Department of Politics

Last updated: June 28, 2012 at 4:12 p.m.

Objectives

Undergraduate Major

The undergraduate curriculum is designed to prepare students for careers in governmental and nongovernmental service, policy analysis, journalism, law, and business, as well as for postgraduate work in political science. We are a department of "politics," and encourage students to engage important issues.

The Politics major explores how societies manage conflict and cooperation, organize the competition of differing ideologies and philosophies, and create and implement public policy.

Our goal is to deepen understanding of democracy and democratic systems, and the international and global contexts in which they operate. Politics courses enable students to broaden their perspective by familiarizing them with the ways others have engaged important political issues, from the classical philosophers whose works shape the Western tradition, to the modern theorists and practitioners who shape the discourse, policies, and practices of contemporary national and international political life.

Politics courses address the implications of difference, and particularly inequality, for democracy; the politics of ethnicity, race, religion and gender in the United States and abroad; the meaning and consequences of nationalism as a political force; the role of Islamic organizations and social movements in democratic political systems; the challenge of policing a diverse society; the global political economy of trade, money, investment and cultural exchange; and the strategic and economic dimensions of U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Courses in the department address the cultures and politics of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Graduate Program in Politics
The graduate program in politics offers two degree programs leading to the Master of Arts in political science and Doctor of Philosophy in political science. The graduate program in political science is distinguished by methodological emphasis on analytical case study, including comparative case study rather than abstract mathematical modeling or "large-n" statistical analysis. Substantive emphasis is on the politics of democratic and democratizing regimes. The graduate curriculum emphasizes linkages among the patterns of American political development, contemporary American politics, and the politics of other developed and developing democratic systems. The graduate curriculum also addresses the advanced industrial democracies of Western Europe, immigration and ethnic politics within states, the democratizing states of Eastern Europe, and the international political, economic, and military-security relations among these states. PhD students receive training in each of the major subfields of political science, including qualitative research methods, through graduate-level "field seminars."

The graduate program features: (a) instruction in small seminars under close faculty supervision, (b) supervised independent study within the program, (c) supervised teaching fellowships, (d) opportunities for study in the consortium of universities in the Boston area, and (e) the opportunity to incorporate work in related and relevant fields, for example, economics, history, and sociology.

Learning Goals

The Politics curriculum is divided into the four major subfields of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory. Introductory courses in each of the subfields provide foundational work in concepts and analytical approaches. The curriculum introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of political science, and emphasizes certain core skills, knowledge of critical institutions and processes, and the ability to engage issues of social justice.

Completing the Politics major enables students to develop the following Core Skills:

  • thinking critically about arguments, based on the evaluation of evidence
  • articulating reasoned arguments clearly, both orally and in written form
  • familiarity with a variety of research methods for understanding politics, including comparative case study, area studies, textual interpretation and statistical analysis
  • ability to use the concepts and methods of political science to conduct research and analysis

Courses in the Politics curriculum impart Knowledge about:

  • the functioning and distinctive features of the American political system
  • the diversity of other political systems and the significance of these differences
  • how states, societies and transnational actors cause and resolve conflict
  • foundational political ideas and thinkers
  • the origins and nature of democracy and democratic systems

The curriculum addresses the multiple understandings of individual and social justice, and how these understandings motivate conflict and cooperation around patterns of difference, particularly inequalities in wealth, status, and power.

The Politics curriculum prepares students for participation as engaged, active citizens. Upon graduating, Politics majors pursue careers in governmental and nongovernmental public service, policy analysis and advocacy, public relations, political campaign management, teaching, journalism and business, as well as post-graduate work in law, business, political science and other social sciences.

How to Become a Major

Declaration of the major normally is completed during the second semester of the second year, in consultation with the departmental undergraduate advising head. Students are strongly encouraged to take at least two or three politics courses during their first two years at Brandeis. These courses, which will count toward the nine-course major requirement, are normally selected from among the introductory courses, but may include more advanced courses or seminars, after consultation with the departmental undergraduate advising head and the course instructor.

How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program

The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, given in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to this area of study. Normally, the student's undergraduate training must be in a field of social science to be considered for admission to this program. Applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination. Evidence of successful study, research, and analysis at the graduate level is highly desirable.

 

 

Faculty

Bernard Yack, Chair
Political theory. History of political thought. Nationalism. Cultural pluralism.

Robert Art
International relations. U.S. foreign policy.

Eva Bellin
Comparative politics, Middle East politics.

Steven Burg
Comparative politics. Ethnic politics. East European politics. Conflict resolution.

Kerry Chase
International political economy.

Shai Feldman (on leave spring 2012)
International relations. Middle East politics.

Jill Greenlee
American politics. Women in politics.

Donald Hindley (on leave spring 2013)
Comparative politics. Southeast Asian and Latin American politics.

Jytte Klausen
Comparative politics. Western Europe. Political economy of advanced industrial societies.

Daniel Kryder, Graduate Director
American political development.

Martin Levin
American politics. Politics of administration.

Mingus Mapps
Race and American politics. Race, inequality, and public policy.

Marion Smiley (Philosophy)
Moral, social, and political philosophy.

Ralph Thaxton
Comparative politics. East Asia. China. Comparative revolutions. Comparative democratic movements.

Peter Woll, Undergraduate Advising Head
American politics and government. Administrative law. Congress.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Richard Gaskins (American Studies)
Mark Hulliung (History)
Wellington Nyangoni (African and Afro-American Studies)
Marion Smiley (Philosophy)
Michael Willrich (History)

Requirements for the Minor

Students considering a minor in politics are strongly encouraged to take at least two politics courses during their first two years at Brandeis. At least one of these should be an introductory course. Students should contact the departmental undergraduate adviser in order to initiate the process of declaring a minor.

A. All politics minors must complete satisfactorily at least five semester courses from among politics and cross-listed courses. A minimum of four semester courses counted toward minor credit must be taught by faculty of the Department of Politics.

B. No course grade below C will be given credit toward the minor. No course taken pass/fail may be counted toward the minor.

