Courses
Course Archive
Courses Spring 2003
Please find below a list of courses offered by the department during the Spring 2003 quarter.
21202. Democracy and Doing. Enrollment limited to 20. This course introduces two different philosophical theories of evaluation and uses them to analyze topics of contemporary public policy. The first evaluative approach is based on utilitarian political thought. The second approach is linked to the Aristotelian tradition in political philosophy, and more recently, to American pragmatism. The course identifies the different visions of democracy that are implied in each of these approaches, it discusses the primary philosophical and political values associated with each, and it considers questions of methodology, such as how the method of evaluation shapes the evaluative conclusions. These points will be explored in the context of governmental policies and decisions concerning rape and equal opportunity. Among others, the readings include historical thinkers such as Aristotle, Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill, and contemporary thinkers such as John Dewey, Amartya Sen and Richard Posner. B. Holland. Spring.
22502. Problems of Collective Self in the Post-Cold War World. Enrollment limited to 20. The course examines the problems of conceptualizing collective "self" in international relations. As key terms in international relations such as self-help, self-interest, or self-determination indicate, "self" is one of the central concepts to describe actions under the condition of anarchy. However, how to conceptualize the collective "self" or how to apply the conceptual selves to the analysis of conflicts in the post-Cold war world remains problematic. The course will review traditional perspectives on anarchy and identity, and will explore the nature of national self as constituted by collective memory and historical events and its relation to security issues. J. Yim. Spring.
22600. Comparative Political Economy. The course will explore the interplay of politics and economics to answer the following questions: Why do different countries choose different economic strategies? Do these different economic policies affect the economy successfully? Can governments shape the economy according to their political preferences? Or are they constrained by any 'exogenous' forces? Finally, can they pursue economic policies which, satisfactory enough to their electorates, ensure their reelection? This course precisely attempts to address these questions. We begin by discussing the central debates that have surrounded the relationship between markets and states in the last two centuries. We then explore, using a set of theoretical models, the role that parties and politically organized interests, the structure of labor markets and the institutional structure of modern states have on the process of economic policy-making and on economic performance in general. After paying particular attention to developed nations, we then consider the political underpinnings of economic performance in developing areas - comparing Latin American countries, sub-Saharan Africa and East Asian nations. C. Boix. Spring.
23102. Japanese Politics in Comparative Perspective. Enrollment limited to 20. Three sets of questions run through the course and serve to integrate the material: (1) What is the "nature" of Japanese politics? How is power controlled and exercised? What differentiates Japanese politics from the politics of other countries, and in what ways is it the same? (2) What are the sources of continuity and change in Japanese politics? How are they similar or different to those of other countries? (3) What is the future of Japanese politics? Was the decade of the '90s a "watershed" era, as Gerald Curtis claims, or a "lost decade"? More generally, are valid predictions possible in politics, and on what basis? D. Bell. Spring.
24300. Globalization and Its Discontents. This course examines the political causes and effects of globalization, a term referring to the cluster of political, economic, and technological changes that have greatly reduced barriers to exchange? It starts with attempts to define the globalization phenomenon, looks at the historical build-up to the reduction of international barriers, and then examines the effect of globalization on both the developed and developing world. Specific topics include: the effects of unfettered capital flows on nation-states; the validity of race-to-the-bottom phenomena; the rise of global NGOs; the question of cultural homogenization; and whether globalization is reversible. D. Drezner. Spring.
25500. Societies and the Social Sciences: Violence and Civil Strife. Intrastate or civil wars have become the dominant form of war. Out of ninety-six armed conflicts that took place between 1989 and 1996, only five were wars between sovereign states ("interstate wars"). Civil wars (both ethnic and non-ethnic) tend to be deadlier than interstate wars. What makes their violence even worse is that they primarily, and often deliberately, target civilians: eight out of ten people killed in contemporary civil wars have been civilians. Moreover, in many cases, victimizers and victims tend to know each other; they are neighbors who had been living together peacefully. We analyze and attempt to understand the nature of violence in civil wars via both a critical reading of descriptions of this phenomenon and the application of social science tools to it. S. Kalyvas. Spring.
