Undergraduate Seminars
Students majoring in political science must take two 4-point 3000-level seminars. At least one of the seminars taken must be in the student’s primary subfield.
Registration
Students may not pre-register for political science seminars. To register, students must join the seminar's wait list in SSOL. Students on the wait list will receive further instructions from the instructor or the department.
Instructors' preferred methods for admitting students to seminars vary. Some will correspond with students via the wait list function in SSOL. Some will give instructions in the course notes section of the Directory of Classes. Others may communicate with students individually. Still others may ask all interested students to come to the first class meeting for instructions.
The Academic Affairs Coordinator can answer questions about seminar registration.
Seminars must be taken for a letter grade.
Fulfilling the seminar requirement
The following courses fulfill the seminar requirement. All seminars are offered for 4 points of credit.
- POLS UN3911 — Seminar in Political Theory
- POLS UN3921 — Seminar in American Politics
- POLS UN3951 — Seminar in Comparative Politics
- POLS UN3961 — Seminar in International Relations
Barnard colloquia may not be used to fulfill the seminar requirement, though they may be used to fulfill subfield or elective requirements.
Spring 2023 Seminars
Section
Section 001
Individual Autonomy in the 21st Century
The idea that individual human beings should be enabled to choose their own lives by making decisions about all the major things that affect their lives--their jobs, whether and whom to marry, where to live, what religion to practice, if any, and the like--is foundational to nearly all modern political theory. It is also foundational to a great deal of modern political practice and to many political and social movements. In this course, we will examine the intellectual foundations and the practical implications of this idea. What intellectual justifications underpin the idea of individual autonomy? To what consequences does this idea lead when it is embodied in practice? This course will address these questions with historical, philosophical, and theoretical tools.Instructor
- Johnston
Section
Section 002
Theories of Political Action
Political action was a major topic of political debate throughout the twentieth century. A whole range of Marxist, existentialist, progressive, anarchist, and anticolonial thinkers wrestled with the legitimacy and efficacy of new forms of mass political action – such as the boycott, civil disobedience, and the general strike – as well as the possibility of armed revolution. These were all techniques of protest and mobilization that were extra-institutional and often extra-legal. But their advocates put forward a range of arguments to show why these forms of mass action were necessary, legitimate, and democratic in form and purpose. This course returns to these debates to consider the distinctive moral and political dilemmas that arise from insurgent forms of mass political action.Instructor
- Mantena
Section
Section 003
Theorizing the Crisis of Weimar Democracy
The course introduces students to key debates in political and constitutional theory of the Weimar period. It contextualizes them in the social and political world of Germany's first, failed, democratic state by looking at cultural and economic theory as well as political thought. Many of the texts discussed in this class have only recently become available in the English language. As such, they offer fresh perspectives on concrete political theoretical problems such as the function and legitimation of modern constitutional courts, of basic rights and the role of the party. At the same time, this course offers a deep insight into the vagaries and complexities of European constitutionalism in the first half of the twentieth century, and the consequences of its failure for the political world that came after it.Instructor
- Maier
Section
Section 004
Parties, Elites, and Democracy:
Transnational Debates in Political Theory (late 19th-early 21st century)
The goal of this seminar is to examine constitutive debates in political theory and historical social science on the relationship between parties, elites, and the practice of representative democracy. It embraces a trans-Atlantic and historical perspective to contextualize, dissect, and compare rival visions of this relationship from the early 20th to the early 21st century. We will focus on European and American authors who forged new concepts and terminologies to theorize unprecedented challenges amidst the advent of mass politics, the rise of party machinery, the fascination with plebiscitary leadership, the ambivalence of elites, and the implications of all the above for the foundational promise of modern democracy - namely, popular sovereignty. By doing so, the course offers a succinct history of the transformations of representative government (from the dawn of party democracy to its apogee and beyond) and unearths its resources for studying the critique of parties in our populist present.Instructor
- Ragazzoni
Section
Section 001
Bureaucratic Politics
