UW Bothell Course Descriptions
UW Tacoma Course Descriptions
Glossary
Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for
POL S 101 Introduction to Politics (5) SSc
Political problems that affect our lives and shape the world around us.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 101
POL S 110 Political Argumentation (3) A&H/SSc
Skills- and practice-based approach to political argumentation. Suitable for non-majors.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 110
POL S 120 Perspectives on Contemporary Public Policy Issues (3) SSc
Lecture series on contemporary domestic and international public policy issues. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 120.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 120
POL S 195 Study Abroad: Political Science (1-10, max. 15) SSc
Lower-division political science courses taken through a UW approved study abroad program. Specific content varies and must be individually evaluated. Credit does not apply to major requirements.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 195
POL S 201 Introduction to Political Theory (5) SSc
Philosophical bases of politics and political activity. Provides an introduction to the study of politics by the reading of books in political philosophy. Organized around several key political concepts, such as liberty, equality, justice, authority, rights, and citizenship. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 201
POL S 202 Introduction to American Politics (5) SSc
Institutions and politics in the American political system. Ways of thinking about how significant problems, crises, and conflicts of American society are resolved politically. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 202
POL S 203 Introduction to International Relations (5) SSc
The world community, its politics, and government.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 203
POL S 204 Introduction to Comparative Politics (5) SSc
Political systems in a comparative framework. Traditional and contemporary approaches to the study of governments and societies in different countries. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 204
POL S 212 Philosophy of Feminism (5) SSc, DIV
Philosophical analysis of the concepts and assumptions central to feminism. Theoretical positions within the feminist movement; view of the ideal society, goals and strategies of the movement, intersections of the sex-gender system with other systems of oppression. Offered: jointly with GWSS 206/PHIL 206; AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 212
POL S 213 The Korean Peninsula and World Politics (5) SSc
Introduces Korean politics, economics, society, and international relations. Overviews the development in politics, economy, and society since the late nineteenth century. Addresses the evolution of Korea in the international society by comparing Korea experience with that of China and Japan. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 213.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 213
POL S 217 Issues of Global Justice (5) SSc, DIV
Introduces issues of global justice. Topics include: global poverty and aid, immigration, transnational governance, gender in global relations, climate change, and cultural relativism. Offered: jointly with ETHICS 207/PHIL 207.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 217
POL S 220 How to Steal an Election (5) SSc
Surveys the many strategies political actors use to rig elections and undermine electoral integrity and security in modern democracies.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 220
POL S 246 African American Politics (5) SSc, DIV
Survey of African Americans within the U.S. socio-political processes. Situates African Americans within a post-civil rights context where there is debate about race's centrality to an African American politics. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 246.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 246
POL S 249 Introduction to Labor Studies (5) SSc
Conceptual and theoretical issues in the study of labor and work. Role of labor in national and international politics. Formation of labor movements. Historical and contemporary role of labor in the modern world. Offered: jointly with HSTCMP 249/SOC 266.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 249
POL S 270 Introduction to Political Economy (5) SSc
Political economy as a tool for understanding and evaluating the political world. Combines theory, methods, and insights derived from economics and political science and applies them to a range of substantive issues.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 270
POL S 273 The Concept of Political Power (5) SSc
How to understand and explain relationships of power. Readings from Marxism, Weberian sociology, anarchism, classical political philosophy, and contemporary political science. May also include works of fiction.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 273
POL S 281 Literature and American Political Culture (5) A&H/SSc
Introduction to the methods and theories used in the analysis of American culture. Emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to American literature, including history, politics, anthropology, and mass media. Offered: jointly with ENGL 251.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 281
POL S 295 Study Abroad: Political Science (1-10, max. 15) SSc
Political science courses taken through a UW approved study abroad program. Specific content varies and must be individually evaluated.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 295
POL S 299 Special Topics in Political Science (2-5, max. 10) SSc
Examines a different subject or problem of current interest within the discipline.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 299
POL S 301 Topics in Political Theory (5, max. 10) SSc
Study of topics in political theory.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 301
POL S 302 Free Will, Nature, and Nurture in Politics and Society (5) SSc
Examines beliefs and actions in politics and other domains from the standpoint of free will, nature, and nurture. Compares political science to other disciplines in explaining why people think and act as they do.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 302
POL S 303 Public Policy Formation in the United States (5) SSc
