Political Science
Political Science Courses
The list below offers a representative sample of the courses you can expect in the study of political science at 91传媒. From theoretical foundations to practical experiences, these courses provide a full range of educational opportunities at various levels of mastery. For more information about current course offerings or registration details, please consult the Office of the Registrar.
Course Description
Interdisciplinary, discussion-based seminars that provide students with a foundation in the theory and methods of the arts and humanities. These interdisciplinary seminars offer students opportunities via discussion and/or writing to explore implications, connections, and other perspectives (e.g., philosophy, ethics, law, arts, policy, history, politics, medicine/health, the other sciences, etc.). By design they explicitly connect two areas of the 91传媒 curriculum, i.e., two disciplines within the CLAS, the CLAS with the SBL, or the CLAS with the Creative School. This course will encourage the logical development of argument, clear and precise diction, and a coherent prose style; the development of expository writing skills as they apply to multiple disciplines; and the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of sources and special or technical language. These courses are open to all 91传媒 students, although priority is given to students enrolled in the Honor Scholar Program. Students in the Honor Scholar Program take one course each in AH, SM, and SS; each of these courses can be used to fulfill 91传媒's distribution requirements. May not be taken Pass/Fail.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will serves as an introduction to the American political system. The three branches of the national government and the roles of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and other political actors will be addressed.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will serves as an introduction to the American political system. The three branches of the national government and the roles of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and other political actors will be addressed.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will serves as an introduction to the American political system. The three branches of the national government and the roles of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and other political actors will be addressed.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will serves as an introduction to the American political system. The three branches of the national government and the roles of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and other political actors will be addressed.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will serves as an introduction to the American political system. The three branches of the national government and the roles of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and other political actors will be addressed. This course will encourage the logical development of argument, clear and precise diction, and a coherent prose style; the development of expository writing skills as they apply to political science; and the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of sources and special or technical language.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course offers an introduction to and exploration of selected topics in political theory. It begins with an introduction to the foundational concepts of political theory in the Euro-American tradition and then adds on to and significantly broadens what political theory means by including a range of critical perspectives on class, race, colonialism and more. It explores the connections between theory and practice by applying key concepts of political theory to contemporary political, social, and cultural issues.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to Comparative Politics (the study of domestic politics around the world), one of the main subfields in political science. The course will address concepts and theories of comparative politics such as democratic and non-democratic institutions, modernization and development,political culture, systems analysis, and public policy. The course will apply these concepts and methods of comparative politics to understanding political phenomena and outcomes in different regions of the world, such as, Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. The political experience in each case will be studied in the context of its own cultural and historical settings. Such an approach will allow us to see the differences within a particular form of government. We shall inquire, for example, why Chinese communism is different from communism in the former Soviet Union; what factors are responsible for both the endurance of and challenges posed to democratic institutions globally; and why do economic and social welfare institutions differ across capitalist economies.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Global Learning
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Advanced placement credit for entering first-year students. A. U.S. Government. B. Comparative Politics. POLS 156 cannot be counted as credit toward a POLS major.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An analysis of continuity and change in world politics, focusing on the units of analysis; patterns of conflict and competition, cooperation and order, and constraint; the structure of the international system; the international agenda and emerging trends and issues such as globalization and terrorism; and the current state of world order and its future.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Student-initiated independent project under faculty guidance. Offered as a co-curricular (0 credit) Extended Studies experience.
Course Description
A seminar on a theme related to political science. Open only to first-year students.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Parties, public opinion, elections, and voting behavior in the context of the American political system.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
The theory and especially the practice of subnational government in the U.S. Topics include intergovernmental relations; government institutions; elections, parties, and interest groups; taxing, spending and economic development activities; and policy problems besetting state and local governments and metropolitan areas.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course surveys a range of rich and diverse sources of political theory from around the globe and highlights a range of thinkers from disparate times and places. It analyzes how political theory is deeply embedded in local networks of power,identity, and structure and how these converge and diverge with key conversations in global politics. It does so through a thematic exploration of key concepts in global political theory, such as colonialism and empire, democracy and protest, religion and secularism, and much more.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Global Learning
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course will investigate multiple dimensions of equality and justice through a broad exploration of texts in classical, modern, and contemporary political theory. Some of the questions raised by this course will include, does an abstract principle of equality necessarily lead to just outcomes? How do political societies negotiatebetween multiple and competing claims of justice? What role does power and privilege play in these debates? It will begin by looking at foundational texts in political theory and then offer a broad range of critical perspectives such as race, colonialism, gender, and more.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
The underlying theme of this course is the contemporary crisis of liberal democracy. We are witnessing the phenomenon of a gradual shift away from democracy toauthoritarianism, democratic backsliding, in countries from Russia, Brazil, and Hungary, to Turkey, India, and the United States. Is democracy dying? Are wewitnessing the end of the democratic century and the global ascendance of autocracy? Is American democracy in danger? What will democratic failure look like in the twenty-first century? And what will come after? Will the ethno-nationalist and far right parties in Europe and elsewhere continue to rise? Why is there extreme polarization in political discourse in mature democracies? Is the proliferation of conspiracy theory, which is anti-ideological, a threat to liberal democracy? Why does the Chinese autocratic model appeal to the peoples and leaders in the developing world? Is the notion of democratic decline around the world anexaggeration or scholarly hyperventilation? The course will answer these and other questions by examining the forces that have contributed to the regression of liberaldemocracy. In particular, we will focus on the ideologies challenging liberal democracy: Globalism, 'Neo-Fascism,' Populism, Nationalism, and Asianauthoritarianism (Xi's new type of one-party authoritarian system).
