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 2020 Seminars
- Section
Section 001
Sexuality and Citizenship in American Politics
For much of the 20th century, the American political system excluded lesbians and gay men from full citizenship. This course seeks to understand the political and social forces shaping the transformation of these sex nonconformists from a pariah group into a viable social movement and eventually into a powerful constituency within the Democratic Party. Special emphasis will be placed on the state’s role in defining lesbian and gay identities, the ways in which gender and racial diversity have shaped the LGB movement, and the role that partisan electoral strategies played in ushering sexuality to the center of American political conflict.- Instructor
- Phillips
- Section
Section 002
Media and American Politics
This seminar looks both backward and forward in terms of US electoral politics. How was Donald Trump able to upset conventional wisdom at every juncture and actually win the presidency? What is behind the Democrats’ strong showing in the 2018 midterm election, and what are the implications for the future? What can we say at this stage about US elections in 2020 and beyond? For answers, students will examine relevant literature from Political Science on US electoral politics. Students will also write individual research papers to answer relevant questions about contemporary US electoral politics.- Instructor
- 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
- 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
- Section
Section 005
Immigration Policy and Politics
This seminar examines how the United States admits foreigners into the country and how it incorporates them into the polity. The course traces the evolution of governmental policies from the founding of the Republic to the present, placing particular attention to the inflection points that have produced changes to those policies, particularly during the second half of the 20th century. It explores the role of the federal government as well as state and sub-state jurisdictions in the development and implementation of policies towards the foreign-born, and the impact external and domestic pressures have on those policies. It further examines the role of immigrants in the country’s political process, their political behavior and policy outcomes.- Instructor
- Section
Section 006
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
- Section
Section 007
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
- Section
Section 008
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 009
Bureaucratic Politics
This course is a comprehensive, high-level introduction to bureaucracies in American politics. The course is organized along two themes. First, it emphasizes tools that will be helpful for thinking about bureaucracies, as well as for studying institutions in general. Second, it proceeds from the "inside out," beginning with personnel and ending with the bureaucracy's external environment. The course will expose students to a wide range of American political agencies, activities and possibilities for reform.- Instructor
- Ting
- Section
Section 001
Protests and Social Movements
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
- Section
Section 003
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
Inequality Within and Between Nations
This seminar examines the dramatic increase in inequality that followed the rise of neoliberalism, and the changes in inequality between nations that accompanied globalization. We examine the causes and consequences of that inequality, the psychology of inequality, and we read Polanyi’s work to understand why both populist and the democratic socialist movements have swept unequal economies. The seminar will also serve as a workshop for writing a research paper, and students will have opportunities for extensive individual meetings with the instructor.- Instructor
- Section
Section 002
Terrorism
This course examines the politics of terrorism, with a focus on theoretical and empirical studies of its causes and consequences. We will look at both domestic and transnational forms of terrorism. We begin with issues of definition, and theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of terrorism. We then turn to the causes and consequences of terrorism, considering questions such as when, where, and why terrorism occurs; which individuals and which groups resort to terror and why; who are the targets of terrorist attacks; and the effects and effectiveness of terrorism, its consequences for the outcome of conflicts, and for domestic politics.- Instructor
- Fortna
- Section
Section 003
National Security Policy
Substance and process of policy on national defense, focusing on the USA: Military programs and other instruments of influence, weapons of mass destruction, intelligence analysis; effects of political culture, constitutional separation of powers, organizational complexity and bureaucratic politics, civil-military relations, experience in crises and wars of the past century; debates about costs and benefits of activism abroad.- Instructor
- Betts
- Section
Section 004
International Politics of 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 005
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 20th and early 21st Century 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