Politics
The Department of Politics offers a vibrant program that prepares students for careers and leadership positions in local, national and international affairs, law, business, finance, politics, teaching, research, non-profit organizations, consulting, public administration, journalism and other fields. The program also offers excellent preparation for many graduate and professional degree programs. Our curriculum allows students to study each of the major subfields of political science – American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory, while also offering valuable avenues for professional development, including internships, service learning, study-abroad, and research methods.
The politics curriculum offers students the option of grouping their electives thematically, including courses focused on law and justice, power and political action, and globalization and inequality. Students complete their major with one or more culminating seminars that prepares them for professional writing, research, analysis, and presentation. During this seminar, students work closely with a faculty member in their area of expertise. Politics majors can also complete complementary and extremely focused interdisciplinary Minors in Campaigns and Elections, Humanitarian Action, Public Administration, and U.S. Government.
Through its internship director, the Politics Department works with students to identify and prepare for internships in local and state government, non-governmental organizations, the judiciary, political campaigns, businesses, law firms, and other locations. Special opportunities are also available with Congress, federal agencies, and international organizations via the Washington Internship Semester (POLI 3982) in Hartford with the Connecticut State Legislature (POLI 3981), and with organizations and businesses in locations around the world through Fairfield's study abroad programs.
Politics professors are also closely involved with the American Studies, Asian Studies, Black Studies, Environmental Studies, International Business, International Studies, Irish Studies, Humanitarian Action, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Peace and Justice Studies, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and other interdisciplinary programs. Many Politics courses count toward majors or minors in these programs. Many Politics courses also fulfill requirements in the Magis Core curriculum, including the Interdisciplinary, Social Justice, Social Science, Writing Across the Curriculum, and Writing in the Discipline requirements. The programs to which Politics courses contribute are included in their course descriptions.
In its entirety, the curriculum of the department is designed to achieve the following student learning outcomes. By majoring in Politics students will:
(1) understand fundamental political science terms, concepts and major theoretical frameworks;
(2) demonstrate familiarity with core political institutions, governing systems, and their operation;
(3) critically apply theories and concepts; and
(4) utilize primary and secondary source material to support arguments and/or conduct research.
POLI 1101 Introduction to American Politics 3 Credits
Students examine the American political system: the design and operation of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court; American political culture; elections; the ability of the political system to deal with societal problems, and proposals for reform of the political system.
POLI 1102 Introduction to Comparative Politics 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the exciting facts, concepts, and theories necessary to understand the structures and processes of diverse political systems that exist around the world. Comparing similarities and differences among the different political systems in prominent countries provides insights into current events and enabled students to address important questions about politics in specific countries and regions.
POLI 1103 Introduction to Political Ideas That Shape the World 3 Credits
If politics is the study of “who gets what, when, and how,” then political theory is the study of “what” politics means, and “why” it matters. This class explores the big questions: the meanings of justice, equality, identity, freedom, and power. It introduces students to canonical and lesser studied works, exploring what it means to exist in political community. Over the semester, students will develop expertise in both the subject and methods of political theory. Students will apply those wide-ranging views to navigate the uncertainty of contemporary politics and imagine alternative futures for themselves and others.
POLI 1104 Introduction to International Relations 3 Credits
This course introduces International Relations theories to students, providing concepts, frameworks and approaches that will help them make sense of global politics historically and today in a systematic and critical manner. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with these tools and to help them use them to understand and address challenges at a global scale, particularly different manifestations of violence, development and social injustice, including from war to economic, social, gendered, and political marginalization.
POLI 2102 City Politics 3 Credits
This course examines structures and processes of urban politics and considers the major participants and policy areas of urban political processes. It sets the evolution of urban areas in historical perspective, discusses major contemporary problems, and analyzes alternative solutions.
POLI 2103 Public Administration 3 Credits
Public administration is central to American government. It decides who gets what, when, and how at the local level. This course uses case studies, theoretical analyses, and skill-development activities to examines the practice and power of U.S. public administrators and the factors that impact their jobs and the effectiveness of their decisions. This course explores core public administration concepts, bureaucratic politics, organizational behavior, decision-making strategies, public management, and social issues; builds student knowledge and professional skills; and highlights the political, practical and managerial factors that affect public administration.