C. Not more than two introductory politics courses (POL 10a, 11b, 14b, or 15a) may be counted toward the minor.

D. At least one departmental seminar course.

E. Politics minors must take courses in at least two of the four Politics sub-fields: American politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, and Political Theory.

F. Politics minors are not eligible for the departmental honors program, or for enrollment in politics graduate courses.

Requirements for the Major

A. All politics majors must complete satisfactorily at least nine semester courses from among politics and cross-listed courses. A minimum of five semester courses counted toward major credit must be taught by a member of the faculty from the Department of Politics (as listed above). No course grade below C will be given credit toward meeting the requirement of nine courses for the major.

B. No course taken pass/fail may count toward requirements for the major.

C. With the approval of the departmental undergraduate advising head, students may receive politics credit for the major for up to two semester courses satisfactorily completed at the university outside of the politics department and its cross-listed courses. Such approval is subject to several limitations. First, as stated under A above, majors must complete satisfactorily at least five courses taught by politics department faculty. Second, approval will be given only where the nondepartmental courses include a political science approach to the material. Third, in most circumstances, approval will not be given for any nondepartmental courses when a comparable course exists within the politics department or its cross-listed offerings. Cross-listed courses do not require approval to be counted toward the politics major.

D. With the approval of the departmental undergraduate advising head, transfer students and those taking a year's study abroad may apply up to four semester courses taught elsewhere toward fulfilling the requirements for the major. Students who study abroad for one semester may apply up to two semester courses. The five-course requirement of A, above, remains in effect.

E. All politics majors must, as part of the overall departmental requirement of nine courses, complete satisfactorily (with a grade of C or better) one course in each of the following subfields: political theory, American politics; comparative politics; and international politics.

F. The department strongly recommends that majors complete introductory courses in at least three of the subfields by the end of the sophomore year. These introductory courses include POL 10a (Introduction to Political Theory), POL 11b (Introduction to Comparative Government: Europe), POL 14b (Introduction to American Government), and POL 15a (Introduction to International Relations). Majors should consult with their politics advisors when selecting courses. All politics majors are required to complete one departmental seminar, usually during the junior or senior years, and are strongly urged to complete at least two.

G. Admission to the departmental honors program requires completion of at least five courses in politics, including one departmental seminar, and a cumulative GPA in politics of at least 3.50 by the end of the junior year. Candidates for departmental honors are required to (1) enroll in POL 99d (or POL 99a in the fall and POL 99b in the spring) under the direction of their thesis adviser; (2) participate in the honors colloquium under the direction of the head of the politics honors program; (3) complete the politics major; and (4) complete a senior thesis that meets credentials for honors work (consult the department Web site for the full listing of criteria). Students enrolled in POL 99a and 99b or 99d can receive up to two course credits for their completed work, and this will count toward the nine-course requirement.

H. With the permission of the instructor, third- and fourth-year politics majors may enroll in politics graduate-level courses for credit toward the major.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

The Department of Politics offers a Master of Arts program for part-time or full-time students. Full-time students will be expected to complete the course work in one year, and may take up to another year to complete a master's project. Part-time students, with the approval of the department, may take up to four years to complete the required courses and a master's project. Students desiring to continue their studies toward the PhD must apply for admission to that program.

Course Requirements
Students will be required to complete eight courses (with a grade average of B+ or better) as follows: two of the five core field graduate seminars POL 211a (Political Theory), POL 212a (Qualitative Research Design and Analysis), POL 213a (Comparative Politics), POL 214a (International Relations), POL 215a (American Political Development), four courses from more specialized offerings, graduate-level courses (special topics courses or field seminars, as appropriate), seminars, and upper-level undergraduate courses (seminars and advanced lecture classes) that offer additional work for graduate credit; and a two-semester sequence of directed study culminating in a completed master's project, which can be an original research project, a comprehensive literature review (a critique of a subfield of political science), or another type of undertaking that is appropriate for the student's course of study. MA students are also required to take two semesters of the Department Proseminar, a biweekly credit bearing pass/fail seminar for the presentation of research in progress.

Special Notes Relating to the Graduate Program

Degree of Master of Arts
If the core seminar in the student's area of interest is not taught the year the student is in residence, the graduate adviser (in consultation with the student and his/her adviser) will designate an alternative course that will provide the student an overview of that field.

If appropriate, students may substitute other classes to fulfill the course requirements. All substitutions must be approved by the student's adviser and the politics department graduate committee.

Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Program of Study
The student must complete three years in residence and a minimum of twelve term courses. The graduate curriculum has two main parts: a core curriculum and a special area of competency. Each graduate student is required to take all five core courses: POL 211a (Political Theory), POL 212a (Qualitative Research Design and Analysis), POL 213a (Comparative Politics), POL 214a (International Relations), POL 215a (American Political Development). In addition, students are required to take a Special Area of Competency Independent Study in their fourth semester. PhD students are also required to enroll in the Department Proseminar, a biweekly credit bearing pass/fail seminar for the presentation of research in progress.

There are several special areas of competency for students to choose from (these are not exhaustive and students may offer other special areas subject to approval of the graduate committee): American Political Development; American Foreign Policy: Defense, Economic, and Human Rights Issues; The Welfare State in Comparative Perspective; Law and Politics; Environmental and Regulatory Politics; and Democratic Citizenship and Ethnic Identity.

Within each special area chosen, students are expected to have a broad knowledge of the major theoretical and analytical approaches, a more intensive familiarity with one or more functional sub-areas, and, where appropriate, special expertise in particular geographic areas and historical periods.

The standard work load for full-time students is at least three courses in each term of their first two years of study. Fourth courses and audits are encouraged, but the load is deliberately set so that the student may supplement his or her regular course work with independent reading and scholarship. Reading courses will not be offered to first-semester students and will be discouraged generally during the first year. By the outset of the second year, students should have identified their special area of competency and should make this known to their adviser and the graduate advising head.

