101 Understanding Politics (3 Credit Hours)

This course is designed to immerse students in the intensive study of the fundamental question: "What is politics?" Our goal is to understand how politics shapes society and what distinguishes the political from the economic, social, artistic, religious, etc. We will read several fundamental works of political thought and statesmanship which may include The Bible, Plato's Apology, Aristotle's Politics, Machiavelli's The Prince, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar or Henry V, Locke's Two Treatises of Government, Rousseau's Social Contract, Penn Warren's All the King's Men, or Churchill's The Gathering Storm. Meets Tier II credit for social sciences.
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102 Democracy in America (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to American politics, with primary emphasis on national institutions. Course topics include the political theory of the American Constitution, the relations among the different branches of government and between state and federal institutions, and the role of the courts in the protection of civil liberties.
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205 Comparative Politics (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or 102

This course will immerse students in the comparative study of regimes such as liberal democracy, monarchy, tyranny, and theocracy, especially as these are found in historical or contemporary city-states, nations, or empires. Such study can be comparative either because two or more different regimes are being examined together or because the same regime is being investigated from different perspectives and with different means (e.g. literature, political biography, economic data, historical development, geography and climate, language, religious traditions, political theory). Meets International Perspectives requirement.
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231 International Relations (3 Credit Hours)

This course will immerse students in the study of international relations, especially how and why countries fight wars and make and maintain peace. Drawing on both historical and contemporary examples, the course may examine both the writing and theorists and the speeches and deeds of leading statesmen. Meets International Perspectives requirement.
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301 American Foreign Policy (3 Credit Hours)

A study of the foreign relations of the United States, underscoring the factors that determine formulation, execution and substance of U.S foreign policy, traditional and contemporary, with emphasis on the place of the United States in today's world. Cross-listed as HIST 236.
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305 Political Parties and Interest Groups (3 Credit Hours)

A study of the origins, development and contemporary character and problems of American political parties and the party system, and an examination of the role of interest groups in the political process.
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315 The Presidency and Congress (3 Credit Hours)

A study of the nation's Chief Executive and law-making body. Topics include the constitutional sources and framework for executive and legislative action, including conflict and cooperation of the President with Congress, the historical development of these branches of government and contemporary issues in the legislative-executive process.
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320 American Political Thought I: Revolution to the Civil War (3 Credit Hours)

A study of the political ideas of American statesmen and writers from the 18th century to the secession crisis. Candidates for consideration include Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and Calhoun.
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321 American Political Thought II: Reconstruction to the Present (3 Credit Hours)

A study of the political ideas of American statesmen and writers from the Civil War period to the present. Candidates for consideration include Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Twain, Melville, Booker T. Washington, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.
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336 Constitutional Powers (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 102 or consent of instructor

A study of the American constitutional framework for the exercise of governmental power, with particular emphasis on the role of the Supreme Court in articulating that framework. Through reading Court cases and other materials, students address such questions as: how should the Constitution be interpreted? what are the respective powers of the Courts, the Congress and the President? what limits on those powers does the Constitution impose? what is the proper constitutional relationship between the states and the federal government?
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337 Constitutional Rights (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 102 or consent of instructor

A study of individual rights protected by the U.S. Constitution, as viewed through Supreme Court cases and other materials. The primary focus will be on the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and press and of religious liberty, the 14th Amendment's guarantee to each person of "the equal protection of the laws," rights of political participation and constitutional protections of property and privacy.
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343 Western Political Thought I: Ancient (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or consent of instructor

This course is designed to immerse students in the study of ancient political thought, whose central concern is the search for the best regime—the one that most cultivates human excellence. We will examine this politics of virtue by reading several great works of political philosophy from thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle.
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344 Western Political Thought II: Medieval (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or consent of instructor