POLI 2104 American Presidency 3 Credits
This course examines President's role as chief executive, legislative leader, and administrative head of state, as well the expansion of presidential powers by 20th and 21st century presidents. It also explores differences and patterns among presidents in their domestic and foreign policy, explanations for these patterns and why some Presidents found more success, changes in Presidential primaries, nominating, conventions, and national elections, and how issues such as psychology, economic forces, political parties, "political time," and media impact the Presidency.
POLI 2105 The American Congress 3 Credits
This course examines the structure, rules, and procedures of Congress: the foremost national institution of political representation in American democracy. The course also explores the place of Congress place in contemporary American politics; its often-contentious relationship with the other parts of the national government, including the Presidency and Courts; and key theoretical approaches to the study of Congress as a deliberative body designed to produce national policy outcomes. Finally, the course will develop students' understanding of individual members of Congress: their relationship to constituents, their differing styles of representation, and the effects of race, gender, ideology, and money on their legislative work.
POLI 2106 Supreme Court I 3 Credits
This course examines the composition and operation of the Supreme Court, including how it reaches decisions. It also examines the relationship between the Court and the remainder of the political system; the political consequences of Court decisions; nomination and confirmation issues; and the Court's treatment of government power including Presidential authority, the commerce clause, taxing power, and relations between the branches.
POLI 2107 Supreme Court II 3 Credits
This course focuses on how the Constitution and the Supreme Court address issues related to individual freedoms. It examines Supreme Court decisions regarding civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly. It also examines the rights of accused persons and the 14th amendment equal protection, emphasizing the political implications of these decisions as well as the political environment in which the Court functions.
POLI 2108 Political Parties and Interest Groups 3 Credits
This course examines political parties, interest groups, and public opinion in terms of their impact on American politics, including who gets elected, what issues receive attention in Congress, and the content of legislation. The course considers: How responsive are decision makers in the American system to citizens' demands? What factors impact this responsiveness? What mechanisms do citizens have to express support for their policy preferences? What mechanisms exist that increase the chances of their policy preferences being enacted?
POLI 2109 American Public Policy 3 Credits
Public policy results from complex interactions between political actors, elected officials, bureaucrats, interest groups, political activists, corporations, citizens, the media, and governing structures and rules. The policy making process is the lifeblood of the American political system. This course explores current policy debates, key models and theories that seek to explain public policy, and the significant role politics plays in the policy making process. Students will learn how public policies are formulated, understand current tools and techniques used in making policy, and gain the ability to assess policy options.
POLI 2111 Media and Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the impact of the media on the American political system and, conversely, how government attempts to influence the media for its purposes, and implications of the electronic media for a democratic and informed society. The course pays close attention to the media's impact on national elections and analyzes the media as an agent of political socialization.
POLI 2112 United States Environmental Politics and Policy 3 Credits
This course examines the creation, content, and implementation of U.S. environmental policy. The first section examines the history of U.S. environmental politics, the policy process, and prominent theories that seek to explain that process. The second examines the role and occasional preferences of key institutions, including the President, Congress, courts, federal agencies, environmental groups, and corporations. The third section examines key current issues, including, air and water pollution, toxic chemicals, public lands, endangered species, climate change, risk assessments, and the use of economic tools to effect change.
POLI 2113 State and Local Government 3 Credits
This course examines the role of state and local governments within the United States. State and local governments are unique subnational governments with their own political culture and identity and very greatly within and across the American political system. This course explores the political processes and the institutions of state and local governments. The course highlights the multifaceted, and often difficult, issues facing sub-national governments; the philosophies of state and local governments; their responsibility and function regarding election administration and voting; and their role within the larger national government.
