Courses
Course Archive
Courses Spring 2005
Please find below a list of courses offered by the department during the Spring 2005 quarter.
21105. Political Participation and Democracy in the United States. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to political participation in American politics. Topics include three models of political participation, i.e., socio-economic status (SES) model, rational choice model, and civic voluntarism model; individual-level determinants of participation such as education, income, and occupation; structural-level determinants, i.e., mobilization, legal and institutional factors, socio-geographical context, interpersonal networks, social capital, and media and internet. It will conclude with a discussion on the relationship between political participation and democracy. S. Ha. Spring.
21205. Theory and Practice of Diplomacy. This course will introduce a key element of international relations: diplomacy. It will analyze diplomacy's role in the international system through the major theoretical lenses of IR. We will discuss questions such as: What is diplomacy? What affect, if any, does diplomacy have on the international system? Does it create a "society" of states? The course will explore some of the major practices that characterize diplomacy. How do states communicate? How does international bargaining work? How does diplomacy as practiced at permanent conferences, such as the UN, differ from "traditional" diplomacy? Diplomacy is typically a sovereignty-based institution, but how does diplomacy work in a world where non-state actors play an increasing role? We will also take a closer look at some important empirical cases of diplomacy in international crises. L. Viola. Spring.
21210. Women and U.S. Politics. This class will provide an introduction to the role that women have played in American political life from the 1800s to the present. The question being asked throughout the class is there a gender gap in US politics, and if so why? Do women have different political opinions, different issues that matter to them, and different strategies for organization and leadership as political actors? If so, why is this the case and what is the impact of female leaders, female views, and female issues on American politics? We will address these questions using both historical examples and contemporary scholarship, covering the experiences of women from different race, class, and regional backgrounds. By including women's experiences across a wide range of time, space, and social background, the class will consider general explanations of female distinctiveness in relationship to the full diversity of women's experience in the United States, including personal experience. M. Rolfe. Spring.
21305. Humanitarian NGOs and International Ethics. (=HMRT 12305) This course examines international humanitarian NGOs (e.g., Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam) from the perspective of political theory and international ethics. We conceptualize and evaluate these organizations' activities by asking questions such as: How should they distribute their scarce resources? When, if ever, are they justified in causing harm? To whom should they be accountable? We also situate humanitarian NGOs in the context of debates in international ethics about responsibility for global poverty. Other topics covered include the ethics of fundraising, humanitarian military intervention, "rights-based" aid provision, and cultural relativism. Readings pair work in contemporary political theory, philosophy, and ethics with accounts of aid provision by aid workers, journalists, aid recipients, and others. J. Rubenstein. Spring.
22510. Law and Society. (=FNDL 28100, LLSO 28100) This course examines the myriad relationships between courts, laws, and lawyers in the United States. Issues covered range from legal consciousness to the role of rights to access to courts to implementation of decisions to professionalism. G. Rosenberg. Spring.
22715/32700. Machiavelli on War. (=FNDL 29300) An exploration of Machiavelli's thought on war through a reading of The Art of War and excerpts from The Prince and Discourses on Livy. N. Tarcov. Spring. (A)
23000. On Citizenship. This seminar will explore alternative understandings of citizenship, and it will place a greater emphasis on the practice or positive components of citizenship than on the question of inclusion/exclusion. We will begin by considering pre-modern understandings of citizenship and then spend the bulk of the course on the meaning and significance of citizenship within liberal democratic contexts. A. Davis. Spring.
24900. Insurgency and Democratization in Latin America, 1960 to 2000. This course analyzes different instances of violent insurgency in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century and how they affected the consolidation (or lack thereof) of democratic politics in the countries where they occurred. To gain comparative perspective, we study three countries with different experiences both in their economic and political background and in their outcomes: El Salvador, Argentina, and Colombia. The set of readings draws mostly from political and economic history, but no special background on these disciplines is assumed. L. Medina. Spring.
25000/35100. Comparative Politics of Latin America. This course introduces major theories of Latin American political and social change, and the political systems of three countries. We focus on the determinants and dynamics of regime change in Latin America. We first read general studies of modernization and political change and then focus on these issues as they worked themselves out in Chile, Mexico, and Nicaragua. S. Stokes. Spring. (C)
26910. Libertarianism. Today many citizens describe themselves as "libertarians." Cultural libertarians are deeply opposed to the war on drugs, prohibitions on pornography, and other attempts by the state to police moral behavior. Economic libertarians decry the excessive regulation of government bureaucracies and support free choice in free markets. Political libertarians believe that the state ought to be restricted to a bare minimum of objectives, from assuring the common defense to safeguarding individuals against theft and fraud. This course examines the philosophical underpinnings of libertarian thought. Along the way, we'll ask how well a libertarianism can withstand certain philosophical objections: that it is incapable of distinguishing between liberty and license; that it secures individuals from the state only to throw them to the mercy of their fellow citizens; that in safeguarding individuals from the depredations of unreliable contractors, the "minimum" state will look not so different from the one we ourselves inhabit. Readings will be drawn from Robert Nozick, Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Jan Narveson, Loren Lomasky, David Boaz, Ayn Rand, and Charles Murray. C. Cyrenne. Spring.