Teaching Requirement
The development of college-level teaching competency is an integral part of the department's professional training for the PhD. All funded students are required to serve as teaching fellows and to participate in the departmental graduate proseminar (POL 340d), a yearlong, noncredit course focused on professional development, including teaching competency.

Research Tools Requirement
Each student is required to either pass a language examination (normally administered within the program) designed to test for a reading knowledge of a foreign language sufficient to conduct doctoral dissertation research or pass with B+ or higher additional course work in statistics (beyond POL 212a) approved by the graduate advising head.

Neither courses taken in conjunction with the language examination nor statistics courses may be counted for course credit toward the PhD.

Evaluation of the First Year
At the end of each student's first year in the graduate program, there will be a consultation between the student and two members of the program to evaluate the student's academic progress to determine whether the student should be allowed to continue in the program and to help plan the student's subsequent work.

Satisfactory Progress and Qualifying Examinations
PhD students must complete graduate courses with an average grade of A- or higher in order to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree. Normally, at the beginning of the fifth semester, students sit for two written and one oral examination for candidacy for the PhD covering the student’s major and minor fields.

Students who satisfactorily complete the PhD qualifying examinations are expected to complete and present a dissertation prospectus at the departmental proseminar by the end of the sixth term in the program. Extension of this deadline requires approval by the department's graduate committee.

Dissertation and Defense
The dissertation will be completed under the supervision of an appropriate member of the department's faculty. The dissertation proposal must be sponsored by a committee of at least two members of the faculty, appointed by the department's graduate advising head in consultation with the graduate committee and one faculty member from outside of the department. It is assumed that the writing of the dissertation will take at least one year and, barring exceptional circumstances, not more than two and one half years. The student must successfully defend the dissertation at a final oral examination conducted by his or her two departmental supervisors and another faculty member from outside the department or from another university.

Special Note About Courses

Course Subgroupings

Introductory Courses (POL 10a through POL 15a)
American Politics (POL 14b and POL 101a through POL 126a)
Comparative Politics (POL 11b and POL 127a through POL 159a)
International Politics (POL 15a and POL 160a through POL 180b)
Political Theory and Methods (POL10a and POL 181b through POL 192b)
Seminars for Graduate Students (POL 211a through POL 216b)
Supervised Study for Graduate Students (POL 302a and above)

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

POL 10a Introduction to Political Theory
[ ss ]
Open to first-year students.
Examination of classical political texts and modern writings for insights on central problems of political discourse, such as power and authority, human nature, freedom, obligation, justice, and the organization of the state. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Yack or Staff

POL 11b Introduction to Comparative Government: Europe
[ ss ]
Open to first-year students.
Introduction to basic concepts in comparative politics through study of the government and politics of European democracies. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Burg or Ms. Klausen

POL 14b Introduction to American Government
[ ss ]
Open to first-year students.
Analysis of American political institutions: Congress, the presidency, Supreme Court, bureaucracy, political parties, pressure groups, and problems of governmental decision making in relation to specific areas of public policy. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Greenlee or Mr. Woll

POL 15a Introduction to International Relations
[ ss ]
General introduction to international politics, emphasizing the essential characteristics of the international system as a basis for understanding the foreign policy of individual countries. Analysis of causes of war, conditions of peace, patterns of influence, the nature of the world's political economy, global environmental issues, human rights, and prospects for international organizations. Open to first-year students. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Art or Mr. Chase

POL 79b War and World History
[ ss ]
Examines the subject of war in world history. We will explore answers to the following questions: why do wars, especially major wars, start? How has war affected the course of world history? How different, and how similar, does war look across the centuries? How has technological innovation influenced the conduct of war and the evolution of societies? Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Art

POL 98a Independent Study
Tutorial study on specialized topics, outside the regular curricular offerings of the departments, on interest to students and appropriate politics faculty person. Requires agreement between student and supervising faculty member on the specific topic and syllabus of readings and assignments for the tutorial, including written work required for the course (normally the equivalent of a term research paper). Students may count up to two such courses toward completion of the major. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 98b Independent Study
See POL 98a. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 99a Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 99b Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 99d Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

LGLS/POL 116b Civil Liberties in America
[ ss ]
The history and politics of civil liberties and civil rights in the United States, with emphasis on the period from World War I to the present. Emphasis on freedom of speech, religion, abortion, privacy, racial discrimination, and affirmative action. Readings from Supreme Court cases and influential works by historians and political philosophers. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Breen

POL 100b Political Science Methods: Research, Design, and Modes of Analysis
[ qr ss ]
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.
An introduction to nonstatistical research methods for analyzing political processes. Moves from selecting problems to composing a focused research question, examining relevant theory, conceptualizing variables, generating hypotheses, research design, research operations, and analysis. Uses examples from comparative, international, and American politics. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kryder

POL 101a Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Opinion
[ ss ]
Role and organization of political parties, interest groups, and public opinion in the American political system. Emphasis on historical development and current political behavior in the United States in relation to American democratic theory. Comparison with other countries to illuminate U.S. practice. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 103b Seminar: Political Leadership
[ ss ]
Examines political leadership through biographies, autobiographies, and biographical fiction. These are used to help us understand and compare different modes of political leadership, including the "apolitical-rationalist" (McGeorge Bundy), "political" (Lincoln, Johnson, Truman), and the ostensibly "non-political expert" (Robert Moses). Usually offered every year.
Mr. Levin

POL 105a Elections in America
[ ss ]
Examines modern campaigns and elections to the United States presidency and Congress. Topics include the influence of partisanship, policy differences, and candidate images on the vote; the impact of money on campaigns; the role of the mass media; and the differences among presidential, Senate, and House elections. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

POL 108a The Police and Social Movements in American Politics
[ ss wi ]
Analyses American mass political movements, their interaction with police, and their influences on American politics. Topics include the relationship between social movements and various political institutions. Explore various theories with case studies of specific political movements. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Kryder