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Why do the two Asian giants, India and China, with more than 38 percent of the population of the world, matter to the rest of the world at the beginning of the 21st century? What are China's superpower prospects? Will nuclear India attain great power status? What is the future of communism and the prospect of political freedom and democracy in China? Is Indian democracy stable? What are the sources of instability of Indian government? The dynamics of ethnic minorities in China? The future of secularism in India? The nuclear dynamics in Sino-Indian relations? These questions and many others will be explored in this course.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Global Learning
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course examines the different actors, interests, and institutions that aim to govern or regulate the environment and its resources. Students will learn how environmental policy has evolved over time to deal with changing needs and threats, ranging from domestic pollution issues to longer-term threats such as climate change and drought. Much of the course material will focus on environmental policy at the federal level in the US, though students will also look at more local and international efforts to address the global issue of climate change. Throughout the class, we will also examine the societal implications of environmental threats and policy in order to better understand how environmental outcomes and policies affect issues such as inequality, health, and global conflict.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An examination of selected topics in political science.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An examination of selected topics in political science. This course will encourage the logical development of argument, clear and precise diction, and a coherent prose style; the development of expository writing skills as they apply to political science; and the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of sources and special or technical language.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Supervised participation in a special (and usually competitive) internship program outside the University.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Focus on the U.S. Congress. Examines rules, procedures and structures of Congress, as well as sources and motivations of legislative behavior. Emphasis is on the development of an understanding of how Congress works and why Congress as an institution and individual members of Congress function as they do.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
The course provides an overview of some of the quantitative and qualitative research methods political scientists use to draw conclusions about the political world. It also teaches students the writing skills specific to political science. By the end of the course, it is expected that students would have learned how to find an interesting topic and pose a research question; how to obtain and analyze data (qualitative or quantitative); how to read and think critically and use various methods of inquiry--theoretical, historical, comparative, behavioral, and post-behavioral; and how to formulate a thesis statement and write a scholarly literature review. Students are required to (1) write a series of short essays that engage with a variety of research tools and methods (argument, critique, textual analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis, participant-observation method, interviews, etc.); (2) engage in peer review exercise, and (3) write a literature review, a research proposal, and/or an analytical or argumentative paper. They receive feedback from the instructor on each assignment and are expected to revise drafts in response to comments received. To satisfy the major's requirement in political science, a student must earn the grade of C or above in the course.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
The course provides an overview of some of the quantitative and qualitative research methods political scientists use to draw conclusions about the political world. It also teaches students the writing skills specific to political science. By the end of the course, it is expected that students would have learned how to find an interesting topic and pose a research question; how to obtain and analyze data (qualitative or quantitative); how to read and think critically and use various methods of inquiry--theoretical, historical, comparative, behavioral, and post-behavioral; and how to formulate a thesis statement and write a scholarly literature review. Students are required to (1) write a series of short essays that engage with a variety of research tools and methods (argument, critique, textual analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis, participant-observation method, interviews, etc.); (2) engage in peer review exercise, and (3) write a literature review, a research proposal, and/or an analytical or argumentative paper. They receive feedback from the instructor on each assignment and are expected to revise drafts in response to comments received. To satisfy the major's requirement in political science, a student must earn the grade of C or above in the course. This course will encourage the understanding of quantitative and mathematical concepts, representational formats, and methodologies of political science; the evaluation of quantitative evidence and arguments; the use of quantitative information to make decisions; and the use of problem-solving, laboratory experiments, and/or projects for deeper learning.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course explores the centrality and significance of race in the modern American political system. The course covers, but is not limited to, the role of race in electoral politics, urban politics, the political and social attitudes of Americans and the debates about the scope and function of the federal government.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course explores the centrality and significance of race in the modern American political system. The course covers, but is not limited to, the role of race in electoral politics, urban politics, the political and social attitudes of Americans and the debates about the scope and function of the federal government. This course will encourage the logical development of argument, clear and precise diction, and a coherent prose style; the development of expository writing skills as they apply to political science; and the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of sources and special or technical language.
