Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: VISITING RESEARCH

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 0

Description: Research conducted by visiting student scholars. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES: POLITICAL SCIENCE LAB

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Laboratory

Credit Hours: 0

Description: This lab companion course to SOSC 302: Quantitative Analysis for the Social Sciences involves political science-specific applications of statistical analysis. The lab focuses on the use of software to analyze data from research in political science. Students who enroll in this lab section must also enroll in SOSC 302 during the same semester.

Long Title: AP/OTH CREDIT IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Transfer

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course provides credit for students who have successfully completed approved examinations, such as Advanced Placement exams. This credit counts toward the total credit hours required for graduation.

Long Title: IB/OTH CREDIT INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Transfer

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course provides credit for students who have successfully completed approved examinations, such as the International Baccalaureate exam for Global Politics. This credit counts toward the total credit hours required for graduation only. This course is for transfer credit only.

Long Title: AP/OTH CREDIT IN COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Transfer

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course provides credit for students who have successfully completed approved examinations, such as Advanced Placement exams. This credit counts toward the total credit hours required for graduation.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO CONSTITUTIONALISM AND MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will examine constitutionalism and authoritarianism, including Plato, Machiavelli, and Marx, and introduce students to classical and contemporary political theories.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to major topics in the subfield of American Politics, including public opinion, group politics, political parties, elections, congressional-presidential-bureaucratic politics, and judicial politics. This course helps students navigate upper division courses in American Politics and understand American government and politics.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to major topics in the subfield of International Relations, including the causes of war, political dimensions of the international economy, international organizations, and interstate cooperation to address contemporary global challenges. This course helps students navigate upper division courses in International Relations and explore the international world.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to major topics in the subfield of Comparative Politics, including emergence and survival of democracy, authoritarian government, democratic institutions, and mass and elite political behavior in countries around the world. This course helps students navigate upper division courses in Comparative Politics and explore the political world.

Long Title: HOW TO RUN FOR OFFICE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This experiential learning course teaches students how to run for elected office. Working in teams and with advice from election experts, campaign advisors, and former and current candidates and elected officials, students develop a campaign plan to win a specific local or state elected office.

Long Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study, Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Lecture/Laboratory, Seminar

Credit Hours: 1 TO 4

Description: Topics and credit hours vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: SEX, MONEY, AND POWER AROUND THE WORLD

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: An interdisciplinary course exploring lives and well-being in the context of gendered international and domestic politics and economic processes. Emphasis on the implications of power relations at levels from the household to the global for women and men around the world (with particular attention to Asia). Cross-list: ASIA 251, SWGS 250.

Long Title: ADVOCATING FOR IDEAS TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Advocating for change is an experiential learning course that teaches students how to engage in issue advocacy as a method of social change. Students work in teams with faculty mentors to develop and implement an advocacy plan for a particular cause or policy of interest. Cross-list: LEAD 260.

Long Title: STATE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course comparatively examines state governments and political institutions in the U.S. states. We will also focus on how state political institutions and organizations influence the creation, adoption, and implementation of public policy.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING I

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Independent reading under the supervision of a full-time member of the department. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING II

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Independent reading under the supervision of a full-time member of the department. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: POLITICAL SCIENCE INTERNSHIP

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Internship/Practicum

Credit Hours: 1

Description: This course provides credit for a student who is required to receive course credit for an internship related to political science. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: THE BIOLOGY OF POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course is an interdisciplinary survey of the role that human biology plays in our political behavior. The biology covered ranges from genes to neural structures to neuro-chemistry, while the political behavior covered ranges from levels of participation to political beliefs to left/right ideology.

Long Title: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND U.S. PUBLIC POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The objective of this course to develop an understanding of how race, ethnicity, historical context, and racism inform and interact with American public policy.

Long Title: U.S. ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Exploration of U.S. voting behavior and elections. Includes consideration of both individual level behavior and aggregate level patterns of election results.

Long Title: THE CONGRESS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines the role of Congress in the American political system. Attention is given to the historical development of Congress, the current status of the Congress, and the functions of Congress in the American political system.

Long Title: THE PRESIDENCY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Analysis of presidential powers and behavior in the context of legal, electoral, personal, and other forces that shape and limit the actions of the President.

Long Title: WORLD LEGAL SYSTEMS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to the study of judicial systems around the world. In doing so, we will examine the role of courts in the modern state to better understand their growing importance as political actors. We will engage with different theories to compare how law, politics and judiciaries interact.

Long Title: AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: STRUCTURES AND POWERS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores how the Supreme Court has interpreted and applied the nation's foundational document – the United States Constitution. In doing so, we will examine the powers of the federal and state governments, the executive’s emergency powers, and the Supreme Court’s authority to nullify the acts of other branches.