Policy decision making with emphasis on: how issues arise, the way they become part of the policy agenda of the executive and the legislature, how these institutions organize to handle policy issues, and the roles of the legislature, the executive, and the bureaucracy. Public policy literature and familiarization with key aspects of policy decision making at the national, state, and local levels.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 303
POL S 304 The Press and Politics in the United States (5) SSc
Journalists' role in elections and public policy. Relationship between news coverage and political campaigns. Study and analysis of local political newswriting, reporting, and response by local and state political figures. Extensive off-campus experience included. Offered: jointly with COM 304.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 304
POL S 306 Media, Society, and Political Identity (5) SSc
Explores how society and culture are both represented in and shaped by communication technologies and media content. Media include film, advertising, news, entertainment television, talk shows, and the Internet. Explores how media represent and affect individual identity, values, and political engagement. Offered: jointly with COM 306.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 306
POL S 307 Religion and World Politics (5) SSc, DIV
Explores the intersection of religion and politics in various world regions, including the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and China. Focuses on the role religious diversity plays in affecting government policy, including how state power structures privilege certain faith traditions and how political actors can be captured by religious interest groups. Includes discussion of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Offered: jointly with RELIG 307.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 307
POL S 308 The Western Tradition of Political Thought, Ancient and Medieval (5) SSc
Origin and evolution of major political concepts from ancient Greece to the medieval period.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 308
POL S 309 The Western Tradition of Political Thought, Pre-Modern (5) SSc
Continuation of POL S 308, treating materials from the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 309
POL S 310 The Western Tradition of Political Thought, Modern (5) SSc
Continuation of POL S 308 and POL S 309, focusing on material from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 310
POL S 311 Individual and the State (5) SSc
Individualism and communitarian critics. Political and ethical implications of both. Nature of the state, liberty, responsibility, cooperation. Important individualist and collectivist literature, dealing with market institutions and citizen politics, critically assessed.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 311
POL S 312 Survey of American Political Thought (5) SSc
Survey of American political thought from colonial times to the 1980s. Topics include the idea of the self-made man; the intellectual contexts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; slavery, abolition, and the Civil War; progressivism; Cold War liberalism; the Civil Rights Movement and and its critics; and modern conservatism. Prerequisite: cannot be taken for credit if POL S 318 or POL S 319 already taken.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 312
POL S 313 Gender and Politics (5) SSc, DIV
Focuses on concept of gender as a fluid, performative, and normative aspect of people's lives that regulates access to policies, representation in government, daily encounters with others, interests and issues, and politics that form around this identity and experiences. Examines how gender identity shapes social movements, activism, advocacy, policymaking, elections, cultural norms, distributions of power and resources, rights, and the law. Offered: jointly with GWSS 313.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 313
POL S 315 Black Identities and Political Power (5) SSc
Relates the deployment of political power within institutions to shifting racial identities. Shows how racial identities both reflect and inflect relations of domination and resistance within and between cultures in the black diaspora. Prerequisite: either AES 150, AFRAM 150, AFRAM 201, or POL S 201. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 315.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 315
POL S 316 African-American Political and Social Thought (5) SSc, DIV
Race relations in U.S. politics as defined by the struggle of African Americans for economic, political, and social equality. Studies of African-American political and social thought; expands and clarifies our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of American democratic ideals.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 316
POL S 317 The Politics of Race and Ethnicity in the United States (5) SSc, DIV
Introduction to the history and development of racial hierarchy, focusing on how race and ethnicity shape political institutions (e.g., the Constitution, political parties, voting systems). Examination of political relationships between Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. Case studies of minority representation and the politics of welfare, crime, immigration, and terrorism. Offered: jointly with LSJ 331.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 317
POL S 318 American Political Thought from the Colonial Era to the Civil War (5) SSc, DIV
Major thinkers in American political thought from Franklin to Madison to Douglass to Jacobs to Lincoln. Emphasis on tensions between freedom, slavery, equality, violence, and "the power of the people." Prerequisite: cannot be taken for credit if POL S 312 already taken.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 318
POL S 319 American Political Thought from Reconstruction to the Present (5) SSc, DIV
Major thinkers in American political thought from Lincoln to Whitman to to Du Bois to Martin Luther King, Jr. to Malcolm X to Audre Lorde to Ronald Reagan. Emphasis on the legacies of slavery in American life and the tension between citizen and corporate power. Prerequisite: cannot be taken for credit if POL S 312 already taken.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 319
POL S 320 State-Society Relations in Third World Countries (5) SSc, DIV