This course is a comprehensive, high-level introduction to American bureaucracies and their study. It is appropriate for any student with an interest in American political institutions and a background in political science or economics. The course is organized along two themes. First, it emphasizes tools that will be helpful for thinking about institutions in general, and bureaucracies in particular. Second, it proceeds from the “inside out,” beginning with personnel and ending with the bureaucracy’s external environment. Needless to say, along the way you will be exposed to a wide range of American political agencies and their activities. By the end, you will be able to develop some sophisticated thoughts about problems with the bureaucracy, and how they might be addressed.Instruction
- Ting
Section
Section 002
Contemporary Electoral Politics
This research seminar focuses on US electoral politics. Our spotlight will shine on both the recent past, the 2022 midterms, and the looming 2024 election.Instruction
- Erikson
Section
Section 003
Politics of Policymaking
This seminar directs readings and research on public policymaking in the American federal government. It is designed to help students think analytically about the intersection of the politics, structures, processes, and actors at the heart of public policymaking. It examines how political institutions--the executive and legislative branches (federal, state and local)--are organized and motivated to produce public policy, the politics of government organization, bureaucratic operation and survival, how the budget process drives policymaking processes, policy structures and relationships that have emerged out of custom and practice, theories and models of decision-making, concepts of rationality and choice, agenda-setting, political innovation, and judicial and interest group roles in policy formation. Contemporary pressures on the U.S. policy system will also be examined. Specific policy areas and influences we may engage as case studies are: economic policy, climate and environmental policy, financial reform, the budget process, the Pandemic and disease control, voting laws and access (state policies), immigration policy, policy responses to terrorism, war, and disaster and TBD on the basis of class interests.Instruction
- Russell
Section
Section 004
Topics in American Democracy
As the United States continues to experience democratic rollback, understanding the history and concepts central to debates about American democracy is increasingly important. This seminar will explore questions of the evolution of and challenges to American democracy. Topics will include historical events such as the founding and crafting of the Constitution and the Civil War, institutional issues like elections, legislatures and federalism, as well as thematic questions such as the interaction of democracy with race and identity or other divisions within the polity. Because this is an advanced seminar, many of these topics will be familiar to students, but we will be discussing them in greater depth through the specific lens of American democratic development and democracy.Instruction
- Mitchell
Section
Section 005
Politics and Policy: States, Local Governments, and Finance
State and local governments across the United States intersect with markets in a myriad of ways. The power to govern is the ability to mobilize resources and organize public and private interests in local governing arrangements. State and city governments are both borrowers and investors promoting fiscal, human capital, and economic development policies. The municipal debt market is over $4 trillion in bonds outstanding. The scale of this market is supported through an assemblage of intergovernmental actors, private interests, issuers, and investors operating at both a local and global scale. This course examines the role of state and local governments and the ways they access capital markets to promote a range of policy objectives. Considerable attention is given to fiscal crisis and intervention strategies state policymakers impose on cities as well as the turnaround strategies executed by states and cities to promote economic development and human capital policies. We will address a series of key questions: How do state and local governments mobilize private markets for their policy purposes? How do state politics and market forces shape the choices of local decision-makers? Who benefits and who loses in each of these scenarios? What politics supports growth, and how does it play out in different localities? Who are the major interests in the debt issuance process, and how do these interests play out at distinct spatial scales (Federal,
State, Local) in both stable and crisis markets? How are state/local politics and policies articulated through capital market actions? When is debt a solution, and when is it a problem, and how does that determination occur?Instruction
- Bushell
Section
Section 006
The First Amendment
Instruction
- Amdur
Section
Section 008
Public Opinion Research
Politicians, the media, non-profit causes, and for-profit corporations all rely substantially on having deep insights into American public opinion. These insights come from a broad and growing array of research sources, each with its own methodological intricacies. Given the importance of such insights for so many stakeholders, the quality of the underlying research is vital to how America operates. For a variety of careers, whether in government, media, non-profits, or the corporate world, being sophisticated about how public opinion research works—and how to interpret and utilize it—is an invaluable skill.
