DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Courses
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 INTRODUCTION TO 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, such topics as welfare, political morality, political campaigns, institutional reform, and political economy.
POL 300 UNITED NATIONS
This special topics course focuses on the evolution of the United Nations from its founding in 1945 to the present as well as on prospects for reform in the future.
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, 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 308 MORALITY POLICY
Introduction to the morality-based public policy debate with comparison of morality policy (e.g. abortion, drugs, gay rights, pornography) and traditional forms of public policy; study of the moral basis underlying current political topics and debate.
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 making 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, and 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 nineteenth century to the present. Thinkers and concepts may include Marx, Nietzsche, Sarte, 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 AMERICAN
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 U.S. national security.
POL 350 LEGISLATIVE POLITICS
Study of the U.S. 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 U.S. with emphasis on explanation of differences in their policy responses.
POL 371 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Examination of environmental public policymaking and implementation in the U.S. and in 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, 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 U.S. 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 412 COMPARATIVE LAW
Explores how foreign judicial systems protect and promote civil and political rights through different constitutional designs.
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.
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 U.S. with emphasis on the Supreme Court as arbiter in the endless conflict between the demand for individual liberty and the needs of 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 three semester hours each in two separate disciplines in consultation with the department chairpersons.
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 three semester hours each in two separate disciplines in consultation with the department chairpersons.
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. Pre-law students are assigned to law firms and judicial chambers.
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 credits can count toward graduation.