Courses
Course Archive
Courses Winter 2006
Please find below a list of courses offered by the department during the Winter 2006 quarter.
20720. Politics of Difference in East Asia. This course explores the concept of multiculturalism in a historically, socially and politically specific setting. We will explore theoretical questions of group identity, cultural rights and nation and discuss their relevance in East Asia. Which human rights are universal and under what circumstances, if at all, are cultural' interpretations of such rights permissible? We will critically examine the legitimacy of Confucianism as culture, ideology and tradition in challenging certain aspects of democracy, human rights and liberalism. Our theoretical discussion will be supplemented by current topics such as Asian comfort women, ethnic minorities in Japan and China, North Korean refugees in China and South Asian migrant workers in South Korea among others. S. Kang. Winter.
21325. The Politics of Black Popular Culture and Hip Hop Music. This course is a study of black popular culture and hip hop music's intersection with, and consequences for, the political sphere and the politics of black political empowerment. Topics covered include hip hop culture's relationship to the built environment and 'the underclass'; the diverse ways in which we may consider popular culture to be 'political'; questions of race, identity, and hip hop culture's rise as a youth culture; the concept and problematics of a 'hip hop social movement'; and questions surrounding gender in hip hop music. C. Deis. Winter.
22400/35500. Public Opinion. What is the relationship between the mass citizenry and government in the U.S.? Does the public meet the conditions for a functioning democratic polity? This course considers the origins of mass opinion about politics and public policy, including the role of core values and beliefs, information, expectations about political actors, the mass media, economic self-interest, and racial attitudes. This course also examines problems of political representation, from the level of political elites communicating with constituents, and from the possibility of aggregate representation. J. Brehm. Winter. (B)
23100. Democracy and the Information Technology Revolution. The revolution in information technologies has serious implications for democratic societies. We concentrate, though not exclusively, on the United States. We look at which populations have the most access to technology-based information sources (the digital divide), and how individual and group identities are being forged online. We ask how is the responsiveness of government being affected, and how representative is the online community. Severe conflict over the tension between national security and individual privacy rights in the U.S., United Kingdom and Ireland will be explored as well. We analyze both modern works (such as those by Turkle and Gilder) and the work of modern democratic theorists (such as Habermas). M. Dawson. Winter.
23500. Political Organizations. This course introduces the study of political organizations and organizational behavior, examining classic and contemporary writings on organizations, as well as applications of those ideas to political problems. J. Brehm. Winter.
23610. Comparative Politics: An Analytical Approximation. This course introduces students to current work done in comparative politics (and in political science in general) on the following topics: the formation of the state, democratic transitions and democratic consolidation, electoral representation and political accountability, and the role of constitutional structures in the aggregation of preferences and in policy-making. Here is a sample of the questions we will examine in the course: Why are there states? Under what conditions do countries become democratic? When does corruption take place? Do electoral laws matter for representation? When do parties adopt different ideological platforms? A unifying principle of the course is the assumption that it is possible to develop general theories to explain political phenomena over time and across countries. With this goal in mind, the course relies on analytical (formal-oriented) tools and draws upon cross-national empirical evidence. C. Boix. Winter.
24520/34520. Arendt's The Human Condition. PQ. By consent only. Enrollment limited to 20. For advanced undergraduates. Undergraduates must have completed their Humanities and Social Sciences sequences, and one more specialized course in a relevant area of political theory or philosophy is strongly recommended. This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition, focusing both on its internal conceptual structure and on its intellectual and political contexts. P. Markell. Winter. (A)
25710/35710. The Long 18th Century I. PQ: For undergraduates: At least four quarters of political or social theory or philosophy (including core sequences). This course will examine political, legal, and economic thought in Western Europe and North America from 1688 until the middle of the 18th century. It will focus on English and French thought during the early years of the post-Glorious Revolution era and the early Enlightenment, with particular attention given to Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Students may take this course or its spring successor without taking the other, but there will be considerable gains from taking them in sequence. The course will include an optional French-language discussion section for students interested in reading selections from 18th-century French political thought in the original. J. Levy. Winter. (A)
25800. Losers. This is a course that reads and analyses some of the texts of 19th and 20th century writers who wrote on social, political and economic problems and were important in their own time and who have had significant influence on their successors but are not included in the canon.' Some of the writers we will examine are: DeMaistre, LaSalle, Frederick Douglas, Sidgewick, Spencer, William James, Sorel, and Hannah Arendt. B. Silberman. Winter.
27500/37500. Organizational Decision Making. (=SOCI 30301) This course is an examination of the process of decision making in modern complex organizations such as universities, schools, hospitals, business firms, and public bureaucracies. The course also considers the impact of information, power, resources, organizational structure, and the environment, as well as alternative models of choice. J. Padgett. Winter. (B)
28320. Realism. The aim of this course is to introduce students to the realist paradigm of international relations. The readings will include such classic works as Machiavelli's The Prince and Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics. Special attention will be paid to subjects like: 1) human nature vs. structural realism, 2) defensive vs. offensive realism, 3) the absence of a balancing coalition against the United States since the Cold War ended, and 4) the role of ethics in realist thinking. J. Mearsheimer. Winter.
28800/48800. Introduction to Constitutional Law. (=LLSO 23900) This course is an introduction to the constitutional doctrines and political role of the U.S. Supreme Court, focusing on its evolving constitutional priorities and its response to basic governmental and political problems, including maintenance of the federal system, promotion of economic welfare, and protection of individual and minority rights. G. Rosenberg. Winter. (B)
29800. B.A. Paper Colloquium. PQ: Required of fourth-year political science majors who plan to write a B.A. paper. Students participate in both Autumn and Winter Quarters but register only once (in either the Autumn or Winter Quarter). The colloquium, which may be organized along methodological or field lines, meets weekly in the Autumn Quarter and biweekly in the Winter Quarter to provide students with a forum within which research problems are addressed, conceptual frameworks are refined, and drafts of the B.A. paper are presented and critiqued. Winter.