Long Title: POLITICS OF INFLUENCE IN THE UNITED STATES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The aim of this course is to acquaint students with the major influences upon who gets what, when and how from American government. Major issues (e.g., health care, immigration, agriculture) covered will vary by semester. One component of the course will be devoted to assessing the impact of money on elections and the policy process.

Long Title: AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores how the Supreme Court has interpreted and applied the US Constitution in the area of civil rights and liberties. We will examine claims related to property, privacy and personhood, First Amendment speech and religious protections, and equal protection of the laws based on race, gender, age, etc.

Long Title: FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Taught in English. Novels, and films, from North and West Africa, and the immigrant population in France, from 1960 to 2010. Emphasis on the tensions between narratives of political emancipation, modernity, secularism, and religious fundamentalism and mysticism. Extra reading for graduate students in theories of colonialism, postcolonialism, globalization. Cross-list: FREN 324, RELI 476. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 324 if student has credit for RELI 604.

Long Title: AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examination of race in U.S. politics. Includes a discussion of the construction of black identity, historical and contemporary black political leaders and thinkers, and the influence of race in political attitudes and behaviors.

Long Title: RELIGION AND DEMOCRACY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores the appropriate relationships between the religious beliefs of the participants in a democracy and the laws and regulations adopted, particularly in the context of the dual commitments to democratic processes and separation of church and state. A broad introduction to the American Constitutional law of religious freedom is provided.

Long Title: LATINO POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Latinos and public policies affecting Latinos have become a major part of the discourse taking place in American politics as a result of current and projected demographic trends. After reviewing the demographic, historic, and social factors distinctive to the Latino population in the United States, this course examines how Latinos have interacted with political institutions to shape politics and public policy.

Long Title: HEALTH POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Applies an interdisciplinary approach to the study of health policy. Objectives are to provide students with a broad introduction to the healthcare system, identify stresses on the current system, and explore possible public policy decisions that may transform the healthcare system.

Long Title: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND POLITICS IN AMERICA

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examination of the political and social position of minority groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and women) in the U.S. This course explores the political power and behavior of these groups. The key concepts include racism, discrimination, resources, political power, culture, leadership, class, and inequality.

Long Title: URBAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Exploration of issues of political behavior and public policy in urban and metropolitan areas. Includes urban decline, regional governance, revitalization, and issues of ethnic and racial conflict.

Long Title: LEGISLATURES AROUND THE WORLD

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will examine legislatures and parliaments in countries around the world, exploring their similarities and differences as well as the causes and consequences of these similarities and differences.

Long Title: AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examination of the American political party system both historically and contemporarily, with important emphasis on the nomination, campaign, and election functions of political parties. Party organization in government will also be explored.

Long Title: POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of the foundation of government involvement in public policy and the institutional process guiding executive, legislative, and bureaucratic officials. Includes theories of collective action and their application in the political world.

Long Title: PUBLIC POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Exploration of the role that public bureaucracy plays in national policy making. Includes an examination of sources of agency power, which are linked to different policy outcomes.

Long Title: POLICY ANALYSIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): (SOSC 302 OR STAT 310 OR STAT 315 OR ECON 209) AND SOPA 309

Description: Familiarizes students with the analytical tools necessary for evaluating and analyzing public policies. Cross-list: SOSC 301. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 338 if student has credit for POST 338.

Long Title: GENDER AND POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: A survey of central topics in gender and politics, including issues such as women's and men's representation in government, women as voters and candidates in political elections, gender and political participation in political parties and social movements, and gender and policy representation.

Long Title: RACE AND THE LAW IN THE UNITED STATES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Introduces legal frameworks of analysis and sources of law pertaining to issues of racial equality and discrimination. Questions include: How has law been used to perpetuate inequality? How has law made it more difficult to achieve reforms to advance equality? How have law and legal institutions helped advance racial equality and justice?

Long Title: POLITICS OF THE JUDICIARY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Explores the role of courts and judges in American politics. Will illustrate major characteristics of judicial institutions in the U.S. and provide understanding of forces influencing judicial decisions. Will cover federal and state organization of trial and appellate courts, judicial selection methods, and the politics of judicial decision-making.

Long Title: MEDIA AND POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines the role of media in politics. Attention is given to the media as a quasi-political institution. It elaborates the role the media plays in elections and the policy process.