28300. Seminar on Realism. The aim of this course is to read the key works dealing with the international relations theory called "realism." J. Mearsheimer. Spring.
28900/39900. Strategy. This course is about American national security policy in the post-cold war world, especially the principal issues of military strategy that are likely to face the United States in the next decade. The course is structured in five parts. The first component examines the key changes in strategic environment since 1990. The second looks at the effects of multipolarity on American grand strategy and basic national goals. The third block focuses on nuclear strategy. The fourth section is about conventional strategy. The last block discusses the future of war and peace in the Pacific Rim. R. Pape. Spring. (D)
29300/49000. History and Politics of the Soviet Union. (=HIST 23900/33900) This course, based on a weekly lecture and discussion of common readings, will look at the ways in which the tsarist and Soviet empires were constructed and maintained, the ideologies and discourses of empire employed, and the processes by which national communities were formed. The collapse of the tsarist empire and Soviet Union will be discussed, as well as specific case studies of nationalities within the empires. Readings will include empirical studies as well as theoretical works on nation formation, nationalism, and imperialism. R. Suny. Spring. (C)
30700. Introduction to Linear Models. This course will provide an examination of statistical methods employed in political science. We will begin with an introduction to general regression models and their use in subjecting theoretical claims to empirical tests. We will discuss the least squares regression model, the assumptions that underlie it, the problems that arise from violating these assumptions, and ways we can restore the ability to draw valid inferences from least squares models. This course will have a decidedly different approach than typical statistics courses. I intend to emphasize intuitive understanding and practical application of statistical tools and to develop students' ability to choose and employ the appropriate tool for particular research questions. Topics to be covered include: multicollinearity, non-linearity and non-additivity, autocorrelation, heteroskadasticity, logit, probit, experimental methods, simultaneous equations, and structural equations. M. Harris-Lacewell. Spring. (E)
34600. Seminar: Agency. P. Markell. Spring. (A)
35800. Formal Approaches to Comparative Politics. PQ: PLSC 308. This course presents some of the applications of the rational choice paradigm to comparative politics. It consists on three parts of uneven length: civil and ethnic conflict, transitions to democracy and democratic regimes, being the latter the longest one. Within that last chapter, the course will cover the analysis of elections, legislatures, political parties and politico-economic environments (e.g. distributive taxation and public goods). Students with some background in mathematics (especially, algebra and calculus) will benefit the most although other students unfamiliar with, but willing to engage in, formal analysis are also welcome. L. Medina. Spring. (C)
36100. Civil Wars. The substantive focus of this seminar is on civil wars. Although we will look at issues related to their causes and termination, the main theoretical focus will be on civil wars as political processes. Topics include the institutions of civil wars, the impact of cleavages (especially ethnic ones), and the patterns of violence. Methodologically, we will rethink the ways in which we design research in comparative politics, especially with phenomena that are hard to place within existing analytical frameworks. Topics include the identification of theoretical and empirical puzzles, the selection of methodological tools and their adaptation to the question at hand, the development of research designs tailored to available empirical resources, the combination of fieldwork with models, the identification of relevant (and diverse) bodies of literature, and the production of data in data-scarce environments. We will pay particular attention to the tension between aggregation and disaggregation, macro and micro levels of analysis, agency and structure, area expertise and abstract generalization. Finally, we will ask whether it is possible to transcend context in a way that fully respects it. S. Kalyvas. Spring. (C)
40500. Sovietology and Its Discontents . (=HIST 61200) Taught as a colloquium, with common readings and a final review paper, this course explores the ways in which political scientists and historians tried to understand the Soviet Union. Among the approaches to be discussed will be: Kremlinology, the totalitarian model, interest group and pluralist analyses, comparative Communist approaches, social history, and the varieties of modernization and congruence models. The course will look at both the limits of past research, its insights and failures, as well as suggest alternative ways to investigate non-democratic and transitional regimes. R. Suny. Spring. (C)