In this course, students will learn about public opinion research in terms of methodologies, challenges,
pitfalls, implementation, and usage. The goals of the class include:- Being knowledgeable about the most common ways that insights about American public opinion are generated
- Developing a critical eye for potential flaws, issues, and considerations when encountering (or, generating) public opinion data and insights
- Gaining experience in designing and implementing your own research about an aspect of American public opinion that intrigues you
Instruction
- Bovitz
Section
Section 001
Power, Organizations, and Institutions
Power is a crucial yet highly elusive element in social relations. The accumulation, application, and transference of power are associated with numerous dilemmas and challenges that affect decision-making in political, business, and social organizations. Institutions often arise as instruments to channel and regularize the use of power but their own operation is also profoundly influenced by power struggles. This course presents a systematic introduction to social science research on key aspects of power politics. We will examine how power struggles are manifested and resolved in various kinds of political processes and how power dynamics both shape and are shaped by the organizational and institutional characteristics of the larger polity. Specific topics that will be discussed include political leadership, succession, civil–military relations, bureaucratic control, and democratization. The readings will consist of a range of theoretical and empirical works from multiple social science disciplines. We will pay special attention to comparing how power politics play out across distinct geographic regions, political contexts, and historical epochs.Instructor
- Jiang
Section
Section 002
Voters without Borders: Diasporas and Emigrants Electoral Participation in Comparative Perspective
In the last ten years, a new mass of voters without borders was born. Hundreds of millions of individuals live outside their country of origin (or home country), in a host country where they work, pay taxes, build families, and socialize. At the same time, institutional changes in the home country, like the enfranchisement of emigrants, have turned these same individuals into active political participants back home. Moreover, recent technological advancements in travel and communication (e.g., the use of the internet and social media) have changed the pace of and accessibility to transnational politics: more emigrants can be in touch with peers in their home countries, follow the news of their country in real-time, and get involved directly in political campaigns on social media. The amount of information flowing from the home country to its diaspora and then back has increased exponentially, as well as the economic and political influence of diasporas on the internal politics of the home and host country. This new reality has produced multiple complex political connections across the world both at the individual and institutional levels. It has also spurred a new way of thinking about global politics and political intersections between countries and the need to study complex political identities, the concept of citizenship from abroad, and new kinds of voter and voting behavior. This course shows how the literature in political science has tried to address some of the most important questions arising from this phenomenon: why do countries allow their emigrants to vote? Who turns out to vote? What is the impact of this on the host and home country politics? And so on. The course starts by introducing many of the important debates about voting in general and then, it focuses on a specific kind of voting and political participation: voting across and beyond borders.Instructor
- Superti
Section
Section 003
Electoral Rules and Consequences
For representative democracy to work, it requires a set of rules to determine who wins elections and gets to govern. However, these rules can vary greatly in terms of how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats, and differences in the rules can produce significantly different political outcomes, both directly (due to the way in which votes are counted) and indirectly (due to incentives that affect the behavior of political actors, such as voters and candidates). The set of rules that structure the process of voting and election is what we call the electoral system. This seminar will survey and analyze electoral systems from around the world to explore how electoral rules can affect voters, politicians, parties, policymaking, and representation. By the end of the course, students should be able to: •Know and understand the basic mechanical differences between electoral systems. •Use electoral results (vote shares and seat shares) to obtain key measures of analysis, such as the effective number of parties and level of (dis)proportionality. •Compare and contrast the electoral systems used by different countries and local jurisdictions in the United States, and evaluate how observed differences in the politics of those countries may be related to the electoral systems. •Recognize the possibilities and limitations of electoral system design and reform.Instructor
- Smith
Section
Section 004
European Union Politics