POLI 2114 Public Opinion and Polling 3 Credits
A central feature to American democracy is that the public has the opportunity to play an active role in governing. This course invites students to think about and reflect on the role of public opinion, the tools used to measure it, and its impact on policies and elections in American democracy. Students will examine what public opinion is, public's knowledge of politics, how citizens are socialized politically, group differences in public opinions, and various methods employed to measure public opinion. By the end of the course, students will be able to determine when and how public opinion influences various aspects of American politics.
POLI 2115 Campaigns and Elections 3 Credits
In a democratic political system, elections are the means by which the transition of power occurs. Thus, understanding the nature of American elections and campaigns is necessary to understand our political system. The class focuses on American elections: discussing how various actors seek to influence outcomes, the behavior of voters, the politics of election administration, and the laws that govern the rules to the game. Students will observe and analyze actual election activity as well as leading empirical research that seeks to shed light on this significant aspect of American democracy.
POLI 2120 Politics of Care 3 Credits
Many current social crises have roots that stretch back decades, to the practice and normalization of American politics as divisive, polarized, transactional, and winner-take-all. This course explores an alternative view: the notion of "caring" in systematic political ethics, political practice, and policy. We address the relationship between care and democracy, community, justice, and the formulation of healthcare, immigration, social welfare, and economic policy. The course will help prepare students to be open-minded, ethical leaders, effective communicators, and caring professionals in diverse career settings including education, healthcare, public policy, business, law, humanitarian action, and criminal justice.
POLI 2121 Women in Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the role that women play in American politics. Students will examine prominent explanations for gender inequality, in general and within politics, and efforts to alter the role of women in politics. These discussions will provide the backdrop for studying the impact of gender on political behavior, seeking and holding office. Students will also analyze selected public policy issues on gender.
POLI 2122 Comparative Political Institutions 3 Credits
The course introduces students to the comparative study of political institutions, which includes the study of formal and informal rules and organizations. Political institutions influence the behavior of citizens, voters and politicians, and ultimately the policy outcomes we observe. Students will think critically about the role that political institutions play in structuring competition for power within a polity. The course will take students through the design, maintenance and reform of political institutions. Some of the topics covered include Democracy, Autocracy & Development; Presidentialism V. Parliamentarism; Coalitions & Coalition Bargaining; Political Parties & Electoral Systems.
POLI 2250 European Politics and the European Union 3 Credits
This course examines the history, operation and impact of the European Union (EU) as well as the key political institutions and dynamics of individual European countries, including Great Britain, France, and Germany. It considers the relationship between political culture and political systems and examines and EU and national European approaches to addressing societal problems.
POLI 2251 Islam and Muslim Politics 3 Credits
Islam is most often treated as a monolithic force when in fact the relationship between Islam, politics, and society is varied and dynamic. The course introduces students to the diverse pluralism of Islam-influenced practices in politics, education, charitable aid, and business, drawing on examples from many different countries and regions, including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
POLI 2252 Politics in Africa 3 Credits
This course examines political patterns in Africa with an emphasis on the relationships between politics and culture, and politics and economy. Themes and concepts, not country studies, structure the course, which extracts patterns that are universal or typical in sub-Saharan Africa, examines the colonial legacy on which contemporary states build, and considers the political problematic that the colonial experience imparts with respect to cultural issues of identity, tribalism, and ethnicity in Africa. The course also examines the role of force and violence in consolidating political rule, the economic constraints that fetter Africa, and potential future developments in Africa's politics.
POLI 2253 Latin American Politics 3 Credits
This course examines contemporary Latin American politics, with particular attention to the challenges and opportunities for democracy and human rights in the region. The course explores key historical developments, the challenges and opportunities presented by domestic and international dynamics in the region, the causes and consequences of democratic breakdowns in the past, the transition to democracy in the later part of the twentieth century, the difficulties several young democracies face today, and the continuous and uneven efforts to advance human rights in the region.
POLI 2255 Middle East Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the modern Middle East by familiarizing students with the most significant contemporary problems and controversies in the region. Themes and concepts, not individual country studies, structure the course. Some of the topics covered are youth, war, revolution, oil, political Islam, economic reform, and the Arab spring.