27215/52315. Machiavelli's Political Thought. (=LLSO 28200) This course is devoted to the political writings of Niccol Machiavelli. Readings include The Prince, Discourses on Livy, Florentine Histories and the "Discourses on Florentine Affairs." Themes to be explored include: the relationship between the person and the polity; the compatibility of moral and political virtue; the utility of class conflict; the advantages of mixed institutions; the principles of self-government, deliberation, and participation; the meaning of liberty and the question of military conquest. J. McCormick. Spring. (A)
27901/47901. Religion and the First Amendment. (=RETH 31600, PHIL 21415/31415, LAWS 47901). This course will cover the major legal issues in this area, focusing on the relationship between the Establishment clause and the Free Exercise clause. Some background reading in philosophy (e.g. Hobbes, Locke) will begin the class, and some comparative reading about other countries (especially India) will end it. M. Nussbaum. Spring. (A)
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.
28610. Psychoanalysis, Buddhism, and the Emotional Life. Using abstract theories and empirical studies, we investigate the sources of human thinking and behavior as they relate to political action, conflict, and organization. Topics include the inevitability of conflict, the dynamics of obedience and authority, the function and organization of political attitudes, the variety in styles of political thinking, the sources of stereotypes and intolerance, the role of emotions in political life, and non-Western understandings of human consciousness and political action. E. Oliver. 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: (1) examining the key changes in strategic environment since 1990, (2) looking at the effects of multipolarity on American grand strategy and basic national goals, (3) focusing on nuclear strategy, (4) examining conventional strategy, and (5) discussing the future of war and peace in the Pacific Rim. R. Pape. Spring. (D)
29700. Independent Study/Reading Course. PQ: Consent of faculty supervisor and concentration chair. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This is a general reading and research course for independent study not related to the B.A. paper or B.A. research. Spring.
29900. B.A. Paper. Required of fourth-year political science concentrators who write a B.A. paper. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This is a reading and research course for independent study related to B.A. research and B.A. paper preparation. Spring.
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. J. Grynaviski. Spring. (E)
34700. Political Economy of China. This course offers a set of tools for analyzing Chinese economic development and reforms. Our focus will be on how economic and political institutions have changed and how those changes affect the behavior of citizens, consumers, and businesses. We seek to understand the patterns of institutional transformation by examining legacies of the past, political and economic campaigns, leadership transitions, as well as China's integration with the world economy. Topics covered include reforms in industrial governance, financial supervision, market regulation, and state-business relations; variations across regions and industrial sectors; the integration of Hong Kong into China; Taiwan and China; and China's international trade strategy. All major topics are examined with a view to their international implications. D. Yang. Spring. (C)
37800. Political Parties and Democracy. Political parties are endogenous to democracy. This is true despite great misgivings of political theorists about the effects of parties, and despite the fact that parties are rarely the product of formal arrangements. Constitutions, for example, are generally silent on the topic of political parties. Parties also form the basis of dominance of many authoritarian regimes. Because of their pervasiveness and influence, political parties are among the most widely studied phenomena in politics. Theorists have reflected on them, and analysts studied them, since their origins in the 17th century. Given the long history of writings on parties, it is surprising that, four centuries later, many controversies remain unsettled. Why do parties arise? Why do some political systems have many parties and others just two, and what difference does this make for the quality of governance and representation? What factors shape the ideological character of parties? What is the relative weight of social cleavages versus strategic action in shaping party systems? Are parties good for citizens in democracy? Are they good for the populations of authoritarian states? Why do some parties appeal to voters by promising particular programs, whereas others use clientelist methods to mobilize electoral support? These are the kinds of questions we will address. There are two basic course requirements. One is to report to the class on a book or set of readings, and to provide to Stokes a written version of this report. Regarding the second requirement, students have a choice. They may write a traditional term paper (e.g., a critical analysis of literature, an application and extension of a theoretical approach to a case drawing from secondary literature, etc.). Or they may develop a proposal for original research, which they then carry out after the quarter ends. Students who take the second option may use the proposal to develop research towards a master's or qualifying paper. S. Stokes. Spring. (C)
38500. Recent Literature on the Courts. (=LAWS 54402) PQ: PLSC 37000. This course examines new and recent literature in public law broadly defined. It aims to bring participants in touch with the newest and most exciting work in the public law field and to identify the most promising questions for future research. Topics covered range from recent jurisprudential work (Bork, Dworkin and Ackerman) to agenda-setting (Perry, Provine) to public opinion (Marshall) to judicial policy (Rabkin, Morgan). G. Rosenberg. Spring. (B)