Since WWII, in a stunning historical turnaround, Western Europe has gone from centuries of war to 70 years of peaceful and innovative regional cooperation. Yet, despite such apparent long-run success, the EU has recently come to face countless challenges and types of criticism: the European democratic deficit, the Eurozone crisis, Brexit, Euro-skepticism, illiberalism. In fact, observers have come to even question the viability of the integration project. In this course, we will focus on the contemporary chapter of European politics, asking crucial questions of the integration process. How has the EU affected politics in the region? How do national, international, and supranational political dynamics interplay across policy areas? Has the EU evolved in response to its many recent crises? What further developments should we expect? Will member states follow the path of ever-greater integration and eventually form a federation? Will the European Union fall apart? Will the integration project develop into a multi-speed, modular governance system? With these questions in mind, this course will explore European Union politics across a diverse array of policy domains. Building on a foundational two weeks on the history and structure of the EU, each week will tackle a core policy realm. In doing so, the class reviews state-of-the-art political science research on different topics with the double objective of understanding the theoretical and empirical substance of academic studies and applying their insights to real-world political issues.Instructor
- Paci
Section
Section 001
Politics of Trade, Aid, and Investment
This course examines questions in international political economy, asking what we know and how we know it. It addresses questions such as: Why do some countries promote globalization while others resist it? What do IOs do in international politics? Who runs our system of global governance? We will explore these questions and others by focusing on topics such as international trade, foreign aid, investment, and the environment. For each topic, we will use a variety of theoretical lenses and then investigate the evidence in favor of each. More generally, the course will consider the challenges of drawing causal inferences in the field of international political economy. There are no prerequisites for this course but an introductory economics course would be helpful. Students will write a short reading response each week and produce a research proposal for studying a topic related to international political economy, though they do not need to actually conduct this research.Instructor
- Carnegie
Section
Section 002
International Law
Since the end of the Cold War, international law has played a greater and greater role in how we think about international relations and the “rule of law” in global affairs. Yet, expectations for a new international order have not always been met by real behavior on behalf of states and non-state actors. Nevertheless, international legal agreements have proliferated even though norms and rules are not always observed or clearly understood. This course will examine the interaction of law and politics at the international level and how each influences the other. We will cover the sources of international law, participants, courts, dispute settlement, jurisdiction, and customary law.
We expect law to provide predictability and structure for daily international activities so the international system, however complex, can operate effectively. International organizations like the United Nation are central to the creation of international law and form the nexus where new international organizations like the World Trade Organization and the International Criminal Court are allowed to take shape. These new organizations in turn establish norms, policies, and rules which become part of the international legal world. Enforcement, however, at the international level is significantly different than that which is available to states through police, courts, and penal systems, all lacking in the global environment. International law depends on consent and horizontal pressure applied by other parties to an agreement to extract compliance by violators. Today it is impossible to completely grasp international politics without an understanding of international law. This course is offered in order to bridge that gap.Instructor
- Krasno
Section
Section 003
Advances in International Political Economy
This course examines questions in international political economy, asking what we know and how we know it. It addresses questions such as: Why do some countries promote globalization while others resist it? What do international organizations s do in international politics? Who runs our system of global governance? We will explore these questions and others by focusing on topics such as international trade, foreign aid, investment, and the environment. For each topic, we will use a variety of theoretical lenses and then investigate the evidence in favor of each. More generally, the course will consider the challenges of drawing casual inferences in the field of international political economy. There are no prerequisites for this course but an introductory
economy course would be helpful. Students will write a short reading response each week and produce a research proposal for studying a topic related to international political economy, though they do not need to actually conduct this research.Instructor
- Sahakyan
Section
Section 004
Inequality within and between Nations