POLI 2256 Asian Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the domestic politics of Asian countries. Asia is a vibrant region politically and economically and is very important to the United States for international security and economic stability. Given its importance, this course provides broad and essential knowledge about Asian nations. The course begins with historical background of various countries in Asia, and then examines politics in selected Asian countries. Country studies are intended to introduce major issues in comparative politics such as democracy, economic development, ideology and political conflict.
POLI 2257 Northern Ireland: Politics of War and Peace 3 Credits
This course focuses on "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland from 1969 to the present beginning with historical background that emphasizes England's role from the 17th century through the present. It examines the 20th century conflict primarily as a national liberation struggle against a sectarian regime in the North supported by England. The course follows a chronological format starting with the civil rights marches in the late 1960s, the state repression that followed and subsequent community responses including the hunger strikes and electoral campaigns. It concludes with the peace process and grassroots efforts by former paramilitaries from both Catholic and Protestant communities to work together on issues of common concern.
POLI 2258 Political Violence 3 Credits
This course offers a comparative study of political violence including civil war, terrorism, and separatist movements and explores a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches to violence. The course introduces students to core debates as well as cutting-edge research and includes several important single country studies.
POLI 2259 The Development Gap 3 Credits
This course employs a comparative approach to studying the forces affecting development in developing countries. Examples and studies are drawn from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East in order to examine the roots of wealth and poverty, obstacles to development, responses to globalization, and current debates over development prospects.
POLI 2260 Politics and Business in China 3 Credits
This course offers an overview of China’s recent economic development and its political system under a comparative political context. It
provides a foundation that will enable the non-specialist to make informed use of China as a case in more general arguments and give the
intended China specialist a solid footing from which to pursue more in-depth study of China’s political and economic topics. The course
takeaway is an understanding of how the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party work and organized, and what are the
political, social, cultural, and ideological factors that stand behind its organizations.
POLI 2261 Authoritarianism and Film 3 Credits
Almost half of the world population lives under authoritarian or totalitarian regimes. Moreover, several democracies around the world are far from consolidated and exist at risk of democratic breakdowns. This interdisciplinary course combines politics and film studies to introduce students to the enduring phenomena of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. Political science furthers our understanding of the causes and enduring legacies of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. Film studies helps us understand how cinema communicates specific narratives in such a way that they strengthen or challenge these regimes.
POLI 2262 Contemporary Global Politics 3 Credits
What is going on in the world? Ukraine v. Russia. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court on Gaza. China invading Taiwan? This course is about making sense of the most relevant issues of contemporary international politics. The course is designed to push your thinking about these and other global issues. We will be evaluating, analyzing, and discussing these complex issues and their wider-world impact. We will survey the common theoretical building blocks of international relations. We will then use them to make sense of the behavior of states and other actors on current global issues.
POLI 2263 Politics of the Global Economy 3 Credits
This course explores important issues and theories at the intersection of politics and economics in the international arena. Topics include globalization and its impacts; international trade policy and politics; financial relations among nations, including investment and monetary policies; relations between and among developed and developing countries; factors and policies that enhance, inhibit, or shape economic development in poor countries; and/or how different, important theories and analytical approaches attempt to explain economic interactions among countries.
POLI 2331 Introduction to Peace and Justice 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the concepts of peace and justice, the connections between them, and the relationship of these concepts to the idea of faith. The course focuses on case studies beginning with an analysis of the crisis of America's cities and finds the causes in de-industrialization and its resulting poverty. In both cases, the course views poverty resulting from unjust economic and social structures including exaggerated military budgets at home and the militarization of developing countries. Examining these fundamental problems in peace and justice from a variety of perspectives, including Western liberalism, Marxism, and Catholicism, provides a theoretical basis for the study. Each of these traditions has its own perspective for understanding and responding to these problems. In this way the course provides an awareness of the major problems in peace and justice as well as an understanding of the different ways to think about them.