Distribution Area
Social Science-or-Power Privilege and Diversity
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Analysis of civil rights and civil liberties policies in the United States and of the processes that produce those policies. Emphasis will be on policies relating to the practice of democracy (freedom of expression and associated freedoms), criminal justice, and discrimination. Treatment of the policy process will include an examination of the roles of judicial, legislative and executive branches and the activities of interest groups.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course is an exploration of the tradition of Islamic political thought. It begins with a close examination of canonical thinkers in the Islamic tradition, then proceeds to an examination of the Islamic reformist period by looking at the encounters with European liberalism, colonialism, and the demands for secular reform. It thenturns to a close analysis of key texts of political Islam and explores their impact on contemporary global politics.
Distribution Area
Global Learning
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course is an exploration of the tradition of Islamic political thought. It begins with a close examination of canonical thinkers in the Islamic tradition, then proceeds to an examination of the Islamic reformist period by looking at the encounters with European liberalism, colonialism, and the demands for secular reform. It then turns to a close analysis of key texts of political Islam and explores their impact on contemporary global politics. This course will help students develop the presentation of logical arguments and refutation; the ability to distinguish and identify important substantive arguments; the ability to skillfully analyze, evaluate, and integrate supporting material; the selection and implementation of effective presentation style; the ability to adapt the manner of delivery to specific audiences and situations; the demonstration of critical listening skills; the demonstration of effective and reflective listening; and the knowledge of the ethical obligations of speakers, discussants, and listeners.
Distribution Area
Global Learning
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An introduction to American political thought that concentrates on important debates and controversies that have contributed to shaping American political life.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course surveys issues in and approaches to the study of African politics. Special emphasis is placed on the African development crisis through an accounting of varying levels of success and failure across the continent. Specific concerns include: governance, civil and interstate war, international political economy and the development of the state system.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course examines the psychology behind political attitudes, preferences, and outcomes. Concepts in psychology such as personality, group identity theory, or other cognitive heuristics can offer new ways to think about contemporary issues in political science. After all, many important political decisions such as vote choice or policy preferences are guided by social preferences or biases, rather than more objective or rational approaches to make choices. Throughout this course, we will understand how such internal preferences or biases can guide and influence political outcomes. For example, how do our partisan, ideological, or ethnic group identities affect the political information we select, or the policies we support? How might appeals to fear, resentment, or prejudices impact electoral outcomes? Or why do misinformation and conspiracy theories linger in the public's mind for so long?
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course examines the psychology behind political attitudes, preferences, and outcomes. Concepts in psychology such as personality, group identity theory, or other cognitive heuristics can offer new ways to think about contemporary issues in political science. After all, many important political decisions such as vote choice or policy preferences are guided by social preferences or biases, rather than more objective or "rational" approaches to make choices. Throughout this course, we will understand how such internal preferences or biases can guide and influence political outcomes. For example, how do our partisan, ideological, or ethnic group identities affect the political information we select, or the policies we support? How might appeals to fear, resentment, or prejudices impact electoral outcomes? Or why do misinformation and conspiracy theories linger in the public's mind for so long? This course will encourage the understanding of quantitative and mathematical concepts, representational formats, and methodologies of political science; the evaluation of quantitative evidence and arguments; the use of quantitative information to make decisions; and the use of problem-solving, laboratory experiments, and/or projects for deeper learning.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
The process of formulating and implementing American foreign policy. The development of American traditions regarding foreign policy, the main factors influencing American foreign policy since World War II and specific policies toward regions and countries of the world.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An analytical survey of global issues: their essence, management and political implications. The course starts with a theoretical framework for the study of leading global issues, such as global security, population growth, global political economy, food, ethno-nationalism, terrorism, human rights, consumption of non-renewable resources and the integrity of the environment. Institutions, values and policies are emphasized in the context of growing interdependence among nations and related issues of integration and conflict.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An examination of selected topics related to political science.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An examination of selected topics related to political science. This course will encourage the understanding of quantitative and mathematical concepts, representational formats, and methodologies of archaeology; the evaluation of quantitative evidence and arguments; the use of quantitative information to make decisions; and the use of problem-solving, laboratory experiments, and/or projects for deeper learning.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An examination of selected topics related to political science. This course will encourage the logical development of argument, clear and precise diction, and a coherent prose style; the development of expository writing skills as they apply to political science; and the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of sources and special or technical language.
Distribution Area
Social Science
Credits
1 course
Course Description
This course, offered in multiple and independent sections, focuses on theory and analysis in the various fields of the discipline and in the discipline as a whole.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Intensive reading and research in American politics, political theory, comparative politics and/or international politics. Permission of instructor and department required. May not be taken pass/fail.
Credits
1 course
Contact Us
Political Science
Leveraging the resources of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the political science major and minor at 91传媒 are housed in the Department of Political Science. This department facilitates the systematic study of how people and societies make the political decisions that affect their lives.
Jamie Pell-Stuckey
- jamiepell-stuckey@depauw.edu
- (765) 658-6309
-
100 East Seminary Street
Greencastle IN, 46135