This is a senior seminar in international relations on domestic and international inequality. Inequality within developed nations is at historic highs, while the income disparity between nations has diminished. We will explore the reasons for these two trends, the linkages between them, and possible consequences. Will anti-globalization and populist movements, a result of domestic inequality, spell the end of globalizing equality?Instructor
- Spiro
Section
Section 005
International Crises since the Cold War
This seminar takes a multidisciplinary approach to studying the international relations of the last thirty years, with a particular focus on the successive, often overlapping, and frequently mutually-influencing, crises in international security, economics, business, and law during the period. During the first two-thirds of the course we alternate between the successive, often overlapping, and frequently mutually-influencing, crises in international security, economics, business, and law during the period. The final section concludes with an exploration of emergent features of what could be a new era in international relations distinct from the 'post-Cold War era' of the period since the early 1990s. This approach to the seminar in international relations is motivated by three objectives: first, to emphasize the contemporaneous interrelationships between some of the most important disciplinary and professional perspectives on international affairs; second, to explore the ways in which decisions and developments that occur in one domain and during one period have difficult or impossible to predict repercussions in other domains and periods; and third, to underscore the many different disciplinary and professional paths to involvement in international relations and the practical and intellectual value of some familiarity with as many of them as possible.Instructor
- Pam
Section
Section 006
American Foreign Policy
This course will explore contemporary American foreign policy. After looking briefly at history and theory, the class will study major issues on the current foreign policy agenda, both regional and functional. It will cover China, Russia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa as well as trade, terrorism, nuclear weapons, democracy and human rights, and climate change. Some sessions will feature guest experts. Students will write a short paper on policy towards China or Russia and a longer final paper, in the form of a memo to senior policymakers, on a current policy issue of their choice.Instructor
- Rose
Fall 2022 Seminars
Section
Section 001
Populism, Democracy and Rights
The course will concentrate on the contemporary challenge of populism(s) to constitutional democracy appearing in a wide variety of political environments. We will examine the foundations of the phenomenon in concepts of popular sovereignty and the people emerging or re-interpreted in the democratic revolutions, along with later debates around these concepts. We analyze the concept of representation as it pertains to democracy, and then discuss the concept of populism generally and it’s left and right versions. Once this theoretical work is done we will discuss social movements and populism, and then populism and political parties. The idea is to ask whether populism involves a distinctive party/movement relation and what role digital media play in it. We then turn to the history and present of populism, examining the birth of modern populism in the United States and in Latin America comparing the relevant movements, parties and regimes in the latter region, to their fascist contemporaries. With respect to the present, we will distinguish between left and right variants, and the various “host ideologies” to which populist movements and leaders have attached themselves: nationalism, socialism, and even liberal democracy. Concentrating on European case, primarily we will distinguish populism as party-movement, as government and as regime. In the U.S., we will analyze how populist social movements and savvy political entrepreneurs capture existing political parties to come to power. In each version, we will focus on the relationship to democracy and civil society. Finally, we will consider the international conditions that make populism a worldwide challenge to political democracy.Instructor
- Cohen
Section
Section 002
Ethics of International Relations
Is international relations purely the domain of raw power politics, where the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must (to paraphrase Thucydides)? If ethical ‘ought’s are out of place in international politics, why do leaders and citizens persistently appeal to them? While hard-nosed empirical approaches dominate much of mainstream international relations scholarship and teaching, this course will allow students to explore the space for normativity in international politics. It will equip students with a number of perspectives with which to craft systematic normative arguments about international politics.Instructor
- Isiksel
- Section
Section 002
Politics Parties in U.S. Politics
In 1942 E.E. Schattschneider famously wrote that “democracy is unthinkable save in terms of parties.” In recent years, many observers of American politics have argued that the growing division between the two parties is having a negative impact on the U.S. political system. This seminar examines American political parties from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. We will explore some fundamental questions about the U.S. party system, including: Why do we have political parties? Why do voters form attachments to particular parties? What role do political parties have in the U.S. Congress? Has politics become more polarized along party lines?- Instructor