40000. Reading Course in Political Science. Consent of instructor. Spring.
40100. Thesis Supervision. Consent of instructor. Spring.
41500. Nationalism in the Age of Globalization. Nationalism has been the most powerful political ideology in the world for the past two centuries. This course examines its future in the age of globalization, focusing in particular on the widespread belief that it is a outmoded ideology. Specific topics covered in the course include: the causes of nationalism, its effects on international stability, nationalism and empires, globalization and the future of the state, globalization and national identities, the clash of civilizations, American nationalism, and the clash between Zionism and Palestinian nationalism. J. Mearsheimer. Spring. (D)
42700. Politics of Unipolarity. R. Pape. Spring. (D)
43800. Rational International Politics. This course is about rational choice explanations of international cooperation and international institutions. It has combines a substantive agenda of examining how we understand problems of cooperation with a methodological agenda of examining the use of rational choice and formal models in investigating these questions. Some prior knowledge of game theoretic approaches is useful but not necessary preparation for the course. A willingness to work through formal arguments is essential. The first part of the course will cover the basic logic of the rational approach while the second part of the course will look at applications with an emphasis on working through recent articles. Coursework will include weekly comments on the readings and a short course paper. D. Snidal. Spring. (D)
45100. Comparative Capitalisms II. PQ: Completion of PLSC 45000 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)
47901. Religion and the First Amendment. (=RETH 31600, PHIL 21415/31415, LAWS 47901). This course will cover the major legal issues in this area, focusing on the relationship between the Establishment clause and the Free Exercise clause. Some background reading in philosophy (e.g. Hobbes, Locke) will begin the class, and some comparative reading about other countries (especially India) will end it. M. Nussbaum. Spring. (A)
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. Spring.
50000. Dissertation Proposal. P. Markell. Spring.
51010. Special Topics: Political Methodology. The purpose of this course is to cover a number of topics useful for graduate study in Political Science that were beyond the scope of the quarter-long linear models classThe course will be roughly divided into three parts. Part I is a brief introduction to maximum likelihood methods with applications to the linear model and models with dichotomous dependent variables (logit and probit). Part II of the course is basic time-series analysis. Part III covers basic pooled time-series and cross-section methods. Students are expected to have taken Introduction to Linear Models or its equivalent. J. Grynaviski. Spring. (D)
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. J. McCormick, N. Tarcov, I. Young. Spring.
52800. The Roman Republic: Principles and Practice. This course is devoted to the history, institutions and ideas of the Roman republic. Readings include classical accounts of Rome's development (Polybius and Livy), contemporary analyses of its constitution and social structure (Nicolet, Lintott, and Mitchell), philosophic expressions of the epoch (Cicero), and considerations of their reception in subsequent ages (Millar). Themes to be discussed include: the relationship of rich and poor citizens in a republic; the political accountability of elites; the rule of law; the common good; and military power. J. McCormick. Spring. (A)
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, W. Parish, D. Zhao. Spring.
55300. Workshop on Political Economy. The Workshop in Political Economy is organized around rational choice and game theoretic approaches to the study of politics and economies, broadly construed. Workshop topics include positive analysis of political, economic and social behavior, as well as normative models of public choice, experimental tests and philosophical critiques. We also expect some of the work presented to focus on empirical and policy applications of political economy models. Thus the workshop is inherently interdisciplinary - combining economic methodology with political science questions, and building political considerations into economic analysis. Workshop sessions will apply these combinations to a broad range of social science issues and substantive topics. S. Gailmard, J. Grynaviski, R. Myerson, D. Snidal. Spring.
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. L. Wedeen. Spring.
55600. Workshop on Social Theory. (=HIST 98100) This workshop explores issues in social theory across a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. The emphasis is less on developing social theory per se than on exploring in a sustained fashion the social theoretical implications of the participants' substantive work. Themes to be addressed are likely to include the relationship between social and cultural transformations; questions of the public sphere, civil society, and democracy; as well as the relations between modernist and postmodernist forms of social theory. W. Sewell. Spring.
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. Spring.