Long Title: URBAN POLITICS LAB

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The lab course examines urban politics and policy by combining urban theory and methods with an intensive focus on one or more case studies. In addition to social, political and economic issues, the course focuses on history, culture, language, and architecture. The lab features a field research trip to one or more cities (e.g, Istanbul), typically during spring break. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: URBAN LAB ISTANBUL

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisite(s): POLI 355 OR POLI 362 OR POLI 464 OR POLI 562

Description: This course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Istanbul. In addition to social, political and economic issues, we will also focus on history, culture, language, architecture and the arts. Weekly class sessions will include lectures, case studies, guest lecturers, and group work on research projects. The lab also features an 8-day field research trip to Istanbul. Prerequisites may be taken the same semester as POLI 349/ASIA 349. Instructor Permission Required.Cross-list: ASIA 349.

Long Title: URBAN LAB HOUSTON

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisite(s): POLI 332

Description: This course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Houston. The lab is project-based and allows students to engage in hands-on, policy-focused research under the guidance of the faculty instructor. Weekly sessions will include lectures, case studies, guest lecturers, site visits, and work on research projects. POLI 350 requires either POLI 332 as a pre-requisite, which can be taken concurrently. POLI 337 may serve as a Co-Requisite for this course. Department Permission Required.

Long Title: ISLAM AND POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will venture to explore the “rich and diverse particularity” of Muslim political life at a time when Islam has become virtually synonymous with violence and hostility toward modernity. The topics include Islamic principles of government, relationship between political and religious authority, Islamism, Islam and democracy, jihad, and shariah.

Long Title: THE POLITICS AND CULTURE OF MEXICO

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Mexico entered the 21st Century as one of the most dynamic societies in Latin America. But Mexico's fast-paced and chaotic transformation cannot be understood without a look at its past and its diverse cultural makeup. This course explores the weight of Mexico's history and culture as it seeks to forge ahead economically, socially, and politically.

Long Title: EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course examines the functioning of the political system in the three principal East Asian democracies: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Particular focus is paid to each country's democratic institutions, electoral politics, and political party system. Cross-list: ASIA 353.

Long Title: LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of the political process in contemporary Latin America, with emphasis on selected major countries.

Long Title: MIDDLE EAST POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Provides an introduction to politics in the Middle East. Brief historical overview is combined with detailed description of political systems in the area. The region is then used to examine empirically, critique, and revise theories of comparative politics. Emphasis on whether the region would be considered unique or exceptional.

Long Title: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRACIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course seeks to understand the relationship between political institutions and the representation of social interests in the policy-making process across a variety of national contexts. The course focuses on the politics behind policy choices and how policy-makers are held accountable in democratic contexts. Case studies will draw upon examples in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Long Title: DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will examine the theory of democracy and the functioning of democratic institutions around the world. Themes covered in the course will include: What is democracy? How does democracy arise? Can institutions influence the survival and consolidation of democracy?

Long Title: WORLD CONSTITUTIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to constitutional systems around the world with a focus on constitutional design. The course coves the basics of constitutional theory, drafting, and amendment, political institutions, and constitutional rights and liberties, often using constitutional case law to highlight the critical questions surrounding contemporary constitutional theory and design.

Long Title: WESTERN EUROPEAN DEMOCRACIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: A survey of government and politics in Western European democracies, with primary emphasis on Great Britain, France, and Germany.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course offers a broad overview of urban politics and policies in cities around the world. We will examine how national, regional and local forces shape the processes and outcomes governance within and across cities and metropolitan areas, paying particular attention to critical problems and policies that affect urban centers: growth, immigration, class conflict, public order, service management, education, housing transportation, environmental protection, sustainability, land-use planning and spatial competition.

Long Title: POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to the study of leadership, with a focus on leadership in the political arena. Using a social science framework, we will examine the role of individuals as leaders of governmental and political bodies in shaping the culture, performance, and outcomes of those bodies.

Long Title: GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Focuses on three questions: (1) How do governments and other actors coordinate to regulate the cross-border flow of goods, services, and capital? (2) How do the resulting gains and losses drive political struggle? (3) Why is global exchange prone to crisis, and how do actors seek to manage volatility?

Long Title: BRITISH POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: An examination of British politics and government, with emphasis on both the contemporary and historical setting. This course also emphasizes a comparison of the British political system with the American political system.

Long Title: SOUTH ASIAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to the complex issues of democracy and development in South Asia. It will shed light over the important political science topics in a comparative perspective. Topics that will be covered include regimes, identity (caste, religion, gender) and conflict, migration, and diaspora and immigration in the US.

Long Title: PROTEST, RESISTANCE, AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to key concepts, themes, and approaches in the study of protests, civil resistance, and government response around the world. It surveys key recent findings on when protests happen as well as when and how they succeed.

