ENROLL

Richard Keiser

Melanie Freeze

Examination of the American electoral system and its components: parties, interest groups and the media. The impact of parties and interests on national policy making is also explored. The course will devote special attention to the 2016 election.

Barbara Allen

Our analysis of media influences on politics will draw from three fields of study: political psychology, political behavior and participation, and public opinion. Students will conduct a study of the effects of campaign ads and news using our multi-year data set of content analyzed election ads and news. We study a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods to learn how political communication affects U.S. elections. Taking this course in conjunction with Political Science 328 is highly recommended. Political Science 328 will include a component on representations of foreign policy in electoral politics that contributes to our research in Political Science 204.

Richard Keiser

Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing

First Year Students Cannot Register

Bryan R Daves

In politics, competition is common and cooperation is problematic. Elemental to both are the strategies that individuals, movements, parties and countries choose to achieve their goals, given what others are doing. This course introduces the basic concepts and tools of game theory—which is the formal representation of the strategic relationships of actors—to understand whether, how and when political actors get what they want. Examples from different political contexts will be used to illustrate real life examples of theoretical insights.

Laurence Cooper

Cross-listed with POSC 350. In this course we will examine ancient political philosophy through the intensive study of Plato's Republic, perhaps the greatest work of political philosophy ever written. What is morality? Why should a person behave morally? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to be a tyrant? What is the best way of life? What would a perfect society look like? What would be its customs and institutions, and who would rule? What would it demand of us, and would that price be worth paying? These are some of the politically (and personally) vital questions addressed by the book.

Crosslisted with POSC 350

Cross-listed with POSC 350.00

Mihaela Czobor-Lupp

Politics can be defined as struggle for power. However, what power means is neither self-evident nor a non-controversial issue. The course explores different definitions of power, its difference from violence and force, as well as the extent to which criticism, resistance, and freedom are intrinsic components of power. Special attention will be given to the relationship between power and revolution, especially to the difficulty of turning revolutionary violence into political representation. In the attempt to answer these questions we will read texts by Arendt and Foucault and will consider the concrete examples of the French, Soviet, and Iranian Revolutions.

Tun Myint

Kimberly Smith

Hicham N Bou Nassif

Alfred Montero

Greg Marfleet

Laurence Cooper

Cross-listed with POSC 250. In this course we will examine ancient political philosophy through the intensive study of Plato's Republic, perhaps the greatest work of political philosophy ever written. What is morality? Why should a person behave morally? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to be a tyrant? What is the best way of life? What would a perfect society look like? What would be its customs and institutions, and who would rule? What would it demand of us, and would that price be worth paying? These are some of the politically (and personally) vital questions addressed by the book.

Crosslisted with POSC 250

Tun Myint

Extra time (films)