- Hirano
- Section
Section 003
Political Psychology
Political psychology is a growing area of research in political science that uses psychological theories to understand politics. Our primary goals in the course will be to cultivate “political psychological” thinking and survey the landscape of the literature, covering topics such as attitude formation, personality, persuasion, decision making, rationality, social identity, and prejudice. Many of the lessons we will learn in this class will have applications that extend beyond political science, and should transform how you think about your own political attitudes and beliefs.- Instructor
- Velez
- Section
Section 004
Political Inequality in the United States
Scholars of democratic political systems have long examined the relationship between mass preferences and government action. Despite American ideals of equal voice, there is a clear history of violating that cherished ideal in practice. Inequality can be obvious, such as when ensconced in explicit law, but it need not be. Inequality has thus recently become a topic of much close attention in both political and academic circles, with growing economic inequality and a possible relationship to political inequality. This seminar focuses on political inequality (more so than, but not to the exclusion of considering the politics of inequality). How is political influence distributed? How equally represented are the people? How equally responsive are the various political and policymaking systems in the U.S.? If significant inequality exists, what can be done for reform? We will explore recent work that investigates the opinion-policy linkage at both national and subnational levels. One focus will be the current debate over whether the affluent have more influence. Other debates and issues are of similar importance, and I hope to broaden our inquiry based on student input and research.- Instructor
- Lax
- Section
Section 005
Issues on Race and Ethnicity in American Politics
This seminar examines how social identities based on race and ethnicity have marked politics in the United States since the founding of the republic. It focuses on the process of establishing and transforming racial regimes that have structured the conduct of politics, the process of incorporation of various racial and ethnic groups in polity, how identity formation shapes the political attitudes and behavior of different ethnic and racial groups in the political system, and how representation of interests is accomplished.- Instructor
- Vargas-Ramos
- Section
Section 006
Equality and the Law
This seminar will explore the meaning of equality in the United States, through a close reading of Supreme Court decisions involving race, gender, sexual orientation, and wealth. The central question for the course will be: what does it mean to receive 'the equal protection of laws'?- Instructor
- Amdur
- Section
Section 007
American Public Opinion
In a democracy, the views of citizens are expected to guide government activity and public policy. That makes public opinion a
central concern in the study of democratic politics. This course examines public opinion in contemporary American politics. We will
discuss how to conceptualize and measure public opinion, where opinions “come from,” the nature of opinion about several salient
issues, and whether public opinion affects policymaking. The course has these learning objectives:
1. You will evaluate theories of how people form opinions and answer survey questions.
2. You will understand—and reflect on—debates about the “competence” of the public and how much public opinion should
affect public policy.
3. You will learn more about how scholarly research in political science is conducted and how to read and understand that
research.
4. You will become a savvier consumer of public opinion data, which you’ll see in the news for the rest of your life.- Instructor
- Kim
- Section
Section 008
The Politics of Income Inequality
This seminar considers the problem of income inequality and directs readings and research on the political causes and consequences of changes in income distribution in the US over the last three decades. There will be substantial reading—at least a book or the equivalent in scholarly papers each week—and the expectation of student engagement and discussion is high. The course focuses on politics and selected public policies affecting the distribution of income and the accumulation of wealth in the US. It is designed to help students think analytically about widening income disparity and how the logic of the political economy has structured patterns of great political and economic inequalities. Among the policies we may consider are: taxation, campaign finance reform, voting, the minimum wage and Earned Income Tax Credits, and financial sector reform.- Instructor
- Russell
- Section
Section 009
Policing in the U.S.
How does policing work for different people and in different places? What are the major drivers
of policy change and persistence? What would it mean to abolish police departments? These are
some of the questions we will tackle in this course, drawing on scholarship from across the social
sciences. The purpose of this course is to provide students with empirical background and
theoretical frameworks to engage in policy debates about policing in the US, with a particular
focus on making sense of the distinctive experiences of racialized populations.
