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 UN3911x and UN3912y — Seminar in Political Theory
- POLS UN3921x and UN3922y — Seminar in American Politics
- POLS UN3951x and UN3952y — Seminar in Comparative Politics
- POLS UN3961x and UN3962y — Seminar in International Relations
Other seminars, including Barnard colloquia, may count for seminar credit only with the written permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the Undergraduate Advisers.
Fall 2019 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
Hobbes's Political Philosophy
In this seminar we will conduct a careful reading of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan together with selected short readings by other authors to enhance students' understanding of some of the issues addressed in this classic work in the history of political thought.- Instructor
- Johnston
- Section
Section 003
Marx
The focus will be on a close reading of the texts and their relevance for social and political theory. The starred selections are available in D. McLellan (ed.), Karl Marx: Selected Writings (SW). This book, as well as The Class Struggles in France and The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte and Capital I, will be available at Book Culture. No secondary literature will be required, although Jon Elster, An Introduction to Karl Marx (also at Book Culture) is recommended as background reading.- Instructor
- Elster
- Section
Section 001
Bill of Rights
This seminar is an investigation of the nature and importance of the federal Bill of Rights and state bills of rights in the American federal and state constitutional systems. Common readings, class discussions, and student seminar papers consider the social, political, and legal significance of the Bill of Rights and the broader language of rights in historical and contemporary American discourse and analysis. The first part of the seminar is devoted to: a) discussion of common, required readings, including constitutional case law and analyses by political scientists, historians, and legal scholars, that address a variety of rights issues from the period of the nation’s founding through the present, and b) discussion of students’ research interests and strategies for gathering, organizing, and analyzing data for their own seminar papers. The second part of the seminar is devoted to students’ presentations, in class, of their own research on particular rights issues related to the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment, state bills of rights, rights-related legislation, and rights-related legal campaigns and battles.- Instructor
- Zebrowski
- Section
Section 002
Media and U.S. Politics
This seminar is an investigation of the nature and importance of the federal Bill of Rights and state bills of rights in the American federal and state constitutional systems. Common readings, class discussions, and student seminar papers consider the social, political, and legal significance of the Bill of Rights and the broader language of rights in historical and contemporary American discourse and analysis. The first part of the seminar is devoted to: a) discussion of common, required readings, including constitutional case law and analyses by political scientists, historians, and legal scholars, that address a variety of rights issues from the period of the nation’s founding through the present, and b) discussion of students’ research interests and strategies for gathering, organizing, and analyzing data for their own seminar papers. The second part of the seminar is devoted to students’ presentations, in class, of their own research on particular rights issues related to the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment, state bills of rights, rights-related legislation, and rights-related legal campaigns and battles.- Instructor
- Nacos
- Section
Section 003
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 004
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 005
Issues in Race and Ethnicity in American Politics
- Instructor
- Vargas-Ramos
- Section
Section 007
Topics in American Democracy
This seminar will explore questions of American democracy from various perspectives and be an advanced seminar in American politics. The major theme of the course will be the evolution and challenges of American democracy. Topics will include historical events such as the founding and crafting of the constitution or the Civil War, institutional questions 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.- Instructor
- Mitchell
- Section
Section 008
US Presidential Power
This course is a comprehensive, diverse, high-level introduction to U.S. presidential power. It examines the sources of power across a broad spectrum encompassing formal and informal foundations, as well as the means presidents use to exercise power. The seminar analyzes a full range of formal power, including building a staff and cabinet, managing agencies, the executive’s unilateral powers, and the power to wage war. It focuses on presidential strategies for using the bully pulpit and discusses the potential effects of public opinion on the White House. The course also allocates significant time to constraints on presidential power from each branch. It covers the legal and political foundations of checks such as independent counsels, whistleblowing, impeachment, budget power and oversight. The seminar further addresses the role of the federal courts and the current state of Chevron deference. It wraps up by analyzing the unique tool box U.S. presidents can utilize to insulate their exercises of power through executive privilege and pardons.- Instructor
- Sivolella
- Section
Section 009
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 001
Protests and Social Movements
“Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change” – Malcolm X “When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe” – Frantz Fanon This course provides an introduction to the study of protests, social movements and political contention in comparative politics. We will explore some of the most enduring and complex questions in politics including: Why and under what conditions do people become involved in protest activities? How are they mobilized? In what ways are globalization and social media transforming the dynamics of protest? And what has been the impact of protest around the world? Cases studied will include the Arab Spring, the US Civil Rights Movement, anti-austerity protests in Europe, anti-apartheid protests in South Africa, sex strikes, Black Lives Matter and many others.- Instructor
- Lockwood
- Section
Section 002
Electoral Politics and Political Behavior in Comparative Perspective: A Focus on Immigrants, Diaspora and Expats
This course aims to introduce many of the important debates that have developed and still surround the concept and practice of voting across the world. We will first challenge many preconceptions about voting and discover new interesting perspectives on the following questions: What is voting? Why do we vote even if our individual votes have very little impact on the final outcome? Why do people vote even in authoritarian regimes, where the chances of making a difference are even slimmer? Why do some people or groups turn out to vote more than others? Which institutions favor and which limit voting turnout? We will then focus on one specific kind of voting: the vote of immigrants and expats. This topic is connected to a new way of thinking about global politics and political intersections between countries, which spurs the need to study complex political identities, the concept of citizenship from abroad, and new kind of voters and voting behaviors. We will address questions about voting, elections, and immigrants’ electoral behavior, by combining foundational work in political science with path breaking contributions that spans the disciplines from political philosophy to economics. Throughout the course, we will also examine relevant current events as well as cases studies presented by the students.- Instructor
- Superti
- Section
Section 001
The Cold War
This seminar will allow students to do in-depth research on the political history of the Cold War. This is not an introduction to the Cold War; students are expected to know the basic history and arguments as a prerequisite. We will cross-walk theories and analytical approaches from political science with historical accounts of the events and evolution of the Cold War, asking both how we can explain this history and how it confirms or disconfirms more general arguments.- Instructor
- Jervis
- Section
Section 002
Contemporary Diplomacy
This seminar allows students to conduct in-depth research on diplomacy in the post-Cold War era. In this course, we approach the study of contemporary diplomacy by combining international relations theory and empirical cases. Students are expected to have basic knowledge of late 20thand early 21stCentury history as well as basic understanding of theories and analytical approaches from political science as we seek to explain not only the influence of diplomacy on how states interact and pursue their goals but also analyze the conditions under which diplomatic statecraft has had positive, negative or neutral effects on foreign policy objectives and international outcomes. Students apply theoretical analysis to the practice of diplomacy in a range of post-Cold War cases including but not limited to the reunification of Germany, Israeli-Palestinian relations since the Oslo Accords, the rise of terrorist entities, the resurgence of great power tensions, and the emergence of new diplomatic frontiers, such as the race for cyber dominance and fractures in the European Union.- Instructor
- Murphy
- Section
Section 003
International Orders
The seminar explores how citizens as well as leaders of political movements and established states envision international order. It asks how they imagine international politics is governed and how it should be governed. It begins with a reexamination of major Northern/Western traditions in international political theory as seen through the eyes of classical and modern political leaders and philosophers. It covers Realism, Liberalism, Socialism and Fascism. It then broadens the lens to include thinkers from the global South, including Nehru, Senghor and Biko. In considering their international orders, we will discuss their insights into the connections among issues of order and justice, identity and legitimacy, peace and war, cooperation and conflict, intervention and independence and international equality and inequality. We conclude with a discussion of Cosmopolitanism and Rawls’ Law of Peoples.- Instructor
- Doyle
- Section
Section 004
Inequality Within and Between Nations
Inequality within developed nations is at historic highs, while the income disparity between nations has become 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
Political Violence
This seminar will address the causes and consequences of political violence. It will examine issues surrounding identity, economic factors, armed and criminal groups, civilian casualties, terrorism and state violence. The course will present debates on international military intervention and counter-terrorism strategy. Empirical material will include case studies on the Islamic State, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda, Georgia, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Instructor
- Kirschke
- Section
Section 006
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