Long Title: CORRUPTION IN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The objective of this course is to understand the causes and consequences of corruption in politics and engage critically with cutting-edge research on corruption in the social sciences.

Long Title: CIVIL WARS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Analyzing Diversity: Yes

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course seeks to examine the origins and dynamics of civil war, including civil war onset, duration, outcome, termination, why people join rebellions, the effectiveness of various forms of civil war management and resolution, and more. It aims to impart to students a solid understanding of theories and empirical evidence regarding the causes, conduct, and termination of civil wars in general.

Long Title: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examination of internal and external aspects of foreign policy leadership, presidential initiative, congressional control, press, public opinion, and crisis management. Not a Managerial Studies elective.

Long Title: WAR AND POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Exploration of the theoretical basis of, and empirical evidence for, a number of explanations for interstate war. Includes contemporary theories dealing with dispute escalation, arms races, deterrence, crisis management, and low-intensity conflict.

Long Title: STRATEGIC INTERACTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Introduction to the uses of game theory in the study of international relations.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of the development and role of international organizations in world politics. Topics include the history and evolution of international organizations, the effects of international law on behavior, and the extent to which international cooperation has been effective at resolving global problems.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores patterns of and explanations for human rights violations over time, as well as international and domestic solutions to protect human rights.

Long Title: CHINESE POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores the range of theories and empirical research methodologies from comparative political science, political-economy, and Asian studies commonly applied to understanding Chinese politics: political participation, political organizations, collective action and popular protest, political culture, and political institutional change. This course will be a seminar requiring weekly presentations, extensive readings at the graduate level in social science, and an original research paper. There is no prerequisite for this course, but participants are assumed to already possess extensive knowledge of Chinese history, culture, and society. Cross-list: ASIA 377. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 377 if student has credit for ASIA 489/POLI 489.

Long Title: POLITICS OF AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The primary focus on this course is the use of military force in pursuit of the national security of the US. A wide variety of topics are covered including the people in the military, weapons of mass destruction, and various types of conflict that have involved (or might involve) the United States.

Long Title: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines basic concepts in political behavior including political socialization, models of voting behavior, public opinion, and political participation.

Long Title: GOVERNMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN TEXAS: FROM 1835 TO THE PRESENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course examines Texas government, politics and society from the formation of the Texas Republic to the present. In addition to historical overviews, students will consult primary sources and utilize data from the Texas Legislative History Project to better understand key events, trends and dynamics in the Lone Star State.

Long Title: JERUSALEM

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: A course on Jerusalem's past and present, its religious meanings in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and its role in the modern conflict in the Middle East. Instructor Permission Required. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisite(s): SOSC 302

Description: This course uses a lecture/lab combination to introduce students to research design, applied research methods, and statistical software in political science. Students will learn key skills and tools to conduct research in political science and have an opportunity to apply those in an individual or group project.

Long Title: STATE POLITICS RESEARCH SEMINAR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: A research seminar in state politics and policy with an emphasis on state institutions.

Long Title: THESIS I

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This is the first course in the Political Science Honors Program. Students will conduct independent research and prepare a formal research proposal for their planned thesis by the end of the semester. Students must complete both POLI 405 and 406 to get Honors in Political Science. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: SENIOR THESIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This is the second course in the Political Science Honors Program. Students will conduct independent research and write a thesis paper by the end of the semester. Students must complete both POLI 405 and 406 to get Honors in Political Science. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: PRESIDENTIAL POLICYMAKING

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course focuses on American political institutions. We will use current and historical research in political science to examine the inner-workings of Congress, the presidency, the judiciary, and inter-branch relations. Students can expect to gain insight into topics such as how scholars study elections, ideology, and oversight.

Long Title: SURVEY RESEARCH IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The major objectives of this course are to introduce students to the skills and resources needed to design and conduct a survey. The principle substantive focus of the course will be public opinion surveys on topics of politics, public policy and individual political behavior.

Long Title: MODERN AMERICAN PRESIDENCY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The course examines the modern presidency since World War II with a focus on the extent to which the Trump presidency has influenced the office and been influenced by it. It specifically studies the ways in which a single president can change the office and the government. The examination considers the expansion of presidential power especially during war and its relation to the Constitution. It assesses the public presidency through television, the internet and social media. It investigates the organization of the White House and the nature of presidential decision-making. The central question is how much of a difference do individual presidents make to the office they hold.

Long Title: POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The goal of this seminar is to provide the student with knowledge of the formation, organization, activity, and impact of political parties and interest groups in the United States. Special attention will be given to changes in the operation of these two types of organizations over the last 20 years.