Relationships among political, social, and economic changes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Problems of economic and political development, revolution and reform, state-society relations, imperialism and dependency. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 310.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 320
POL S 321 American Foreign Policy (5) SSc
Constitutional framework; major factors in formulation and execution of policy; policies as modified by recent developments; the principal policymakers - president, Congress, political parties, pressure groups, and public opinion.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 321
POL S 322 International Political Economy of Latin America (5) SSc
Exploration of politics underlying Latin America's economic development. Topics covered include import-substituting industrialization, mercantilism, the debt crisis, neoliberalism, market integration, and poverty. Review of major theoretical perspectives such as modernization theory, dependency, and the new political economy. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 322.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 322
POL S 324 Europe in World Politics (5) SSc
Independent and coordinated efforts of Britain, France, and West Germany to adapt to the post-World War II global system. Creation and development of the Atlantic Alliance. Relations with postcommunist states. Decolonization and the evolution of relations with the Third World. The movement for European integration.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 324
POL S 325 The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (5) SSc, DIV
Explores development of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from inception to the present. Examines competing ideologies, political and social institutions, and forces that shaped the conflict. Critically examines state, nation and institution building; identity formation; domestic sources of foreign policy; political mobilization; economic development; human rights; and potential pathways to resolution.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 325
POL S 326 Scandinavia in World Affairs (5) SSc
Introduction to the foreign relations of Scandinavia with a focus on Nordic security, international economic pressures, and global conflict resolution. Includes a survey of the national settings for international involvements and highlights the dilemmas for industrial societies exposed to the pressures of interdependence. Offered: jointly with SCAND 326.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 326
POL S 327 Women's Rights as Human Rights (5) SSc, DIV
Women's rights in comparative perspective, focusing on varying settings that alter the meaning and practical application. Domestic level: areas including abortion politics to trafficking in women. International level: areas including equality claims before European supranational judicial bodies, rape as war crime in international law. Offered: jointly with LSJ 327.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 327
POL S 328 International Organizations (5) SSc
Explores historical, theoretical, and empirical aspects of the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and other international organizations, both governmental and nongovernmental, and their implications for global and domestic governance.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 328
POL S 329 Global Communication (5) SSc
Introduction to the history, purpose, channels, content, technologies, policy, and regulation of international communications systems. Issues covered include disparities in media development between post-industrial and developing nations, imbalances in international news and information flow, and the emergence of global communications. Offered: jointly with COM 322.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 329
POL S 330 Communications in International Relations (5) SSc
Looks at communications in relations between international groups and states. Examines the range of functions and roles communication media play in international affairs, global issues, and intergroup relations. Also examines the strategic use of communications by various groups. Offered: jointly with COM 321.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 330
POL S 331 Government and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa (5) SSc
Breakdown of traditional society and the problems of building modern political systems.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 331
POL S 332 Topics in Comparative Politics (5, max. 10) SSc
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 332
POL S 333 Topics in International Relations (5, max. 10) SSc
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 333
POL S 334 Topics in American Politics (5, max. 10) SSc
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 334
POL S 335 Topics in Political Economy (5, max. 10) SSc
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 335
POL S 336 Political Violence (5) SSc
Examines the causes and consequences of the use of violence in the context of armed conflict and contentious politics, with a focus on the targeting of civilians. Investigates the dynamics influencing both state and non-state armed actors in their resort to various forms of violence across a range of conflicts. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 336.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 336
POL S 337 Collective Violence and the State (5) SSc, DIV
Comparative study of how and why genocides have occurred in modern times. Examines how ethnic, religious, and nationalist conflicts have sometimes led to violent conflict, and how political leaders and governments have mitigated or exacerbated them, sometimes engaging in state sponsored mass killing. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 337.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 337
POL S 338 Topics in Public Policy (5, max. 10) SSc
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 338
POL S 340 Politics of India, Pakistan, and South Asia (5) SSc
Course promotes a deeper understanding of politics in South Asia. Topics include political regimes, civil conflict, religion and politics, and economic development. Students also sharpen skills in reading social science articles, including picking out arguments, evidence, and logics of presentation. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 340.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 340