POLI 2332 Utopian Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the nature and function of utopian thinking and utopian communities. What is the value of utopian reflection? What forms of critical thinking and imaginative speculation does it enable? What are the limits to or dangers of utopian thought and practice? What kinds of challenges do utopian communities face? This course explores and critically assesses utopian and dystopian themes from recent and classic novels, political theory, science fiction, film, and popular culture. The course involves students in building model utopias that resolve major world problems.
POLI 2333 American Political Thought 3 Credits
This course considers the philosophical roots of American political thought and the influence on the contemporary American mind and institutions of the American revolutionaries, constitution-makers, Federalists, Jeffersonians, Jacksonians, Alexis de Tocqueville, examiners of the welfare state, pragmatists, and key current voices. The course also explores challenges and reform of the American political system, via analytical lenses related to human nature, idealism, the Constitution and key Amendments, and nationalism.
POLI 2334 Sex, Sexuality, and Gender 3 Credits
This course focuses on how men and women ally together and separately to alter the landscape of sex, sexuality, and gender in the U.S. as part of a global wave of political change. The course examines how race, class, religion, age, disability, and other identity variables intersect with male and female, masculine and feminine, and the full range of sexualities in order to understand the theories and practices related to identity that shape twenty-first century politics.
POLI 2335 Modern Political Ideologies 3 Credits
This course primarily examines the political belief systems in the United States including conservatism, liberalism, democratic socialism, and others. It analyzes these "isms" with reference to democracy's ability to deal with the contemporary problems of American society. It also racism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and the basic political and economic ideas of Marx and Engels and the modifications made to their system by Lenin.
POLI 2336 Politics of Race, Class, and Gender 3 Credits
Despite claims that we live in a ‘postracial’ nation, our race, class, and gender identities still systematically shape our experiences, resources, and life chances. But where did those categories come from and how have they been adapted to sustain systems of power and privilege? This course focuses on contemporary works in political theory to analyze the ongoing social construction of racial categories and their intersections with class, gender, and sexuality in American political life. We explore these processes through the distinct-but-interrelated experiences of white, Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latin Americans.
POLI 2337 Modern Conservatism in America 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the major strains of conservative thought in the United States, with an emphasis on understanding its modern manifestations. The first half of the semester establishes a firm grounding in older variants: classical liberalism, traditionalism, libertarianism, neoconservatism, paleo conservatism, and Movement conservatism. The second half of the course addresses evolutions in the New Right. Students are introduced to the major proponents and critics: from the post liberals and national conservatives, to disaffected former conservative thinkers.
POLI 2471 United Nations Security Council Crisis Simulation 3 Credits
This course provides students a hands-on learning experience by simulating a United Nations Security Council crisis in international peace and security. The objective is to introduce students to the challenges of global governance in light of the different perspectives they encounter representing different constituencies of the UN Security Council who come from diverse cultural, historical, and geopolitical regions of the world. A key goal of the course is to bring to light whether and how power disparities in the structure of the Council limit the effective representation of many countries and global South as a whole and the stakes in reform of the Security Council. Crosslisted with INST 2471.
POLI 2472 Politics of Humanitarian Action 3 Credits
This course introduces students to complex humanitarian crises and the challenges of responding. Students explore why the often-troubled governance practices of humanitarian intervention makes this a highly contested, yet indispensable arena of global politics. The course examines enduring political and normative tensions at the core of the international humanitarian system run by states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations and its lead agencies, and increasingly, the private sector. Students use critical theories, ethical frameworks, and other skill sets to explore questions such as the accountability of humanitarian actors to the people they aid in risk-laden operational environments.
POLI 2473 Humanitarian and Disaster Response Field Training 3 Credits
This course offers training in humanitarian action and disaster response in collaboration with local emergency response agencies and related regional, national, and global networks. Students acquire training and certification in humanitarian standards, become registered volunteers with the American Red Cross, learn from local FEMA Community Emergency Response Teams, and participate in immersion experiences and simulations on international humanitarian crises. The course contextualizes aid work through a range of critical, ethical and moral theories. The course first introduces competing paradigms, second explores principles and field training, and third concludes with intersectionality and other critical perspectives on responding to needs.