Long Title: ELECTION SYSTEMS, TECHNOLOGIES, AND ADMINISTRATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This multidisciplinary course will consider how elections are conducted to enhance participation, to accurately measure the will of the electorate, and to be sufficiently rigorous to convince all parties that the results are legitimate. This course will consider the design and evaluation of election technologies, ranging from voter registration through the polling booth and vote tabulation. This course will consider three questions: how do individual voters interact with the voting technology, how are voting technologies engineered to be accurate and secure, and how do the social aspects of voting fulfill democratic goals for elections? A central requirement for this course will be group research projects, many operating in our community, built around the November election. Cross-list: COMP 435, PSYC 420.

Long Title: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This seminar will focus on major issues (e.g., immigration, voting rights, budget deficits, healthcare) in American society. After examining the history of national and state policies, seminar participant swill discuss social science contributions to the ongoing policy discussions. Specific topics covered will vary by semester.

Long Title: BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course is an introduction to the biological underpinnings of political behavior. The influence of genes and evolution are covered, as well as the relevance of neural structures, brain organization, and neuro-chemistry for both universal political traits and individual variation in political orientations. NOTE: This seminar is in the theory and methods field. It is not an American politics seminar.

Long Title: SEMINAR IN TEXAS POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Research seminar in the history of Texas politics.

Long Title: ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Examines the role of campaigns in determining the outcome of political races.

Long Title: URBAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Research seminar on political behavior and public policy in urban and metropolitan areas.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE LEGISLATURES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The course aims to understand current challenges related to the US Congress -- such as party polarization and gridlock -- using the experience of the policy-making processes of other nations. In addition to recent discourse on failures of representation in Congress, the course covers politics in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Long Title: PUBLIC POLICY AND METROPOLITAN AREA GOVERNANCE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course will examine the market-like relationship among metropolitan area governments. It will address questions of urban/suburban relationships as well as policy topics such as education and local service provision.

Long Title: SEMINAR ON MONEY AND POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course explores the possible ways money may affect American politics and public policy at the national, state, and local levels of government. In addition to discussing the strategies used in allocating money in campaigns, we will examine the impact of money on elections and on the legislative process.

Long Title: EDUCATION POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395 OR POLI 338 OR SOSC 301

Description: Examines educational politics and policy from micro and macro perspectives. We will focus on school governance, structure, and finance at the federal, state, and local levels and examine the design, implementation and effects of various school reform initiatives in U.S., and to a more limited extent in other countries.

Long Title: RACE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Study of minority group politics and how race structures contemporary U.S. politics. Includes myths and realities of minority groups, symbolic politics and race, pluralism as a model of U.S. democracy, the intersection of class, race, and gender, civil rights movements, group consciousness, public opinion regarding minorities, and responses of national institutions to race issues.

Long Title: RESEARCH SEMINAR ON PUBLIC POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course provides students an opportunity to conduct original research on wide range of public policy questions. Students will be provided specific research questions to investigate over the course of the semester for which they will design and complete an original program of research.

Long Title: GOVERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Common Property Resources (CPRs), such as fisheries, aquifiers, and the Internet, appear in many guises and pose a fundamental problem for governing. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings for CPRs, their growing literature, and the political and economic institutions mediating CPR dilemmas. Included is an original research project in conjunction with the instructor. Cross-list: ENST 441.

Long Title: SEMINAR IN JUDICIAL PROCESS AND BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Thinking about law school? This seminar explores social scientific literature in judicial process and behavior and examines selected controversies in the study of judicial processes. Learning is based on active participation in seminars covering assigned readings and a research project on a related topic selected by the student.

Long Title: ELECTIONS IN THE AMERICAS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The course examines the electoral process in Latin America. Students will follow, discuss, and analyze campaigns and elections in a selected group of countries while developing an expertise in the general functioning of the respective countries' political systems.

Long Title: GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course will examine how formal and informal institutions and development processes have shaped gender inequality across the economic, social and political sphere. It will focus on theories and evidence from low and middle income countries.

Long Title: CONDITIONS OF DEMOCRACY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course starts with definitions and theories/preconditions of democracy and then looks at specific cases of democratic transition throughout the world, democratic consolidation, reaction, and the prospects for the future.

Long Title: SEX, GENDER, AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN LATIN AMERICA

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Latin American countries have elected suprisingly large numbers of women to presidencies, cabinets, and legislatures in recent years. This seminar explores how this happened in a region long known for its culture of cachismo and weak democracy and what the consequences of gender divesity are for politics.

