This course is an experiment, as any political science course devoted to the “trivial” and the“nonpolitical” inevitably must be. It will explore the tentative theoretical proposition that, in certain contexts and cultures, political scientists should …
Courses
PS 601 Politics of Global Financial Relations
The purpose of this seminar is to explore the politics of international finance. We will focus, in particular, on the ways in which the globalization of finance over the last four decades has influenced – …
PS 601 Eye to Eye: The Cuban Missile Crisis in Perspective
Who “won” the Cuban Missile Crisis? Did the U.S. provoke it or can this be explained by Soviet or Cuban expansionism? Did President Kennedy truly cause Khrushchev to back down? What impact did it have …
PS 506 Is Inequality Good?
Is economic inequality good? In contemporary America, it seems odd to phrase a question about any kind of inequality this way, as the answer seems obvious: no! How could inequality seem appropriate in a democratic …
PS 505 Challenges of Democratization
Understanding the causes of regime change is a long-‐standing, central concern of comparative political science. But as the above quotation demonstrates, it is also a major concern of policy makers in the US government and …
PS 431 Introduction to Contentious Politics
What explains when, where, and why people come together to engage in acts of political protest? How do we understand the emergence and growth of social movements? Of political upheavals dramatic enough to be understood …
PS 428 Community Power and Grassroots Politics
This course is intended for students who are involved in political or volunteer activity in the community. It is designed to give students an opportunity to become part of scholarly debates over the character and …
PS 427 Legislative Internship
This course brings together academia, your internship, and your professional future. Our goal is to develop your professional skill set, gain expertise in policy analysis, and better understand the political and policy job market. Unlike …
PS 426 The U.S. Congress
This course introduces students to analysis of the United States Congress. The subject matter covers many aspects of Congress – from political parties to redistricting to roll call voting to the committee system. The course …
PS 422 Latino History and Politics
This class will consist primarily of lectures supplemented with videos and student participation. We will examine the historical, social, political, economic, and cultural experiences and conditions of Latinos, the second largest racial/ethnic minority group in …