POL S 341 Government and Politics of Canada (5) SSc
Critical analysis of parliamentary institutions, political parties, and the federal system in Canada. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 321.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 341
POL S 342 Government and Politics of Latin America (5) SSc
Analysis of the political dynamics of change in Latin America comparing various national approaches to the political problems of modernization, economic development, and social change. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 342.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 342
POL S 343 Politics and Change in Southeast Asia (5) SSc
Government and politics in the countries of Southeast Asia, with attention given to the nature of the social and economic environments that condition them. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 343.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 343
POL S 346 Governments of Western Europe (5) SSc
Modern government and politics of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 346
POL S 347 Politics of International Law (5) SSc
Examines the development, design, and consequences of international law. Focuses on how international legal agreements constrain and enable both state and non-state actors across a range of issues, including economic affairs, the environment, human rights, and war. Offered: jointly with LSJ 347.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 347
POL S 348 European Union as Global Actor (5) SSc
Surveys the European Union's evolution as a global actor and emergence as a potential superpower with increasingly unified foreign and defense policies. Covers institutions and interests that have driven this process; specific examples of European Union global engagement; and the potential implications for U.S. foreign policy. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 348.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 348
POL S 349 Strategy and War (5) SSc
Deterrence theory; decision-making and rationality; strategy and psychology; material and ideational structures; insurgencies and counter-insurgencies; ethics; nuclear strategy; terrorism; economic sanctions; chemical, biological, and cyber weapons; non-lethal weapons. Recommended: POL S 203.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 349
POL S 350 Government and Interest Groups in the United States (5) SSc
Agrarian, labor, professional, business, and ethnic interest in politics; impact on representative institutions and governmental processes.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 350
POL S 351 The American Democracy (5) SSc
Democratic theory; constitutional theory; the presidency; Congress; the Supreme Court; civil rights and civil liberties.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 351
POL S 352 American Political Parties (5) SSc
Theories of American parties, campaigns, and voting behavior; party leadership; political socialization and participation.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 352
POL S 353 United States Congress (5) SSc
Organization and procedure of Congress, state legislative politics, lobbying, legislative roles, theory and practice of representative government.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 353
POL S 354 Elections and Voting in the United States (5) SSc
Electoral institutions and processes of the United States: the idea and practice of elections, the electoral system, individual voting behavior, collective voting behavior, and the impact of elections on policy.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 354
POL S 355 The American Presidency (5) SSc
The American presidency; its evolution, its occupants, and its place within the American system. Topics include presidential character, war, elections, impeachment, the economy, and the Constitution.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 355
POL S 356 Society and Politics (5) SSc
Causes of political change in democratic countries, including public opinion, social movements, interest group activity, and party organization. Offered: jointly with SOC 356.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 356
POL S 357 Minority Representation and the Voting Rights Act (5) SSc, DIV
Explores whether and how African-Americans and Latinos are able to organize effectively and press their demands on the political system. Focuses on minority political behavior, the effect of these groups at the polls, the responsiveness of elected officials, and legal or constitutional obstacles affecting these phenomena.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 357
POL S 358 American Political Culture (5) SSc
Examines the origins and content of Americans' political values and beliefs. Topics include American exceptionalism, the culture war, freedom, civic engagement, the American dream, individualism, and political ideology.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 358
POL S 359 U.S. Latino Politics (5) SSc, DIV
Examines historical and current political incorporation of Latinos in the United States. Topics include Latino voting and voter mobilization, office seeking and representation, Latino public opinion, and public policy formation on "Latino issues." Offered: jointly with CHSTU 359.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 359
POL S 360 Introduction to United States Constitutional Law (5) SSc
Growth and development of the United States Constitution as reflected in decisions of the Supreme Court; political, social, and economic effects. Offered: jointly with LSJ 360.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 360
POL S 361 United States Courts and Civil Liberty (5) SSc
Cases and literature bearing on protection of constitutionally guaranteed private rights, with particular reference to the period since 1937. Offered: jointly with LSJ 361.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 361
POL S 362 Data, Technology, and Development in Africa (5) SSc
Data-driven study of contemporary politics in Africa, including political, economic, and social development. Uses quantitative social science methods to assess data collection problems across the continent, their historical impact on data analysis and synthesis, impact of technological advances on scholarship, and Africa's current global position.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 362