41200. Terrorism. R. Pape. Spring. (D)
43500. Applied Bayesian Statistics for Political Scientists. This course provides an introduction to the applications of Bayesian statistics to political science. We begin with a discussion of the theoretical foundations of Bayesian methods. From these foundations we develop univariate (e.g. the mean), simple multivariate (e.g. both the mean and variance), and more complicated multivariate (e.g. regression) models. Advanced topics may include Bayesian treatments of general linear models, hierarchical models, and models of missing data. Emphasis will of course be placed on the development of competency with tools to implement these methods. J. Grynaviski. Spring. (E)
45100. Comparative Capitalisms II. PQ: Completion of PLSC 450 is encouraged but not required. This course will address key empirical and theoretical controversies involving matters of economic and industrial adjustment in advanced industrial economies. Literature on the welfare state, regions, corporate governance, industrial relations and industrial organization will be examined in comparative context. G. Herrigel. Spring. (C)
46500. Power and Politics. This course will explore the literature on power as it has developed largely in American politics. C. Cohen. Spring. (B)
48400. Workshop on International Security Policy. This workshop aims to provide interested members of the Chicago community with an opportunity to meet and discuss a wide range of international security topics. Special emphasis will be placed on looking at important policy issues that lend themselves to social science research. Relevant topics include: 1) NATO expansion, 2) America's grand strategy after the Cold War, 3) the rise of China, 4) nuclear proliferation, 5) the state of Russia's military, and 6) stability in the Persian Gulf. Speakers will include policymakers, as well as scholars and graduate students doing policy-relevant research. C. Glaser, J. Mearsheimer, R. Pape.
49200. American Political Development. P. Conley.Spring. (B)
50500. War and Human Identity. (=RETH 50500) War is pervasive in human history and politics; indeed, the story of politics is to a remarkable extent a story of what war has destroyed or helped bring into being. The human "war story" is complex, putting on display human capacities for self-sacrifice and heroism and, as well, providing an arena for human deed-doing of the most destructive and evil sort. J. Elshtain. Spring. (A)
51100. Critical International Relations Theory. This seminar will provide an overview of several themes, or 'problematics', that distinguish critical scholarship on international relations. Each of those themes will be explicitly connected to one of the major theorists whose works shape the field of critical inquiry in the social sciences generally (e.g., Marx, Gramsci, Habermas, Foucault, Butler, Fanon, Levinas). We will not read many works of the theorists themselves in depth; instead, we will simply draw on their work to situate and ground the critical IR scholarship on the respective 'problematic' theoretically. After a brief introductory unit addressed to the question, what distinguishes critical international relations-that is, what makes scholarship critical-we will approach the set of themes of critical IR in two units: Power and domination; and, Difference and disputations of the putatively universal. For the introductory unit, we will reflect on the recent proliferation of scholarship in IR that claims to draw on Habermas, and ask how, if at all, that work retains his critical commitments. For the first of the thematic units-Power and domination-we will look at three themes: Marx and the problematic of capitalist imperialism; Gramsci and the problematic of hegemonic empire; and, Foucault and the problematic of global governance, law, and governmentality. The second major unit-Difference and disputations of the putatively universal-will also consist of three themes: Foucault, Butler and the problematic of the body and subjectivity; Fanon and the problematic of post-colonial subjectivities; and Levinas and the problematic of an ethics of difference. B. DuVall. Spring. (D)