POL 111a The American Congress
[ ss ]
The structure and behavior of the Congress. Emphasis on the way member incentives for reelection, power on Capitol Hill, and good public policy shape Congress. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 112b Democracy in America
[ ss ]
Examines how political culture, theory, institutions, and processes define democracy in America beginning with eighteenth century constitutional framework. Also looks at the development of constitutional limits and prescriptions. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Woll

POL 113b The American Presidency
[ ss ]
Philosophical and historical origins of the presidency, examining the constitutional role of the chief executive. Historical development of the presidency, particularly the emergence of the modern presidency during the twentieth century. Contemporary relationships between the presidency and the electorate, as well as the other branches of government. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kryder

POL 114b The Politics of Poverty and Welfare Policy
[ ss ]
Examines the modern debate about the causes and remedies for persistent urban poverty, and places that debate in its historical and political context. Sources include works on poverty from sociology, economics, anthropology, history, and political science. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

POL 115a Constitutional Law
[ ss ]
Analysis of core principles of constitutional law as formulated by the Supreme Court. Primary focus on the First Amendment, the equal protection and due process clauses, federalism, the commerce clause, and the separation of powers. Emphasis also on the moral values and political theories that form our constitutional system. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Woll

POL 115b Seminar: Constitutional Law and Theory
[ ss ]
Advanced research seminar on selected issues of constitutional law. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Woll

POL 117a Administrative Law
[ ss ]
The role of administrative agencies in lawmaking and adjudication. Emphasis on the problem of defining and protecting the public interest, as well as the rights of individuals and groups directly involved in administrative proceedings. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Woll

POL 118b Courts, Politics, and Public Policy
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 14b.
Analyzes the political role of American courts, examining the politics of judicial appointments, the role of legal mobilization and strategy, and the capacity of courts to produce social change. Focuses on political science case studies that place the actions of courts in the larger framework of American politics. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 120b The Politics of Policymaking
[ ss ]
Examines the connection between politics and policymaking to identify the political determinants of public policy since the 1970’s. By paying close attention to what policy makers say about what they are doing, the course connects the world of ideas to the world of actions. The course examines concrete cases from specific time periods across a wide range of policy areas such as health care, tax policy, Social Security, education reform, immigration, tort reform,and deregulation. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Levin

POL 121b Political Partisanship, Policymaking and Coalition Building
[ ss ]
Focuses on "getting past no" through analyses of successful and failed attempts to build coalitions - that critical connection between politics and policymaking. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Levin

POL 122b Seminar: Policy Analysis and Policy Implementation
[ ss ]
Development of a framework for policy analysis that integrates economic tools and political science thinking. Application of this "political economy" approach to several problems and cases. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 123a Political Psychology
[ ss ]
Course open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Explores public opinion, political socialization, and political behavior through the lens of psychology. Applying psychological theory to traditional topics in political science is emphasized. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Greenlee

POL 124a The Politics of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.
[ ss ]
Focuses on the political causes and consequences of the American Civil Rights Movement. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 124b Race, Inequality, and Social Policy
[ ss ]
Explores the causes and consequences of economic, social, and political inequality in the United States. Examines trends from the perspective of both liberal and conservative social scientists. Asks what forms of inequality matter and what should be done about them. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps

POL 125a Women in American Politics
[ ss ]
Addresses three major dimensions of women's political participation: social reform and women-identified issues; women's organizations and institutions; and women politicians, electoral politics, and party identification. Covers historical context and contemporary developments in women's political activity. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Greenlee

POL 126a The American Constitutions and Political Conflict
[ ss ]
Examines the creation and development of the U.S. Constitution and American state constitutions. Throughout American history, politicians have clashed over principles of constitutional design and the timing and content of amendments, not just at the federal level. Special one-time offering, spring 2012.
Mr. Herron

POL 127a Ending Deadly Conflict
[ ss wi ]
Prerequisite: POL 127b or permission of the instructor.
Examines strategies for ending violent internal (primarily ethnic) conflicts, with emphasis on identifying conditions conducive to negotiated settlements. Case studies are examined in light of analytical literature. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Burg

POL 127b Seminar: Managing Ethnic Conflict
[ ss wi ]
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.
Comparative study of the sources and character of interethnic conflict, with emphasis on the processes by which groups become politicized, and the strategies and techniques for managing conflict in a democratic system. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Burg

POL 128a The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World
[ nw ss ]
Introduction to twentieth-century revolutionary movements in the Third World, focusing on the emergence of peasant-based resistance and revolution in the world beyond the West, and on the role of state violence in provoking popular involvement in protest, rebellion, and insurgency. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 129a East European Politics
[ ss ]
Politics and society in the post-Communist states of Eastern Europe, drawing general lessons about the relationships among social modernization, nationalism, and democratic transition. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Burg

POL 131b Social Movements in Latin America
[ ss ]
Origins, dynamics, and social and cultural impact of movements among indigenous groups, women, peasants, and blacks in Latin America since the 1980s. Comparative study of other social movements in Latin America and elsewhere in the world. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 132b Political Economy of Latin America
[ ss ]
Examines the paradox that increasing economic, technological, and democratic development in Latin America has produced greater inequality and deeper economic crisis, and the popular responses to these developments. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

POL 133a Contemporary Politics in the Middle East
[ nw ss ]
Examines the Western impact on the Middle East state system, and the key challenges to the stability of these states and to the regional order. Topics include Arab nationalism; religion and minorities, the Arab-Israeli conflict and other issues. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Bellin

POL 134a Strategies of Islamic Political Activism in the Arab Middle East
[ ss ]
Islamic oriented, social and political movements in the Middle East politics, both violent and on-violent, ranging from the populist Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to salafi-jihadist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. Particular attention to understanding developments since 9/11 and the war in Iraq. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 134b Immigration, State, and Nation
[ ss ]
Looks at immigration from the perspectives of policy-makers, migrants, and the groups affected by immigration in sender nations as well as destination countries. Introduces students to the history of migration policy, core concepts and facts about migration in the West, and to the theories and disagreements among immigrant scholars. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 138b Israeli Politics In Comparative Perspective
[ ss ]
Introduces students to the Israeli political system through a comparative lens. We will discuss various issues, such as political and socioeconomic development, cultural diversity, and ethnic conflict, as well as how they are manifested in Israeli democracy. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Abu