POLI 2474 International Environmental Policy 3 Credits
This course examines important issues in the practice and study of international environmental policy. The course consists of four interrelated sections designed to provide the factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks required for working in this field: the process and difficulty of creating effective International environmental policy; factors that assist effective policy; history, trends, and actors; and key current issues including climate change, biodiversity, toxic pollution, trade and the environment, sustainable development, and environment and security, among others.
POLI 2475 Climate Change: International Policy and Politics 3 Credits
This course examines key political, scientific, and economic issues surrounding global climate change and international attempts to address it. Topics include the causes and impacts of climate change, policy-making under uncertainty, key technological, energy and economic issues, key actors and their interests, the history, creation, and content of international climate policy, obstacles to more effective international climate policy, and options for potentially increasing that effectiveness. Students will gain the ability to understand and analyze climate policy options at the global, national and local levels.
POLI 2476 United States Foreign Policy 3 Credits
How is foreign policy made in the United States? This course examines the impact of domestic and international actors and processes in the formation and conduct of United States foreign policy. It also provides historical background and explores contemporary issues in United States foreign policy, including key security, economic, and environmental issues as well U.S. promotion of democracy and human rights in different regions of the world, including Asia, Latin America, Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
POLI 2478 The Politics of International Law 3 Credits
This course provides an introduction to international law. It addresses questions such as: What is international law? What are the major sources? Who makes international law and how? Who is bound by it? What is its impact in different issue-areas? And why do states and other actors usually obey international law even though there is not a world government or police force to enforce it. The course also explores the content and effect of international law in different issue-areas, including human rights, the environment, and the use of military force. Students will also gain a practical overview to the United Nations system, including the Security Council, General Assembly, Secretariat, International Court of Justice, and several specialized agencies, such as UNICEF and UNDP.
POLI 2479 Threats to Global Security in the 21st Century 3 Credits
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to global security. It examines a variety of traditional and new security topics, including wars between states, civil wars, proliferation, environmental degradation, and famine. Students explore these topics through the lenses of major paradigms in International Relations (IR) theory, such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism, as well as perspectives drawn from critical theory, peace studies, and other literatures. In addition to learning to think about global security in a systematic and critical way, students will consider the political, ethical and social dimensions of threats to global security today.
POLI 2480 Border Politics 3 Credits
This course explores how border politics has evolved from historical practices of territoriality and the rise of the nation-state system, including the social construction of "imagined communities" and the boundaries that define them. Yet this system faces many challenges. Drawing from critical theories of identity, state formation, and intersectionality, students explore erosions of state sovereignty through globalization, climate change, crisis migration, refugee flows, asylum seekers, transnational crime, and terrorism. As case studies from the global north and south illustrate, states are increasingly turning to global and domestic disciplinary regimes to wall up, fence out, surveillance, detain, and deport the "other." Students examine these trends in the context of the moral, political, security, corporeal, and human rights questions at stake.
POLI 2481 International Human Rights 3 Credits
This course explores human rights, actors, and advocacy in a global context. It covers the origin and development of international human rights, the need to apply and enforce legal obligations and establish accountability for human rights violators, and procedures used by the international community to contest human rights violations. In this context, students learn about the progress as well as gaps and erosions of human rights on a range of issues, such as women's rights, disability rights, or protection of human rights defenders in higher education. Students apply these understandings to strategic thinking and advocacy on human rights cases. Crosslisted with INST 2481.
POLI 2501 Research Methods 3 Credits
This course examines how to study and think about policy and politics scientifically and in methodologically useful ways. Students learn how to identify research questions about the political world, generate meaningful measurements of the concepts being studied, create a research design for collecting data (i.e. evidence), construct testable hypotheses, conduct the necessary statistical analysis to test the hypotheses, interpret the results of the statistical analysis, and apply these results to the original theory of inquiry in a meaningful way.
POLI 2900 Special Topics (Shell) 3 Credits
This course offers a focused examination of a significant political issue or topic in American politics, public policy, political theory, comparative politics, or international relations. Content varies in successive offerings of this course. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.