This course is an intensive study of major texts in medieval political thought. Particular attention will be given to the issue of how medieval thinkers from a variety of backgrounds attempted to deal with the relationship between reason and revelation in politics. Thinkers to be studied may include Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Marsilius of Padua, Maimonides, Alfarabi, Averroes, or Avicenna.
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345 Western Political Thought III: Early Modern (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or consent of instructor

This course is designed to immerse students in the study of modern political thought whose central concerns are human security, comfort, and liberty. We will examine this new politics of freedom by reading several great works of political philosophy from thinkers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke.
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346 Western Political Thought IV: Late Modern (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or consent of instructor

A study of selected works of leading political thinkers from the end of the 18th century to the present, such as Kant, Hegel, Mill, Marx, Nietzche, Strauss and Rawls.
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351 Politics and Religion (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 101 or consent of instructor

This course is an intensive study of important thinkers, texts, or issues focusing on the proper relation between political authority and religious authority, law, or faith. Topics may include Christianity and politics, the rise of the political principle of religious toleration in the West, Islamic political thought, or the contemporary relation between religion and liberal democracy.

355 International Organizations (3 Credit Hours)

A study of historical movements toward world cooperation, including an evaluation of the League of Nations and a study of the United Nations as well as regional organizations established since World War II.

360 Regional Studies (3 Credit Hours)

A study of political systems of different countries or regions selected on a rotating basis, including such geographic areas or nations as Western Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Soviet Union and Japan. May be repeated for credit for different topical or area studies.

• A – Russia and the Independent States
  Historical background of the Soviet Union, mainly since the Russian Revolution of 1917, tracing the evolution of the social, economic and political life of the people, with particular emphasis on the political system of the Soviet Union today.

370 Topics in American Politics (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 102 or consent of instructor

Intensive study of a topic in the field of American government and politics. May be repeated for credit as topics change.

• A – Lincoln: Civil War and Reconstruction
  A seminar that considers the political thought and statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln. Readings include a number of his speeches, with special emphasis on the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Cross-listed as HIST 355.
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• B – The American Founding
  A seminar on the principles and practices of America's founding statesmen. We examine how the founders formulated and reconciled ideas (natural rights, separation of powers, federalism) with interests (economic, political, regional, etc.) Cross-listed as HIST 352.
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380 Topics in Political Thought (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: Prior course work in political thought or consent of instructor

Intensive study of some theme or thinker(s) in the field of political thought. May be repeated for credit as topics change.

• Churchill
  A seminar that considers the political thought and action of Winston S. Churchill. Readings include a number of his speeches, essays and books; e.g. My Early Life, Savrola and The Gathering Storm.
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• Shakespeare
  An examination of those plays of Shakespeare that shed particular light on essential political issues, such as tyranny, legitimacy and statesmanship.
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390 Topics in Comparative and International Politics (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: POLSC 205 or POLSC 215

Intensive study of a topic in the fields of comparative and international politics. May be repeated for credit as topics change.

• A – Modern Revolutions
  A comparative examination of the three most influential revolutions of the modern world: American, French and Soviet.
  

   

• B – China and the United States
  A comparative analysis of the Chinese and American systems of government.

430 Internship in Government and Politics (3-12 Credit Hours)
Prerequisites: Junior or senior status and major or minor in political science, international studies or public affairs.

To provide for on-the-job experiences for students of government and politics on an individual basis in selected offices or installations at the local, state or federal level. Each internship is arranged by the student's adviser with a specific official for a designated purpose, comporting with the student's interest and capabilities. Internships may be for either three or six hours in a local office; nine hours for a summer program; or 12 hours for an off-campus semester.

431 Human Being and Citizen (3 Credit Hours)
Prerequisite: Political Science major or minor, or permission of the instructor

An attempt to understand the great issues animating politics—freedom, justice, equality—from the point of view of other disciplines and perspectives. The seminar will examine what it means to be a citizen, something of what it means to be a human being, and how each depends upon the other. Meets Tier II credit for social sciences.
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