Long Title: WOMEN AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: A research seminar focusing on women as political leaders worldwide. Topics include: leadership as a gendered concept; conditions that promote women’s inclusion in/exclusion from leadership posts; whether, when, and why women leaders behave differently than men; and citizens’ reactions to men and women in leadership roles.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Seminar examining the process and substance of public policy across nations, with emphasis on social policy in industrialized democracies.

Long Title: HOW TO MAKE AND BREAK GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Seminar on the politics global supply chains (GSCs). Will study their imperial origins and legacies; their effects on the distribution of wealth and the trajectory of democratic rule. Will explore the weaponization of GSCs by governments and activists (e.g. hackers, insurgents, saboteurs).

Long Title: MAKING AND BREAKING GOVERNMENTS: THE POLITICS OF COALITION IN EUROPE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Seminar examining the politics of coalition formation, coalition governance, and coalition breakup in the European multi-party democracies in which coalition governments are the norm.

Long Title: POLITICAL PARTIES AND VOTING BEHAVIOR IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Seminar on the determinants of party systems, the structure and functions of parties, and theories of voting behavior in Western democracies.

Long Title: THE POLITICS OF GLOBAL MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: An interdisciplinary course that will equip students with the analytical tools for understanding the dynamics driving the politics of migration and refugees globally. Students will examine why and how states try to control their borders, the factors that shape the making of migration policy, and different types of migration, with a particular focus on refugees.

Long Title: THE GLOBAL SPREAD OF POLICY AND IDEAS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course explores the spatial nature of politics. It examines how policies, ideas and behaviors spread globally among political actors. Topics covered include: government and parties’ policy diffusion. The contagion of civil war and terrorism, the spread of protests and social movements, and the dynamics of economic globalization.

Long Title: CIVIL WAR AND TERRORISM

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Seminar on causes, consequences and dynamics of civil wars. Will analyze why they break out, how sustained, how ended, thinking conceptually, theoretically, empirically about conflict dynamics and processes. Explores transnational dynamics, terrorism, roles of groups, organizations, insurgency-counterinsurgency dynamics and how these affect the evolution of civil conflicts. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 469 if student has credit for POLI 571.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Topic varies from year to year. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: PROTEST AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course introduces students to key concepts, themes, and approaches in the study of protests, political violence, and government response from a global perspective. It surveys recent findings on the nexus of protest and repression. It also includes a research component, requiring students to pursue a research project on the topic.

Long Title: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: The content of American foreign policy, its sources, and the process of policy formulation.

Long Title: THE CRAFT OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS: PREDICTION AND CONNECTING THE DOTS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course will introduce students to the problems faced by intelligence analysts. Students will study historical examples of intelligence analysis. Placed in teams, they will monitor streams of actual events and provide assessments of these events.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: THEORIES AND PRACTICE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This course has two goals: First to introduce students to the current theoretical debates in the field of international organizations and to assess the value and limitations of these theories; second, to understand the working of important world organizations, including (but not limited to) the UN, the WTO, and IMF. The course assumes some basic knowledge of IR theory and previous debates about the origin and impact of international organizations on world politics. It is designed for students at an advanced stage in the study of political science and International Relations.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Research seminar on theories and evidence of international cooperation. The course will explore conditions conducive to establishing and maintaining cooperation in international politics, the design of international agreements and institutions, and the influence of international agreements and institutions on international relations.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: In this research seminar, students explore key concepts and debates in political science such as power, authority, democratization, globalism, national security, and representation, as they emerge in a specific part of the world. The course includes a faculty-led site visit to another country in which students conduct their research first hand. Students learn how to conduct research in an international setting. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar

Credit Hours: 1 TO 4

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: US - CHINA: CONFLICT AND COOPERATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: This is a research seminar for advanced undergraduate students to read and discuss international relations theories in the context of US-China relations. Students are expected to read cutting edge IR research, follow current events, think critically of the applicability of the existing IR theories on the issues surrounding the bilateral relationship.

Long Title: INFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: What do Americans know about politics and how does it matter for their political behavior? This course explores how information, uncertainty and misinformation influence political decision-making. It also considers how the public acquires factual beliefs and reviews efforts to correct political misperceptions and reduce knowledge deficits.

Long Title: UNDERSTANDING WAR AND PEACE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Understanding War and Peace: Why do countries resort to the use of military force, and how can such conflicts be resolved? This course will Introduce students to current research on the causes and consequences of international conflict. In addition to reading and discussing current scholarship, students will have the opportunity to engage in their own research.

Long Title: POLITICS AND THE ARTS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Study of the development of modern political theory and its relevance to contemporary problems. NOTE: This seminar is in the theory and methods field. It is not an American politics seminar.