51200. Law-Philosophy Seminar. This is a seminar/workshop most of whose participants are faculty from seven area institutions. It admits approximately ten students by permission of the instructors. Its aim is to study, each year, a topic that arises in both philosophy and the law and to ask how bringing the two fields together may yield mutual illumination. There are ten to twelve meetings throughout the year, always on Mondays from 4 to 6 PM. Half of the sessions are led by local faculty, half by visiting speakers. The leader assigns readings for the session (which may be by that person, by other contemporaries, or by major historical figures), and the session consists of a brief introduction by the leader, followed by structured questioning by the two faculty coordinators, followed by general discussion. Students write two-page papers for each meeting, and a 20-25 page seminar paper at the end of the year. The course satisfies the Law School Writing Requirement. The schedule of meetings will be announced by mid-September, and students should submit their credentials to both instructors by September 20. Past themes have included: practical reason; equality; privacy; autonomy; global justice; pluralism and toleration. The theme for next year is War. Issues to be discussed include the justification of conflict, civil liberties during wartime, the moral psychology of conflict, and others. M. Nussbaum, C. Sunstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
51400. Topics in American Politics: Party Nominations and Primary Elections. M. Hansen. Spring. (B)
51900. Feminist Philosophy. (=PHIL 31900, LAW xxxxx, RETH 41000, GNDR 29600) This course is open to College students only with permission of the instructor. The course is an introduction to the major varieties of philosophical feminism: Liberal Feminism (Mill, Wollstonecraft, Okin, Nussbaum), Radical Feminism (MacKinnon, Dworkin), Difference Feminism (Gilligan, Held, Noddings), and Postmodern "Queer" Feminism (Rubin, Butler). After studying each of these approaches, we focus on political and ethical problems of contemporary international feminism, asking how well each of the approaches addresses these problems. M. Nussbaum. Spring.
52000. Political Theory Workshop. (=SCTH 52000) The workshop is a forum for the presentation of new research in all varieties of political theory and political philosophy, including work in the history of political thought; contributions to normative political philosophy; theoretical engagements with problems in contemporary politics and public policy; and theoretical reflection on fundamental political concepts or phenomena. Our weekly seminars include presentations of work in progress by graduate students, as well as University of Chicago faculty, faculty at other Chicago-area institutions, and a small number of invited guests from around the country. Graduate students serve as discussants for all presentations. The Workshop subscribes to no particular methodology or political ideology, and welcomes participants from all departments and disciplines. D. Allen, C. Larmore, P. Markell, I Young.
54600. Workshop on East Asia. (=ECON 57100) This workshop focuses on current social science research on East Asian societies, including the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Presentations are by university faculty and advanced graduate students who conduct research on these societies, throughout the social science disciplines. Two to three outside speakers are hosted each quarter. D. Yang, B. Silberman.
55500. Workshop on Comparative Politics. This workshop invites scholars whose work is historical, sociological, anthropological, and political to cultivate a forum that is highly interdisciplinary in nature. We have addressed issues such as state building, democratic theory, economic policy, the welfare state, and cultural cleavages in past years. We invite graduate students with area expertise to raise theoretical issues about their data and interpretations that would be of interest to a wider circle of social scientists. As in the past, there will be no particular geographic or temporal focus in the workshop. S. Kalyvas, L. Medina, S. Stokes, L. Wedeen.
58500. Workshop on Organizations and Political Sociology. Combining political science and sociology, this workshop focuses on organizations and social networks-both the microunderpinnings of their construction (identity and exchange) and the macroconsequences of their aggregation (states and markets). This year we will focus in particular on the effect of organizational or network structure on the patterning of temporal sequence and change. J. Padgett, G. Herrigel, J. Brehm.
59300/59400/59500. Workshop on International Relations. Part of the Program on International Politics, Economics, and Security (PIPES), this is a yearlong workshop for advanced graduate students engaged in their own research projects in international relations. PIPES meetings provide a forum for advanced graduate students, university faculty, and outside guests to present their research. Topics include the full range of international politics and theory, including political economy, security studies, foreign policy, international law and organizations, international environmental issues, critical international relations theory, and a wide variety of regional issues. This work is methodologically diverse, encompassing historical research, mathematical modeling, quantitative studies, and interpretive approaches. C. Lipson, D. Snidal.
