Political Science

POLS 5408. International Security. (4 Hours)

Exposes students to the foundational and contemporary theories in international security and offers opportunities for application. Topics include the role of different actors and institutions; the evolution of the international system; conventional and nonconventional warfare, strategy, and tactics; and conflict negotiation. Addresses several issue areas in international security, including civil war, ethnic conflict, terrorism, civil-military relations, cybersecurity, and the role of gender.

Prerequisite(s): POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or graduate program admission

POLS 5544. Seminar in Black Leadership. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to conduct in-depth studies of significant black leaders—male and female—in a wide range of fields. Focuses on black leadership in the political arena as elected officials; leaders of pressure groups; leaders of protest organizations, black nationalist organizations, and feminist/womanist groups; and as advisers to political parties and presidential administrations.

POLS 5660. The Pandemic and the People: Lessons for American Democracy. (4 Hours)

Uses the pandemic and related issues as a case study to explore major public policy issues and challenges facing American democracy. Focuses on policies and challenges that have been placed in stark relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the pandemic through the context of a range of themes in politics, public policy, and culture. Emphasizes the U.S. experience during the pandemic but does address some international aspects.

POLS 5976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers assigned reading under the supervision of a faculty member. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 6954. Co-op Work Experience - Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 6955. Co-op Work Experience Abroad - Half Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 6964. Co-op Work Experience. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

Corequisite(s): INSH 6864

POLS 6965. Co-op Work Experience Abroad. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 7204. Seminar in Public Policy. (4 Hours)

Provides a comprehensive introduction to key theoretical perspectives in the study of public policy. Includes different perspectives on policy change, policy formation, policy design, and policy implementation. Seeks to prepare students to apply a policy theory to their own research question.

POLS 7205. Seminar in American Government and Politics. (4 Hours)

Focuses on major research approaches and corresponding academic literature in U.S. politics. Examines the scholarly analysis of key actors in U.S. politics, including the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, and political parties.

POLS 7206. Seminar in Comparative Politics. (4 Hours)

Focuses on major research paradigms within comparative politics, including political culture, structuralism, and rational choice. Examines major research fields in the discipline, including democratization, nationalism, ethnic politics, political economy, and political parties.

POLS 7207. Seminar in International Relations. (4 Hours)

Focuses on major research approaches and corresponding academic literature in international relations. Examines major fields of study, including international security, international regimes, international organizations, globalization, and international political economy.

POLS 7255. American Political Parties and Elections. (4 Hours)

Focuses on American political parties and includes analyses of party organizations and decision-making systems, leader/activist differences in policy and ideology, party reform, policy commitments, campaign finance, media, voting behavior, and an overview and assessment of contemporary elections and campaigns.

POLS 7257. The U.S. Judicial Process. (4 Hours)

Studies the judicial process in the United States, emphasizing federal courts. Focuses on theories and empirical research regarding judicial decision making, how and why judges decide what they do, and the resulting political effects.

POLS 7325. Contemporary Issues in Third World Development. (4 Hours)

Examines the major themes in development studies today. Explores approaches to the development and production, population growth, equity and poverty, rural and urban development, health and nutrition, education, and the international context of development assistance. Students considering a development administration concentration should try to take this course as their first in the field of development.

POLS 7334. Social Networks. (4 Hours)

Offers an overview of the literature on social networks, with literature from political science, sociology, economics, and physics. Analyzes the underlying topology of networks and how we visualize and analyze network data. Key topics include small-world literature and the spread of information and disease. Students who do not meet course prerequisites may seek permission of instructor.

POLS 7341. Security and Resilience Policy. (4 Hours)

Examines the post-9/11 evolution of security and the new emphasis on bolstering societal, infrastructure, system, and network resilience. Emphasizes the complex organizational; jurisdictional (international, federal, state, and local); private-sector; and civil-society issues associated with managing the risk of terrorism, cyber-attacks, and naturally occurring disasters. Topics include policy development and implementation of critical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity, supply chain security, disaster management, and community resilience.

POLS 7343. Counterterrorism. (4 Hours)

Examines the most important empirical and theoretical debates on counterterrorism. Analyzes the motives and strategies of key actors in the development of approaches to counterterrorism.

POLS 7344. Hard Power, Soft Power, and Smart Power. (4 Hours)

Examines different forms of power in an international context. Includes conceptual and empirical examinations of the various types of power, the actors who have power, and the contexts under which power is exercised.

POLS 7346. Resilient Cities. (4 Hours)

Examines the characteristics of resilient cities, especially those located in coastal regions. Investigates the capacity of cities to respond to major disruptions to their social and ecological systems. Includes extensive use of case studies, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as readings on cities and social systems. Offers students an opportunity to analyze an urban area and provide recommendations for improving its resilience. POLS 7346 and PPUA 7346 are cross-listed.

POLS 7362. Nationalism. (4 Hours)

Focuses on contending theories of nationalism and nationalist movements. Topics include cultural objectification and the establishment of group boundaries, ethnic elites and cultural hegemony, mass mobilization, intergroup socioeconomic disparities, nationalism and modernity, nationalist parties and their policy strategies, and the “constitution” of race, particularly in the Americas.

POLS 7366. Genocide in a Comparative Perspective. (4 Hours)

Takes an interdisciplinary approach (that is, history, political science, and sociology) to the study of genocide. Examines the meaning of the concept in historical and philosophical terms, the societal and psychological causes of genocide, and specific cases throughout history, with emphasis on more recent episodes.

POLS 7369. International Security. (4 Hours)

Examines key problems in international security that are faced by nation-states and international and nongovernment organizations. Examples include armed violence, terrorism, organized crime, nuclear proliferation, poverty, and energy security. Explores responses that include international cooperation and the establishment of international norms. Analyzes related literature and theoretical perspectives.

POLS 7387. Global Governance. (4 Hours)

Introduces the concept of global governance and the core architectural elements of the current system of global governance. Examines the key policy purposes and tasks carried out by global governance processes.

POLS 7962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 7976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers assigned reading under the supervision of a faculty member. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 7980. Capstone Project. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to complete a specialized research or applied project in political science or security studies as part of the master’s degree. Designed to meet the specific learning and research interests of the student. Learning experience is based on activities that meet agreed-upon benchmarks with the instructor and may involve activities with government or nongovernment organizations.

POLS 7983. Topical Seminar in Political Science. (4 Hours)

Examines current issues in political science. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 7990. Thesis. (4-8 Hours)

Offers thesis supervision by individual members of the department. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 8407. Internship. (4,8 Hours)

Offers work experience (at least fifteen hours per week) that includes planning, research, policy development, and other administrative aspects in a government or nonprofit organization. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 8960. Exam Preparation—Doctoral. (0 Hours)

Offers the student the opportunity to prepare for the PhD qualifying exam under faculty supervision. May be repeated three times.

POLS 8986. Research. (0 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct full-time research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 9000. PhD Candidacy Achieved. (0 Hours)

Indicates successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam.

POLS 9986. Research. (0 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct full-time research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

POLS 9990. Dissertation Term 1. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by individual members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): POLS 9000 with a minimum grade of S

POLS 9991. Dissertation Term 2. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): POLS 9990 with a minimum grade of S

POLS 9996. Dissertation Continuation. (0 Hours)

Offers continued dissertation supervision by individual members of the department. May be repeated without limit.

Prerequisite(s): POLS 9991 with a minimum grade of S or Dissertation Check with a score of REQ