Long Title: SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC THINKING I

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to the practice of social science research including empirical description, theoretical development, and hypothesis generation and testing. It includes projects on the design and implementation of surveys, controlled experiments, archival data collection, fieldwork, case studies, and qualitative analysis.

Long Title: SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC THINKING II

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 500

Description: This course is a continuation of POLI 500. Students will plan and execute an original research project and write a paper reporting the results.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course aims at providing students with a working knowledge of statistics in political science. It involves the study of descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as hands-on experience with computer statistical packages.

Long Title: TOPICS IN METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Applications of least squares and general linear mode. Cross-list: STAT 503.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of applications of maximum likelihood estimation.

Long Title: ADVANCED MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 504

Description: Special topics in political methodology. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: ADVANCED TOPICS IN POLITICAL METHODOLOGY I

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 502

Description: This course provides an analytic and quantitative framework to design and implement causal analysis, especially in observational studies. It focuses on understanding the logic, mathematical foundations and implications of causal reasoning using diverse frameworks, and covers tools for its implementation such as randomization, weighting, difference-in-difference, matching, and others.

Long Title: ADVANCED TOPICS IN POLITICAL METHODOLOGY II

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 506

Description: An initiation to machine learning tailored for social science research. We will acquaint participants with modern machine learning methods and their applications in the R programming language. We will then demonstrate various applications of machine learning techniques to answer research questions in the social sciences, such as the application of machine learning to causal inference.

Long Title: MEASUREMENT AND RESEARCH DESIGN

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 504

Description: Study of advanced topics in research design and measurement theory.

Long Title: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This seminar develops tools for the design and conduct of experiments in the social sciences. At the conclusion of the course each student will have developed and implemented an experiment testing some aspect of human social behavior.

Long Title: SURVEY RESEARCH

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The major objectives of this course are to introduce graduate students to the skills and resources needed to design and conduct a survey.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE POLITICS CORE SEMINAR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Core graduate course analyzing basic approaches to the study of comparative government.

Long Title: INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Theories of institutional analysis and design.

Long Title: AMERICAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course examines the theoretical and empirical study of institutions in political science. Its specific focus is on the study of American politics, with attention to the Congress, presidency, courts, and the media as institutions.

Long Title: URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY IN THE U.S.

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This graduate seminar is designed as an overview of the major areas of inquiry in Urban Politics. The course will familiarize students with the principal questions and the methodological and theoretical approaches employed by scholars in this subfield. Recommended Prerequisite(s): POLI 502 and POLI 504

Long Title: AMERICAN POLITICS CORE SEMINAR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Core graduate course. Includes an analysis of basic approaches to the study of American politics.

Long Title: STATE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines similarities and differences in the organization of state politics. Major issues include state legislative organization, state elite behavior, and policy implementation.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE LEGISLATURES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Provides the student with the basic concepts and theories necessary to understand the functions and organization of legislatures/parliaments/assemblies in democratic societies. This course takes a broad-based perspective, including research that focuses on national parliaments and U. S. state legislatures.

Long Title: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course examines mass political behavior and the analytical frameworks used to understand it. Topics will include public opinion, vote choice, turnout, campaign contributions, and participation in social movements.

Long Title: INTEREST GROUPS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Graduate research seminar in the subfields of interest groups and political behavior.

Long Title: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Graduate seminar that examines the role of race and ethnicity in American politics. This course provides an examination of the behavioral and electoral implications of racial and ethnic diversity.

Long Title: WOMEN AND REPRESENTATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course examines the causes and consequences of women’s underrepresentation in politics in countries around the world. It considers common theoretical frameworks for the study of women’s representation and the empirical bases of what we know about gender and political representation.

Long Title: PUBLIC POLICY AND BUREAUCRACY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of the administration and implementation of public policies across federal, state, and substate governments.

Long Title: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF POLICY CHANGE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will explore policy and political change primarily, but not exclusively, in the United States. Using a political economy approach, we will explore different models of change and identify the actors, institutions, and conditions that facilitate stability in change in state, local and national policymaking.

Long Title: POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Broad survey of the theoretical and methodological approaches used in political psychology. Topics include political information processing, knowledge, attitudes, political trust, emotions, and personality.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CORE SEMINAR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Core graduate course. Includes an analysis of basic approaches to the study of international relations.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Graduate seminar on theories and evidence of international cooperation. Discussion of the difficulties in establishing cooperation under anarchy and the conditions under which international cooperation is most likely to occur.

Long Title: SUBNATIONAL POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines the role of subnational political institutions in the development and implementation of policy. It compares the myriad of subnational institutions. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 542 if student has credit for POLI 442.