Thematically the course involves four components. The first focuses on the history and
organization of police departments, their role in social regulation, and the relationship between
public and private purveyors of violence. The second centers the experiences of Black, Mexican,
and Muslim Americans, as well as immigrant communities, to characterize the variation in
services provided by police. The third section turns to major theories for how policing practices
are determined and changed. The fourth engages debates around the role police should occupy
in governance, examining their contributions to public safety and arguments for abolition.- Instructor
- McCall
- Section
- Instructor
- Section
Section 001
Information, Media and Political Behavior
How does political information – conveyed through print, broadcast, and social media – shape the behavior of voters and politicians in developed and developing countries? We first ask what voters know about politics, and how the news and political ads influence voter opinions, electoral turnout, vote choices, and the degree to which voters hold governments to account for their performance in office. We then explore the determinants and consequences of media biases, considering the nature and causes of editorial slant, political capture, and government censorship. Finally, we examine how social media and new technologies are changing the nature of modern political participation. This course emphasizes cutting-edge studies seeking to theorize key relationships and identify causal relationships.- Instructor
- Marshall
- Section
Section 002
Corruption and the Rule of Law
This seminar will examine debates about the sources and consequences of corruption and the rule of law. We will explore theories of corruption and legal development rooted in politics, culture, institutions, economic endowments, and society, while also considering the strengths and weaknesses of different ways of studying corruption. What do we mean by “corruption” and the “rule of law”? How can we study “illegal” activity? Why is corruption higher in some countries? What is autocratic legality? Does corruption hinder economic growth and democratic practices? If so, how? These questions will be at the center of our attention.- Instructor
- Frye
- Section
Section 001
Advances in International Political Economy
This course examines questions in international political economy, asking what we know and how we know it. It addresses questions such as: Why do some countries promote globalization while others resist it? What do IOs do in international politics? Who runs our system of global governance? We will explore these questions and others by focusing on topics such as international trade, foreign aid, investment, and the environment. For each topic, we will use a variety of theoretical lenses and then investigate the evidence in favor of each. More generally, the course will consider the challenges of drawing casual inferences in the field of international political economy. There are no prerequisites for this course but an introductory economy course would be helpful. Students will write a short reading response each week and produce a research proposal for studying a topic related to international political economy, though they not need to actually conduct this research.- Instructor
- Carnegie
- Section
Section 003
Solving Global Problems
This course represents a hands-on approach to learning about some of the most pressing problems facing the world today. In terms of its intellectual objectives, it is designed to allow students to take part in problem-solving exercises in the context of pressing international issues and problems. The class will essentially function as a working committee, considering a different problem or issue each week. Preparations for class will rely both on assigned readings as well as additional outside materials collected by the students. A significant part of the preparations and class activities will involve team work and a significant number of verbal presentations to the class.- Instructor
- Gallarotti
- Section
Section 004
Foreign Economic Policy
This is a senior seminar in international relations on current issues in US Foreign Economic Policy. The seminar begins with general topics: what sort of world we live in – unipolar, liberal order, and whether we should be the world’s policeman, and the efficacy of soft power and economic sanctions. We then move to more specific issue areas: Tariffs and Trade Wars, International Money and Finance, Immigration, Fighting Terrorism with the Banking System, and Climate Change.- Instructor
- Spiro
- Section
Section 005
International Security
Contemporary developments in international politics are giving rise to many new challenges to international security. Understanding some of these may require revisiting and renewing some standard theories that have a long track record in literature on international relations: deterrence and bargaining theories, the balance of power, power transitions, and the effect of economic interdependence on war and peace. Other challenges—rising populism and nativism—may require borrowing insights from other fields or rummaging in the attic of semi-forgotten social theories. Some trends—the declining quality of public discourse in established democracies—may require fresh thinking entirely.- Instructor
- Snyder
- Section
Section 007
Conflict and International Institutions This seminar examines issues related to armed conflict and national, regional, and international mechanisms to prevent and address it. The course introduces theoretical and empirical problems in research on conflict. It considers factors related to constitutional design, democratization, and interstate dynamics. The seminar analyzes the role of civil society movements, economic sanctions, democracy assistance, international tribunals, and international military intervention.- Instructor
- Kirschke
- Section
- Section 008 Popular Culture and International Politics In this seminar, students will examine key concepts and empirical research at the intersection of the fields of cultural studies and international relations. Readings build upon core theories of political science and international relations to interrogate the role of popular culture, performative arts, and mass media in political life. The course encourages students to integrate theoretical discussion with applied examples, case studies, and analytic writing assignments. Coursework involves a commitment to close reading, debate, and plurality in the classroom, and deep exploration of the key concepts in the study of culture and politics.
- Instructor
- Wood