POLI 3980 Internship 3-4 Credits
Prerequisite(s): POLI 1101; two other politics courses.
Politics majors gain firsthand experience working off campus in fields related to their major. Typically, a three-credit internship requires 10 to 12 hours of work per week on site and could require a journal or paper. An on-site supervisor and a politics professor evaluate student work. Students must have a GPA or 3.0 or higher. Enrollment by departmental permission only.
POLI 3981 State Legislature Internship 6 Credits
Prerequisite(s): POLI 1101; two other politics courses.
Politics majors participate in the Connecticut General Assembly Legislative Internship Program, where students become acquainted with the legislative process by serving as aides to a legislator. Students complete a required research paper. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Enrollment by departmental permission only.
POLI 3982 Washington Semester Internship 3-9 Credits
Prerequisite(s): POLI 1101; two other politics courses.
Politics majors work as interns in a variety of public and private sector positions in the nation's capital, giving them the opportunity to experience governmental problems firsthand and apply what they have learned. Students may earn up to nine credits for working as an intern, and may also take one or two classes (three credits each) that count toward the politics major or general electives. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Enrollment by departmental permission only.
POLI 3990 Independent Study 1-4 Credits
Prerequisite(s): POLI 1101; two other politics courses.
Upon request and by agreement with an individual professor in the department, a politics major may conduct a one-semester independent study on a defined research topic or field of study. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Enrollment by departmental permission only.
POLI 3997 Independent Research 1-4 Credits
Upon request and by agreement with an individual professor in the department, a politics major may conduct a one-semester independent study on a defined research topic or field of study. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Enrollment by departmental permission only. Previously POLI 3990.
POLI 4301 The Battle Over Family Values in American Politics 3 Credits
Contemporary American politics is marked by numerous debates about the family. Issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion, abstinence and pre-marital sex, shifting gender roles within the family, and new parenting and reproductive methods are among the most hotly debated policy issues in the United States, illustrating the political struggle to define the soul of America and the role of the family within. This course explores contemporary political debates over the family, their policy implications, and significance to current elections, as well as the historical context and previous ideological battles that characterize the tumultuous relationship between the family and the American state.
POLI 4302 Seminar on Feminist Theory 3 Credits
This course explores advanced topics and a number of trends in contemporary feminist theory. Topics include conceptions of the female body in Western culture, feminist theories of the family, global feminisms, theories of feminist subjectivity and gender performativity, and the intersections among gender, race, class, and sexuality.
POLI 4303 Gender, War, and Peace 3 Credits
This course examines the complexities of the gendered impact of war on men, women, families and children. Students learn about the gendered dimensions of war institutions, social structures and narratives of war. They explore the topic especially from the voices and perspectives of women in war zones and post-conflict settings around the world, including historical memories. Students learn how aspects of globalization and conditions of structural violence make women extremely vulnerable as societies slide toward war. Crosslisted with INST 4303.
POLI 4304 Seminar on Global Environmental Politics 3 Credits
The causes, consequences, and potential solutions to environmental problems are increasingly important subjects in global politics. This seminar explores critical, current issues in the theory and practice of global environmental politics. Readings and class discussion examine important new debates, including those on: reasons why some policies are created and effective and others are not, accountability, the 2015 Paris climate agreement, current policy for toxic chemicals, why global ozone policy remains a relatively unique example of effective global environmental policy, and the activities of international institutions.
POLI 4305 Seminar on the Middle East 3 Credits
The Middle East justifiably engages a great deal of international attention. This course offers the opportunity to examine a significant problem or issue concerning politics in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) conducted in a seminar format. In various semesters the seminar may be taught with a different focus.