Long Title: PRACTICUM IN LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will teach graduate students how to design and conduct original empirical research on US, state, or world legislatures. Students will conduct original quantitative research and produce a publishable research paper. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: RESEARCH SEMINAR ON COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course offers a broad overview of urban politics and policies in cities around the world. We will examine how national, regional and local forces shape the processes and outcomes governance within and across cities and metropolitan areas, paying particular attention to critical problems and politics that affect urban centers: growth, immigration, class conflict, public order, service management, education, housing transportation, environmental protection, sustainability, land-use planning and spatial competition. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 562 if student has credit for POLI 464.

Long Title: COALITION POLITICS AND PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course examines the extensive scholarship on coalition politics in parliamentary democracies. Topics include coalition formation, the allocation of government ministries, coalition termination, coalition policymaking, and the interaction between coalition governance, party competition, and mass voting behavior.

Long Title: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: A central priority developing nations face today concerns establishing economic growth; how best to achieve strong economic performance has both an economic and political dimension. This course seeks a rudimentary understanding of economic growth, concentrating on its political determinants.

Long Title: POLITICAL PROTEST

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course looks at various theories of collective action and social movements. It will examine theoretical debates about why individuals and groups occasionally redress their grievances through protest and more often endure hardships passively. It will evaluate the relative merit of these theories in explaining cases of protest and passivity worldwide.

Long Title: POLITICAL PARTIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Graduate seminar that examines the theoretical and empirical literature on party development, organization, and change.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL BEHAVIOR

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: In this course we will explore the nature and sources of cross-national differences in mass political behavior. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 567 if student has credit for POLI 358.

Long Title: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines the design of political institutions in democracies, and their effect on elections, governance, and representation. Explores topics such as the presidential-parliamentary debate, electoral laws and party systems, political parties, electoral institutions and the election of women and minorities, institutional engineering, and U.S. experiences with alternative electoral systems.

Long Title: REPRESENTATION IN CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRACIES

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: In this course, we explore the conceptual meanings of democracy and representation, and then examine the theoretical and empirical linkages between citizen preferences, electoral systems, executive and legislative institutions, policymaking and advance industrial democracies. The aim of the course is to understand how citizen preferences ultimately get translated into policy outcomes and how political institutions shape this relationship.

Long Title: SEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Seminar in international conflict. Emphasis on formal theories and quantitative analysis of the causes of war.

Long Title: CIVIL WAR AND TERRORISM

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Seminar on causes, consequences and dynamics of civil wars. Will analyze why they break out, how sustained, how ended, thinking conceptually, theoretically, empirically about conflict dynamics and processes. Explores transnational dynamics, terrorism, roles of groups, organizations, insurgency-counterinsurgency dynamics and how these affect the evolution of civil conflicts. More work will be required of the Graduate level. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for POLI 571 if student has credit for POLI 469.

Long Title: FOREIGN POLICY DECISION MAKING

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of foreign policy, its sources, and the process of policy formulation.

Long Title: COLLECTIVE SOCIAL CHOICE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Introduction to a growing body of literature on how and why individual preferences dominate those of others. Includes the relationship between decision-making structures and the nature of decisional outcomes.

Long Title: GAME THEORY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examination of current developments in game theory with application to political science.

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Seminar surveying some of the primary theoretical perspectives and analytical approaches for studying international political economy. Includes a survey of contemporary literature, with special emphasis on theory and research, as well as instructions in how to critically evaluate research and set up a research project.

Long Title: DOMESTIC POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Graduate research seminar on the influence of domestic politics on international relations. The course will explore when, why, and how the political structures and conditions within countries affect foreign policy and international relations.

Long Title: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Topics vary from year to year. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: SEMINAR IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Topics vary from year to year. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-METHODOLOGY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of Methodology for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING METHODOLOGY

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of Methodology for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of American Politics for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-AMERICAN POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of American Politics for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of International Relations for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of International Relations for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of Comparative Politics for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: DIRECTED READING-COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Individualized study on a specific topic in the field of Comparative Politics for Ph.D. students. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: TEACHING POLITICAL SCIENCE

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course prepares graduate students to design and teach classes at the college level. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: MA RESEARCH AND THESIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 1 TO 15

Description: Research and thesis for resident students. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Independent Study, Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar

Credit Hours: 1 TO 4

Description: Topics and credit hours vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: PH.D. RESEARCH AND THESIS

Department: Political Science

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 1 TO 15

Description: Students enrolled in this course are engaged in Ph.D. level research. Repeatable for Credit.