29900. B.A. Paper. PQ: Required of fourth-year political science majors 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. Winter.
30300. Survey of American Politics. A survey of some of the main themes, topics and approaches in the study of American politics and government. M. Hansen, M. Dawson. Winter. (B)
33300. Interpretive Methods in the Social Sciences. This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to interpretive methods in the social sciences. Students will learn to 'read' texts and images while also becoming familiar with contemporary thinking about interpretation, narrative, ethnography, and social construction. Among the methods we shall explore are: semiotics, hermeneutics, ordinary language theory, and discourse analysis. L. Wedeen. Winter. (E)
33500. Managing Moral Diversity. Contemporary political theory is increasingly oriented around the idea of reasonable disagreement: that otherwise sincere, well-intentioned, and well-informed persons can nevertheless find themselves in intractable disagreements about the best way to resolve political and moral controversies. But why do such disagreements occur? What makes them so intractable? And what are the implications for the way we think about our political and social arrangements, or the way we should talk to our fellow citizens? This course will examine some of the most powerful liberal responses to these questions. Readings will be drawn from John Rawls, Charles Larmore, Isaiah Berlin, John Gray, Judith Shklar, Stephen Macedo, George Crowder, Amy Gutmann, and Dennis Thompson. C. Cyrenne. Winter.
34900. American Political Behavior. This course provides a thorough introduction to American political behavior. We will address concerns such as voter turnout and voter choice, political interest, efficacy, and public opinion. This course will provide both a solid grounding in the 'classics' of behavioral work and provide insight into the current research in American political behavior. Readings and discussion will highlight voting behavior, the rise of distrust, disinterest, and inefficacy; the formation of party attachments; political attitudes and sophistication; ideology; the influence of the media; and the centrality of race in American politics. We will spend considerable time on analysis of the 2000 elections as they unfold during the quarter. This is a seminar course with a considerable reading load and discussion requirement. M. Harris-Lacewell. Winter. (B)
37000. U.S. Courts as Political Institutions. (=LAWS 51300) An examination of the ways in which United States courts interact with the broader political system. Questions include: How do the procedures, structures, and organization of the courts affect judicial outcomes? Are there interests that courts are particularly prone to support? What effect does congressional or executive impact, including judicial selection, have on court decisions? What are the difficulties with implementation of judicial decisions? G. Rosenberg. Winter. (B)
37100. Comparative Political Economy. Enrollment will be limited to 10-12. This course surveys the contemporary theories of political economy, with particular emphasis on the interaction between economic policies, political preferences, domestic institutions, the international economy, and their consequences on the economy. It considers: political business cycles, partisan models, the internal structure of labor markets and its consequences for economic governance, the effects of varying constitutional frameworks for policy-making, the underlying causes of public spending growth and debates over the welfare state, the impact of the international economy on domestic politics, the political and institutional underpinnings of growth and development. The course draws heavily on the comparative politics literature focused on OECD nations, but it also examines key work on the developing world. C. Boix. Winter. (C)
40600. Seminar on IR Theory. The end of the Cold War ushered in a new set of debates about how to study international politics. This course is an introduction to some of those important theoretical approaches and is organized around debate among realism, liberalism, and constructivism and their variants. Seminar discussion will identify and criticize the central arguments advanced by different scholars in order to assess the relative merits of different theoretical perspectives. R. Pape. Winter. (D)
42600. Political Responsibility. (=LAWS 79701) Collective action through institutions directed at goals of maximizing freedom equity and well being for people cannot occur unless the individuals acting with and within these institutions are responsible. What does responsibility mean in the context of large scale social structures and organized action? Can we make meaningful distinctions between moral responsibility in individual interaction and political responsibility in the context of participation in political community? Is it important to see political responsibility in backward looking terms of assigning causal agency to events that have occurred, or is it more important to consider responsibilities for future transformation? Can it be argued that people in a collective share responsibility for passive assent or sharing attitudes even when they themselves have not performed harmful or unjust acts? We will discuss questions such as these through works of writers such as Hannah Arendt, Jean Paul Sartre, Larry May, Marion Smiley, Hans Jonas, Dennis Thompson, Robert Goodin, Jacques Derrida and others. I. Young. Winter (A)
43900. Language, Politics and Political Theory. How do academic political theorists combine the study of texts, the study of history, and reflection on larger theoretical, philosophical, or political problems? To explore this question, we read and discuss a series of interpretations of the political thought of Thomas Hobbes, along with related works that make explicit the conceptions of language, history, and theory that inform these interpretations. Primarily for Ph.D. students in political theory; enrollment will be limited and instructor consent required. P. Markell. Winter. (A)
45010. Social Theory and the Economy. This course surveys social theoretic writing on the boundaries and character of economic process. Topics include theories of reflexivity and agency, recombinant organizational forms, and alternative forms of governance. G. Herrigel. Winter. (C)
51300. Money and Commodities as Social Forms. (=HIST 51300). W. Sewell. Winter. (A)
51620. The Legal and Political Philosophy of Ronald Dworkin. (=PHIL 51810) This seminar will be centered primarily on Dworkin's legal philosophy, as expounded in Taking Rights Seriously and Law's Empire, focusing on his critique of positivism and on his interpretive theory of law as 'integrity.' But considerable attention will also be given to its connections to his political philosophy and to his ideas about liberalism and justice. C. Larmore. Winter. (A)