POL 142a U.S.-Israeli Relations: Interests, Values, Lobbies, and the "Special Relationship"
[ ss ]
This course subjects the U.S.-Israeli relationship to theoretically-informed, and historically-grounded critical evaluation. It examines strategic interests, cultural factors, and the activities of domestic and foreign lobbies. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 143b Israel, Iran, the Bomb and Beyond: Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Addresses one of the most pressing international issues - the nuclearization of Iran. It takes a broad approach that analyzes this issue in context of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, the regional balance of power, and overall international stability. Concludes with a United Nations negotiations simulation, in which the students apply their theoretical and historical knowledge in order to propose different policy options. Special two-time offering, spring 2011 and spring 2012.
Ms. Ben-Josef Hirsch

POL 144a Latin American Politics I
[ nw ss ]
Revolution, order, and regime transition in northern Latin America. Specific examination of the Mexican and Cuban revolutions and their outcomes. POL 144a is independent of POL 144b. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hindley

POL 144b Latin American Politics II
[ nw ss ]
Emphasis on elite control, the military, the political role of populist politics, and the uncertain process of democratization. Brazil and Argentina are examined specifically. POL 144b is independent of POL 144a. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hindley

POL 145b The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe and the United States
[ ss ]
Few issues have caused more public furor than the accommodation of Islam in Europe and the United States. It is often overlooked that Muslims are developing the institutions of their faith in societies that offer everyone the freedom of choice and expression. This seminar looks at religious discrimination as a barrier to the civic and political inclusion of Muslim immigrants, the responses of governments, courts, and the general public, and what we know about the balance among "fundamentalist, " "moderate," and "progressive" Muslim viewpoints. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 146b Seminar: Topics in Revolutions in the Third World
[ nw ss ]
May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
Explores revolutionary situations, revolutionary movements (successful and unsuccessful), and revolutionary regimes in the Third World since World War II. Specific topics may vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hindley

POL 147a The Government and Politics of China
[ nw ss ]
Introduction to major themes of Chinese politics, emphasizing the rise of the Chinese Communists and the post-1949 trends in domestic politics, while also surveying historical, sociological, and cultural influences in Chinese politics. Attention to the nature of the traditional state, impact of colonialism, national revolution, and the course of contemporary state development. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 147b Seminar: The Modern Chinese Revolution
[ nw ss ]
In-depth exploration of origins, processes, and consequences of the modern Chinese revolution, focusing specifically on Western social science theories and interpretations of the revolution. It also provides comprehensive and comparative perspective on revolution in twentieth-century China and revolutionary movements in other parts of the globe. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 148a Seminar: Contemporary Chinese Politics
[ nw ss ]
A broad and in-depth understanding of key issues in contemporary Chinese politics--China after 1949. Emphasis on the role of the state in promoting economic development, social betterment, political stability, and justice. Special attention to the Tiananmen Protest Movement of 1989. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 150a Politics of Southeast Asia
[ nw ss ]
Introduction to the politics of modern Southeast Asia, with the focus on the indigenous peoples and their cultures, societies, and histories. The greatly changed and changing political systems of Indonesia and Thailand are examined individually in some depth. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hindley

POL 151a Seminar: Cultural Pluralism and Democratic Governance
[ ss wi ]
Prerequisites: Sophomore or junior class standing and at least two prior politics courses.
How liberal democracies respond to the social and political challenges of linguistic, cultural, religious, racial, and gender differences. Examines legal, political, and normative issues arising out of these differences, and the implications of various responses for the stability of a liberal democratic state. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Burg

POL 153a The New Europe: European Economic and Political Integration
[ ss ]
The institutions and policymaking processes of the European Union (EU). Western European political and economic integration since 1945 and the resurgence of European integration since the mid-1980s. Social policy issues, policy harmonization and economic integration, European citizenship, and the reorientation of national politics in response to community expansion. The future of European unity and national cultures. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 154a Seminar: Citizenship
[ ss ]
Liberal theory presumes the progress of history to be, in the words of John Stuart Mill, a gradual "doing away with privilege." Examines the frontiers of social and political justice through readings drawn from literature, political science, and history. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 156b European Culture & Politics
[ ss wi ]
The comparative politics of Western Europe. Focuses on the development of political parties and social movements in Britain, France, and Germany--particularly since 1945--to determine how they affect policies and the citizenry's participation in modern democracies. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 158b Comparative Perspectives on the Law and Politics of Group Rights
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 11b or POL 14b.
The creation of new group rights for disadvantaged populations in democratic states through constitutional reform and affirmative action, and the legal and political dilemmas raised by efforts to implement these rights. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 160a The War on Global Terrorism
[ ss ]
Intended for juniors and seniors, but open to all students.
Explores how 9/11 changed our lives. The course surveys the build-up of Al Queda leading up to the 9/11 attacks and ten years of counter terrorism. Students are given an introduction to Jihadist doctrines and Al Queda's structure, as well as theories about the cause of terrorism. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 162b Seminar: Use of Force, Ethical Issues
[ ss ]
Examines when it is legitimate to resort to force (jus ad bellum), and what rules should govern how wars are fought (jus in bello). Explores the Just War tradition of thinking about the jus ad bellum and jus in bello issues, including efforts of military establishments and international lawyers to adapt the tradition to new political circumstances and military capabilities. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 163a Seminar: Human Rights and International Relations
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 15a or equivalent.
How human rights issues are affecting and being handled by the nation-state system. Traditional vs. reformist views. Universalism vs. cultural relativism. Contemporary case studies. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 164a Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the efforts to resolve it. Focuses on key documents and developments with particular emphasis on the Palestinian-Israeli dimension, and the different narratives adopted by the parties on the conflict. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 165a Seminar: Globalization and Governance in the Trading System
[ ss ]
Examines three tiers of governance in the trading system: the rules and authority of international agencies such as the World Trade Organization; the policymaking functions of national political institutions; and the role and influence of corporations, labor unions, citizen groups, and other private actors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chase