POLI 4306 Democracy and Dictatorship 3 Credits
Over the past twenty years, there has been a well-documented erosion in the quality of democracy around the globe. Through a survey of the fundamental attributes of democratic and non-democratic forms of government, we endeavor to understand why some countries have adopted democratic norms and institutions while others continue to struggle under various types of authoritarian rule. We begin the semester investigating the major characteristics of democratic regimes. In short, what makes democracy work? Next, we will consider how democracies are sustained through economic development, formal institutions, and political culture. Part III prompts us to identify internal threats to democracy (including, but not limited to) political polarization, disinformation, and elite power grabs. As this is a course in Comparative Politics, which largely focuses on political phenomena within states, external threats to democracy (interstate war, climate change, terrorism) will have to be considered elsewhere. The penultimate section focuses on major non-democratic regime types such as personalist dictatorships, electoral autocracies, military dictatorships, and totalitarianism. The final part of the course considers pathways out of authoritarianism, examining the effects of domestic protests and global civil society on democratization.
Throughout the course, we will apply theoretical knowledge to our study of specific case studies, notably, the Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, North Korea, Belarus, and Tunisia. During Week 6, we will engage in a democracy simulation whereby you will formulate strategies designed to counter an impending authoritarian power-grab by a democratically elected president. At the end of this course, you will have developed a clear understanding of democratic processes as well as the threats posed by anti-democratic forces. Most importantly, you will have constructed a new toolkit for supporting democracy at home and abroad. Successful completion of this course counts toward the Politics major/minor requirements.
POLI 4307 The Political Economy of War 3 Credits
How and why do nations find themselves in the throes of war? What role do economic interests play in shaping the intricate web of international relations? Delving into the intricate interplay between politics, economics, and warfare, this seminar offers a comparative exploration of key political elements. Through a nuanced case study approach, we will unravel diverse theories within the realm of the political economy of war. Embarking on a comparative political approach, the seminar will scrutinize the origins, evolution, transformation, and consequential impact of wars on global politics, all while considering the manifold influences of economic factors.
POLI 4310 War on Voting: Election Laws and Administration in the United States 3 Credits
The war on voting is as old as America itself. People of color, women, and the poor all fought for the vote. Universal suffrage is a democratic ideal, but groups, particularly people of color, continue to be systematically disenfranchised because the laws governing elections are increasingly being weaponized for political gain. Examining the history of the vote, what the Constitution says – and doesn’t say – about voting, how and why election laws have changed over time, allows us to understand their impact on voters, elections, and American democracy. Particular attention is paid to the Black voting experience.
POLI 4311 Religious Dimensions of Political Thought 3 Credits
This seminar covers the concept of “civil religion” in Western political theory and American political thought. Civil religions emerge in the liminal space between sacred and secular. Building upon previous coursework in political theory, students will consider differing interpretations of the “correct” balance between Church and state in various philosophical works (like those of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, and others). Additionally, students will consider the American civil religion as an application of this theory. Sources will include primary texts of the Founders, as well as numerous secondary sources. This class prepares students for scholarly presentations at academic conferences in political science.
POLI 4312 The Politics of Love 3 Credits
While love is rarely taken seriously as a political emotion, especially in a polarized nation like the United States, some political theorists argue love can be tough, principled, and politically transformative. This begs the question: Should love have a place in politics? This seminar explores how love enables us to confront both the beauty and brutality of ourselves and the world, and from that, engage in acts of personal and structural change to address enduring problems of injustice. We explore these dimensions of the politics of love through close reading of its fiercest critics, ambivalent supporters, and greatest proponents.
POLI 4314 International Perspectives on World Politics: Moving Beyond Western Paradigms 3 Credits
This course examines International Relations (IR) theory from a global perspective. A great deal of the IR theory taught in the United States and Europe mirrors Western, and in particular American, views on international affairs. Because enduring cultural and material differences across countries and regions can lead to different perspectives on global affairs, this limited perspective is problematic both intellectually and instrumentally. This course engage constructively with contributions to IR theory from other perspectives, in particular the Global South, and compares and contrasts them with prevailing Western oriented paradigms, in an effort to better understand our world.
POLI 4320 Politics Seminar 3 Credits
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.
This course offers an in-depth investigation of a significant political issue or topic and is conducted in a seminar format and contains a significant research component. Open by permission only.