for its evaluation and control.
POL 310 POLITICAL PARTIES, CAMPAIGNS, AND ELECTIONS
  Analysis of the history, nature, and function of political parties and their role in the political system in both a domestic and comparative context.
POL 311 PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
  The formation, maintenance, change, and impact of public opinion on the American political system; the role of theory and analysis of data in understanding public and political behavior.
POL 313 THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
  Study of the American presidency, the development of presidential powers, and its leadership role in the political system.
POL 314 INTEREST GROUP POLITICS
  Exploration of the role of interest groups in the American political system through an examination of their internal organization and their roles in the electoral and policy processes at the national, state, and local levels.
POL 316 AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
  An exploration and critical investigation of selected actors, thinkers, texts, ideas and movements in American political thought and theory from the colonial period to the present.  Topics may include the founding, the age of Jackson, the Civil War, Progressivism, Women's suffrage, the New Deal, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the 1960s, among others.
POL 317 DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY
  Analysis of selected theorists and political doctrines forming the tradition of Western thought on politics.  Theorists including Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, Spencer, Lenin, Gasset, and Camus presented in their historical and socio-political contexts.
POL 318 PUBLIC INTEGRITY AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
  Analysis of contemporary leadership issues related to integrity and values in political office-holding, public service, and global governance contexts.
POL 319 TWENTIETH CENTURY POLITICAL THOUGHT
  Analysis of selected political theorists, concepts and movements from the late 19th Century to the present.  Thinkers and concepts may include Marx, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Freud, Arendt, Strauss, the Frankfurt School, Fanon, Foucault, Rawls, Rorty, existentialism, feminism, colonialism, post-modernity, liberalism, neo-conservatism, among others.
POL 320 COMPARATIVE POLITICS:  WESTERN EUROPE
  Analysis of governmental institutions and political processes of Western Europe.
POL 321 COMPARATIVE POLITICS:  RUSSIA AND THE NEW STATES
  Analysis of governmental institutions and political processes of Russia and the New States.
POL 323 COMPARATIVE POLITICS:  LATIN AMERICA
  Analysis of governmental institutions and political processes of Latin America.
POL 331 NATIONALISM AND ETHNOPOLITICS
  .An analysis of the politics of nationalism and ethnicity and their impact on social justice.  Diverse case studies (US, Russia, Northern Ireland, Israeli-Palestinian) and institutions (European Community, United Nations) will be explored.
POL 333 POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
  Examines the evolution of international human rights norms and the creation of the institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights, and case material relating to each category of internationally recognized human rights.
POL 335 UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY
  Analysis of various political, economic, and military issues and problems relating to US national security.
POL 350 LEGISLATIVE POLITICS
  Study of the US Congress, its organization and procedures, and its powers and influence in the political system.
POL 360 URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY
  Study of the nature of urban political systems in the US with emphasis on explanation of differences in their policy responses.
POL 371 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
  Examination of environmental public policymaking and implementation in the US and the international arena.  Analysis of domestic and international government responses to specific environmental issues.
POL 404 UNITED STATES - LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS
  This course examines the foreign relations of the United States with other countries of the Western hemisphere.  Political, economic and security issues are examined from both theoretical and historical perspectives.
POL 406 INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ORGANIZATION
  Study of rules governing the community of nations; their nature, sources, and development; the international agencies responsible for their development; the international agencies responsible for their development, interpretation and administration.
POL 408 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
  Critical study of the American foreign policy process and evaluation of the sources of American foreign policy.
POL 409 RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY
  Analysis of the internal and external factors shaping the foreign policies of Russia and the independent republics.
POL 410 COMPARATIVE FOREIGN POLICY
  Comparative analysis of the foreign policies of major states with emphasis on the process of policy development and on the national and international determinants of policy behaviors.
POL 411 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
  Analysis of the role of the US Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Constitution.  Emphasis on the various methods of judicial interpretation as they affect such provisions as the commerce clause, the taxing and spending powers, due process, the dimensions of presidential and congressional authority, and the doctrine of judicial review.
POL 413 THE POLITICS OF BUREAUCRACY AND REGULATION
  Examination of the nature and meaning of bureaucracy in contemporary American society and the devices for its evaluation and control.
POL 421 SEMINAR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE
  Seminar on current problems and issues in Political Science.  May be taken more than once when content changes.  Prerequisite:  Must be Political Science major and have completed core courses.
POL 426 LEADERSHIP IN BUILDING COMMUNITIES
  Investigation of the processes by which urban neighborhoods develop themselves from the inside out.  Students cultivate their own interdisciplinary appreciation of urban communities through extensive interaction with one neighborhood's visioning process.  Topics include asset-based community development, social capital, citizenship, adaptive leadership, and community building strategies and tools.
POL 431 INDEPENDENT STUDY AND RESEARCH
  Individual reading and research on selected topics under faculty direction.  Recommended for seniors only.
POL 450 CIVIL LIBERTIES
  Analytical examination of civil liberties in the US with emphasis on the Supreme Court as arbiter in the endless conflict between the demand for individual liberty and the need for constitutional authority.
POL 452 POLITICAL VIOLENCE
  Consideration of theoretical approaches to understanding violent change in political institutions; the continuum between violence and nonviolence; revolution, revolt, campus dissent, and political assassination.
POL 475 AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
  Ideas that have shaped the American political system:  Puritanism, the American Revolution, Hamiltonianism, Jeffersonianism, racism, nativism, social Darwinism, the New Deal, and contemporary liberalism and conservatism.
POL 477 HONORS THESIS PROJECT
  First of two courses leading to the selection, design, investigation, and completion of an independent, original Honors Thesis project under the guidance of a faculty research advisor. Restricted to students in the University Honors Program with permission of the program director and departmental chairperson. Students pursuing an interdisciplinary thesis topic may register for 3 semester hours each in two separate disciplines in consultation with the department chairpersons.
Prerequisite: Approval of the University Honors Program.
POL 478 HONORS THESIS PROJECT
  Second of two courses leading to the selection, design, investigation, and completion of an independent, original Honors Thesis project under the guidance of a faculty research advisor. Restricted to students in the University Honors Program with permission of the program director and departmental chairperson. Students pursuing an interdisciplinary thesis topic may register for 3 semester hours each in two separate disciplines in consultation with the department chairpersons.
Prerequisite: Approved 477 and approval of University Honors Program.
POL 479 SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
  Intensive examination of policy process, outcomes, and impact in an area or areas of American public policy selected by the instructor; such topics as transportation, education, welfare, national defense, urban and community development, civil rights, and science and technology.  May be repeated once when topic changes.
POL 495 INTERNSHIP
  Supervised experience in government agencies and programs.  Prelaw students are assigned to law firms and judicial chambers.   Prerequisite:  Permission of supervising professor.
POL 497 SERVICE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
  Supervised community research or service experience that complements a specific upper division course in Political Science.  Repeatable up to three semester hours.  No more than three semester hours of Social Science 497 can count toward graduation.