POL 166b Seminar: The Middle East in International Relations
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 15a or equivalent.
Explores how the concepts, theories, and paradigms from the field of International Relations can be used to understand the politics of the Middle East. usually offered every second year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 167a United States and China in World Politics
[ ss ]
Issues in U.S.-China relations, including Taiwan and Tibet, the formation of a Greater China, military security and use of nuclear weapons, human rights, Chinese and American versions of nationalism and internationalism, and others. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 168b American Foreign Policy
[ ss ]
Overview of America's foreign policy since 1945. Topics include the Cold War era, the economic competitiveness of the United States, the role of the United States in selected world regions, the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. participation in the United Nations, post-Cold War foreign policy, and the making and implementing of foreign policy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Art

POL 169b U.S. Policy in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Provides students with an understanding of the evolution of U.S. policy in the Middle East and the manner in which the local parties have perceived it. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 170a Arms Control in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Explores and analyzes the theories behind, dynamics within, and problems encountered with arms control as part of regional security in the Middle East. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 171b National Intelligence: Theory, Practice, and Cinematic
[ ss ]
Examines the challenges of developing useful "intelligence" for policymaking, the nature of covert operations for intelligence, and how spy/espionage films shape popular understanding of intelligence and covert operations. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Burg

POL 172b Seminar: International Political Economy
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 15a.
The politics and modern evolution of international economic relations, comprising trade, money, multinational productions, and development. Also the role of states and transnational actors in international markets and the global differentiation of power, and distribution of wealth. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chase

POL 173a U.S. Foreign Economic Policy
[ oc ss wi ]
Presents the history and politics of the foreign economic policy in the United States. Emphasis is on political and economic considerations that influence the domestic actors and institutions involved in the formulation of policy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chase

POL 174b Seminar: Problems of National Security
[ ss ]
Analysis of the role and utility of military power in international politics. Selected case studies from the last fifty years. Selected topics on post-Cold War military issues, including the spread of weapons of mass destruction, collective approaches to coercion, and the role of U.S. military power in world stability. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Art

POL 175b Global Civil Society
[ ss ]
The role of international organizations in the contemporary global political and economic system, the ways in which they influence or contribute to major international policy issues, and the interactions between international organizations and global civil society. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 176a Seminar: International Intervention
[ ss ]
The evolution of international law and practice in use of force for the resolution of conflicts. Case study of major post-cold war cases of international intervention, including humanitarian intervention. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Burg

POL 177b National Security Strategy: The Case of Israel
[ ss ]
Examines key concepts in national security studies and accesses their relevance to Israel's pursuit of national security. Evaluates the extent to which Israel's strategy is typical of small states facing numerically superior neighbors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 178a The Rise of East Asia and the Pacific in the Global Political Economy
[ ss ]
An introduction to East Asia and the Pacific in the global political economy. The focus is on the major players in East Asia--China, Japan, the two Koreas, and Vietnam--and their relations with India, Oceania, and the United States. Topics include the challenges posed to key global economic actors, including the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, by the rise of authoritarian China--as a global actor. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 179a China's Global Rise: The Challenge to Democratic Order
[ ss ]
Explores the implications of China's global rise for the global democratic order constructed by the United States in the aftermath of World War II. Among other issues, we will ask whether China's international strategy in Asia, Africa, and Latin America poses a serious challenge to democratic nations and their support for democratization. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 180b Sustaining Development
[ nw ss ]
Prerequisite: Some familiarity with development issues.
Explores different institutionalized approaches to development. Examines how institutions affect development in selected geographic areas, at levels ranging from local to national and international. Considers why similar policies when implemented in different ways may lead to quite distinct outcomes. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

POL 182a Liberal Political Thought
[ ss ]
An exploration of the history of liberal thought as well as contemporary critics and defenders of liberalism, focusing primarily on American and European authors. Authors may include Locke, Smith, Montesquieu, Mill, Tocqueville, Dewey, Rawls, Hayek, Shklar, MacIntyre, Oakeshott, Sandel, Walzer, and Okin. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

POL 186b Classical Political Thought
[ ss ]
Major ancient political philosophers and the meaning and implications of their work for contemporary political issues. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Yack

POL 187b Conservative Political Thought
[ ss ]
Focuses on American and European thinkers, with an emphasis on critics of equality and unlimited commercial and civil liberty. Readings include political philosophy and literature. Authors may include Burke, Oakeshott, Calhoun, Conrad, Tocqueville, Augustine, Nisbett, Strauss, and C. S. Lewis. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Yack

POL 189a Marx, Nietzsche, and Twentieth-Century Radicalism
[ ss ]
Comparison of two powerful and influential critiques of modern politics and society. Explanation of Marx's work, both for its own insights and as a model for radical theorists; and of Nietzsche's work as an alternative conception of radical social criticism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Yack

POL 190b Seminar: Democratic Theory
[ ss ]
Explores in depth the nature, virtues, and limitations of democracy as a way of organizing political affairs. Brings together classic texts, for example, Rousseau's Social Contract, with more recent topical readings on topics like democracy and nationalism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Yack

POL 191a Seminar: Punishment and Crime
[ ss ]
Examines theories justifying criminal punishment, and the practice of law enforcement, as a means of understanding our society and its values. Topics may include hate crimes, the law of self-defense, rape and others. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lawrence

POL 192b Seminar: Topics in Law and Political Theory
[ ss ]
Interplay among law, morality, and political theory. Specific topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Yack or Staff

POL 194a Politics and the Novel
[ ss ]
Selected works of fiction as sources of political ideas and pictures of political and social life. How modern fiction helps us understand social change, societies in transition and decay, revolution, law, bureaucracy, and ethnicity. Authors such as Kafka, Conrad, Borges, Dostoevsky, Ford Madox Ford, Babel, Greene, Malraux, and Carpenter. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Levin

POL 195b Shakespeare and the Politics of Leadership
[ ss ]
Shakespeare as sources for understanding selected work of the role of leaders and followers, elites and masses, class and ethnicity, social change, the relations between disparate social orders, and societies ins transition. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Levin

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

POL 211a Graduate Seminar: Political Theory
Core course in political theory, required of all Politics Ph.D. students.
Explores a few themes, such as justice, freedom, and community, by means of careful reading of a selection of classical and contemporary texts. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Yack

POL 212a Graduate Seminar: Research Methods and Methodology
Familiarizes students with the major research techniques of a qualitative nature for political science and addresses central issues in the logic of inquiry in social science. Issues and techniques include the case study method, the comparative method, counterfactual, and research design. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kryder

POL 213a Graduate Seminar: Comparative Political Institutions and Public Policy
Studies the ideas and institutions of representative democracy from a comparative perspective. Topics include parties and party systems, variations in constitutional government from presidentialism to parliamentarianism, the process and prerequisites of democratization, and the comparative politics of the welfare state. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Burg, Ms. Klausen, or Ms. Bellin

POL 213b Graduate Seminar: Selected Topics in Comparative Politics
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in comparative politics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Burg or Ms. Klausen or Ms. Bellin

POL 214a Graduate Seminar: International Relations
Examines the international relations of national political systems. Topics include the impact of evolving international institutions and norms on the course of world politics; the effects of security, economic, and environmental factors; and the interaction between domestic politics and foreign policy. Special attention is given to American foreign policy and the changing place of the United States in world politics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Art

POL 214b Graduate Seminar: Selected Topics in World Politics
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in the international dimensions of world politics. Each term it deals with a different topic in greater depth than is possible in the context of the program's field seminar in this area. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Art or Mr. Chase

POL 215a Graduate Seminar: American Political Development
Examines the creation and evolution of national institutions in the United States. Themes include the influence of ideas on institutional development; the influence of institutional arrangements on conflicts and policies; and the changing nature of ideas and institutions, especially in such pivotal periods as the founding, the Civil War, the progressive era, the New Deal, and the 1960s and 1970s. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kryder or Mr. Mapps

POL 215b Graduate Seminar: Advanced Topics in American Politics
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in American politics. Each term the seminar deals with a different topic in greater depth than is possible in the context of the program's field seminar in this area. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Greenlee, Mr. Kryder, or Mr. Mapps

POL 216b Seminar: Advanced Topics in Political Theory
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in political theory. Each term it deals with a different topic in greater depth than is possible in the context of the program's field seminar in this area. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Yack or Staff

POL 302a Readings in Politics
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Offered every year.
Staff

POL 302b Readings in Politics
Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 340d Proseminar
Required of all PhD and MA students. Not for credit.
Year-long course that meets biweekly. Focuses on professional development, including teaching competency. Offered every year.
Staff

POL 350a Master's Thesis
Master's thesis research and preparation. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 350b Master's Thesis
Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 400d Dissertation Research
Independent research for the PhD degree. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Politics: American Politics

AAAS 82a Urban Politics
[ ss ]
This is an experiential learning course.
Examines urban politics in the United States from the early twentieth century to the present. Topics include urban political machines; minority political participation; the evolution of American suburbs; and racial, economic, and political inequities that challenge public policymaking. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps

AAAS 114b Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Politics in the United States
[ ss ]
Explores the role that racial and ethnic politics play in American political campaigns and elections. Readings provide historical, theoretical, and empirical overviews of racial and ethnic politics in four contexts: political parties, presidential elections, congressional campaigns, and state legislative contests. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps

HIST 160b American Legal History II
[ ss ]
Survey of American legal development from 1865 to the present. Major topics include constitutionalism and racial inequality, the legal response to industrialization, progressivism and the transformation of liberalism, the rise of the administrative state, and rights-based movements for social justice. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Willrich

HS 104b American Health Care
[ ss ]
Examines and critically analyzes the United States health care system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Altman

HS 110a Wealth and Poverty
[ ss ]
Examines why the gap between richer and poorer citizens appears to be widening in the United States and elsewhere, what could be done to reverse this trend, and how the widening disparity affects major issues of public policy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Shapiro

MATH 16a Mathematics and Democracy
[ sn ]
Offers a mathematical examination of problems that arise in a representative democracy. Topics include social choice procedures, yes-no voting systems, power indices, the Electoral College, apportionment, fair division, and game theory. One-time special offering, fall 2012.
Mr. Ostroff

Cross-Listed in Politics: Comparative Politics

AAAS 175a Comparative Politics of North Africa
[ nw ss ]
Explores the formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups, analyzing the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni

HIST 172a 20th Century Social Movements in the Americas
[ ss ]
Examines social movements in Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries, covering feminism, labor activism, ethnic mobilization, peasant rebellion, environmental defense, resistance to dictatorship, anti-imperialism, and related topics. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

HS 219f Transitional Justice: Introduction
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.
Transitional justice is a relatively new and growing interdisciplinary field of study placed at the intersection between international law and justice, politics, human rights and conflict and peace studies. This module introduces the concept and practices of transitional justice. We review the various mechanisms of transitional justice, including: criminal prosecution; purges and lustrations; truth and reconciliation commissions; reparations and compensation schemes; revisions of national-historical narratives; official apologies; and, public commemoration. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hirsch

HS 258f Transitional Justice: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Comparative Perspective
Prerequisite: HS 219f or the permission of the instructor. Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.
Explores the applicability of the transitional justice framework and its different practices to historical and current aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will consider how developments in international law such as the International Human Rights Regime and the ICC affect the dynamic of the conflict. Drawing on other cases of international conflict (Northern Ireland, Indonesia/ East Timor) we will evaluate which, if any, of the transitional justice practices may advance or hinder an Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process and how useful might they be for longer-term peacebuilding and reconciliation. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hirsch

NEJS 185b The Making of the Modern Middle East
[ hum nw ss wi ]
Open to all students.
Discusses the processes that led to the emergence of the modern Middle East: disintegration of Islamic society, European colonialism, reform and reaction, and the rise of nationalism and the modern states. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

SOC 155b Protest, Politics, and Change: Social Movements
[ ss ]
Utilizes case studies of actual movements to examine a variety of approaches to contentious politics. Covers collective behavior, resource mobilization, rational choice, and newer interactive models. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Cunningham

SOC 161a Society, State, and Power: The Problem of Democracy
[ ss ]
Examines the ways in which power is exercised in different political regimes and social systems and considers the problem of democracy. The major focus of the course will be present-day advanced industrial societies, with particular consideration of the United States. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Sirianni

Cross-Listed in Politics: International Politics

AAAS 163b Africa in World Politics
[ nw ss ]
Explores the impact of African states in world affairs; the African and Afro-Asian groups in the United Nations; relations with Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Americas; the Afro-Asian movement; nonalignment; the Organization of African Unity; and Pan-Africanism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni

IGS/LGLS 180a The Spirit of International Law
[ ss ]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
This course provides a broad survey of international law--how it aspires to peace, justice, and human rights; and how it meets the hard realities of a complex world. Building on direct contact with international tribunals, the course considers social, cultural, political, and economic factors shaping global justice, along with the impact of legal values on nations, regions, and communities. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gaskins

LGLS 125b International Law and Organizations
[ ss ]
Introduction to international law, its nature, sources, and application, for example, its role in the management of international conflicts. Topics may include international agreements, international organizations including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, states and recognition, nationality and alien rights, territorial and maritime jurisdiction, international claims, and the laws of war and human rights. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 189a The Arab-Israeli Conflict
[ hum ss ]
Consideration of Arab-Jewish relations, attitudes, and interactions from 1880 to the present. Emphasis on social factors and intellectual currents and their impact on politics. Examines the conflict within its international setting. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Politics: Political Theory & Methods

FREN 111a The Republic
[ fl hum wi ]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
The "Republic" analyzes how the republican ideal of the citizen devoid of religious, ethnic, or gender identity has fared in different Francophone political milieux. Course involves understanding how political institutions such as constitutions, parliaments, and court systems interact with reality of modern societies in which religious, ethnic, and gender identities play important roles. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Randall

HIST 133a Politics of the Enlightenment
[ ss ]
Examines the Enlightenment as a source of the intellectual world we live in today. Examination of some of the political, philosophical, and scientific writings of the philosophers. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Hulliung

HIST 181b Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
[ ss ]
From Marx's first major book in 1845 to the French upheavals of 1968, the history of left-wing politics and ideas. The struggles between Marxist orthodoxy and anarchist-inspired, left Marxist alternatives. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Hulliung

HIST 183b Community and Alienation: Social Theory from Hegel to Freud
[ ss ]
The rise of social theory understood as a response to the trauma of industrialization. Topics include Marx's concept of "alienation," Tönnies's distinction between "community" and "society," Durkheim's notion of "anomie," Weber's account of "disenchantment," and Nietzsche's repudiation of modernity. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Hulliung

HIST 192b Romantic and Existentialist Political Thought
[ ss ]
Readings from Camus, Sartre, Beckett, and others. Examination and criticism of romantic and existentialist theories of politics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Hulliung

HIST 195b American Political Thought: From the Gilded Age through the New Deal
[ ss ]
Topics include the Mugwumps, Populists, Progressives; Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; the New Nationalism and the New Freedom; the continuities and discontinuities of the New Deal and the Progressive Era. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Hulliung

PHIL 111a What Is Justice?
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or political theory or permission of the instructor.
What is justice and what does justice require? The course examines theories of justice, both classical and contemporary. Topics include liberty and equality, "who gets what and how much," welfare- and resource-based principles of justice, justice as a virtue, liberalism, multiculturalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smiley

PHIL 112a Philosophy of the State
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or POL 10a strongly recommended.
Explores a variety of normative arguments for and against the legitimacy of the state that have been put forward by key figures in the history of western political philosophy; e.g. Hobbes, Kant, Rousseau, Hume, and Dewey. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smiley

PHIL 116a Topics in Political Philosophy
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: PHIL 1a, PHIL 17a, or POL 10a.
Explores social contract theories of political obligation, the right to rebel against the state, and the possibility of a global political community. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smiley

PHIL 118a War and Morality
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or POL 10a.
Explores a variety of moral questions associated with both war in general and particular kinds of warfare. How, if at all, does war differ from murder? Under what conditions can a particular war be justified? Where do we draw the line between defensive and offensive actions? Can a just war be restricted morally with respect to its tactics? Is torture ever justified? What is the moral status of "innocents" in arguments about the justifiability of particular modes of warfare? What, if anything, is special about terrorism? How--according to what principles--can we ascribe responsibility for harm in wartime? Does collective responsibility for war crimes make sense? Is pacifism a coherent doctrine? a justifiable practice? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smiley

PHIL 124a Philosophy of Revolution
[ hum ]
A philosophical analysis of political revolution. Questions include: What are the causes of revolution? When is revolution justified? What is the value of freedom? What are the effects of revolution? Includes analysis of an example of revolution in history. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Moran

Additional Cross-Listed Courses in Politics

AMST 185b The Culture of the Cold War
[ ss ]
Addresses American political culture from the end of World War II until the revival of liberal movements and radical criticism. Focuses on the specter of totalitarianism, the "end of ideology," McCarthyism, the crisis of civil liberties, and the strains on the pluralistic consensus in an era of anti-Communism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Whitfield

HIST 160a American Legal History I
[ ss ]
Surveys American legal development from colonial settlement to the Civil War. Major issues include law as an instrument of revolution, capitalism and contract, invention of the police, family law, slavery law, and the Civil War as a constitutional crisis. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Willrich

IGS/LGLS 128b Networks of Global Justice
[ ss ]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
Examines how global justice is actively shaped by dynamic institutions, contested ideas, and evolving cultures. Using liberal arts methods, the course explores prospects for advancing peace and justice in a complex world. For a laboratory it accesses courts, tribunals, rights initiatives, and research projects found in The Hague—a global hub for some of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gaskins