POL S 363 Law in Society (5) SSc
Inquiry into how law matters in social practice. Examines general theories of law, the workings of legal institutions, and the character of legally constituted practices and relationships in diverse terrains of social life. Offered: jointly with LSJ 363.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 363
POL S 364 The Supreme Court and American Political Development (5) SSc
Examines development of the Supreme Court and its role as a political institution through careful examination of critical historical junctures. Analyzes scholarship about the Court, source of its power, its impact on American politics, and relationship between the Court and other branches of government.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 364
POL S 365 Lawyers in American Politics (5) SSc
Influence of lawyers on American politics. Official and unofficial political roles, lawyers as lobbyists, as legislators, in the bureaucracy, politics of the American Bar Association. Includes study of legal education, professional values, and avenues of political access.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 365
POL S 367 Comparative Law and Courts (5) SSc
Introduction to comparative judicial politics, focusing on the relationship between law and politics in cross-national perspective, as well as on the functioning of supranational and international legal entities in the international system. Offered: jointly with LSJ 367.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 367
POL S 368 The Politics and Law of International Human Rights (5) SSc, DIV
Studies the international human rights movement in its legal and political context. Focuses on institutions which influence, enable, and constrain the international promotion of human rights. Offered: jointly with LSJ 320.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 368
POL S 370 Privacy (5) SSc
Explores how individuals, corporations, and governments respond to privacy challenges in the digital age. Examines evolution of the idea of privacy using case studies of actual privacy policies, legal cases, and real-world situations. Covers legal, political, and social facets of this fundamental human issue. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 370/LSJ 370; Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 370
POL S 371 Global Crime and Corruption (5) SSc
We examine sources & outcomes of illicit behavior within firms, governments, and organizations at local, national, & international levels; investigating the psychological, cultural, political, and economic sources of crime/corruption; and explore these dynamics within businesses, bureaucracies, gangs, mafias, cults, and pirates. Case studies include India, US-Mexico drug trade, piracy, doomsday cults, Sicilian mafias, Nazi drug abuse, & Dark Web. Recommended: POL S 203, POL S 204, or POL S 270; or JSIS 123, JSIS 200, JSIS 201, or JSIS 222; or equivalent. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 371.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 371
POL S 373 Violence, Exploitation and Exclusion in U.S. Labor Markets (5) SSc, DIV
Examines racialized and gendered labor markets, including legacy of slavery, segregation, mass incarceration and prison labor, domestic and care labor, undocumented/migrant labor, and underground economies.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 373
POL S 380 Seeking Truth in an Age of Misinformation, Cynicism, and Political Polarization (5) SSc
Covers limits of individual reasoning owing to fallacies, biases, and errors in intuition, perception, and memory. How political identities guide and distort the ways people form and defend their beliefs. Misinformation, conspiracy theories, science denial, and universities as sites of knowledge discovery and dissemination.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 380
POL S 381 Urban Politics and Policy in the United States (5) SSc
Introduces actors, institutions, processes, and policies of substate governments in the United States. Provides and intensive comparative examination of historical and contemporary politics and policy-making. Promotes understanding of city government and its role within the larger context of state and national governments.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 381
POL S 382 State Government (5) SSc
Focus on the structures, processes, and policy outputs of state governments in the United States.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 382
POL S 383 Environmental Politics and Policy in the United States (5) SSc
Interrelation between technological and environmental change and policy formation. Consideration of political behavior related to these phenomena and the capacity of urban public organizations to predict change and to formulate policies that can take future states into account.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 383
POL S 384 Global Environmental Politics (5) SSc
Examines the globalization of environmental problems, including climate change, ozone depletion, and loss of biodiversity, as well as the globalization of political responses to these problems within the framework of globalization as set of interlinked economic, technological, cultural, and political processes. Offered: jointly with ENVIR 384.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 384
POL S 385 Political Ecology of the World Food System (5) SSc/NSc
Investigates the intersection of globalization and food politics, the pivotal role of petroleum in the world food system, and the commodity chains for some foods. Includes an optional service learning component.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 385
POL S 389 Conflict and Cooperation in Contemporary Europe (5) SSc
A multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary Europe focusing on social, political, cultural, and economic change, with special reference to developments in the countries of the European Union, Scandinavia, and those in Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet era. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 301.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 389
POL S 390 Introduction to Research and Data in Political Science (5) SSc
Introduction to quantitative research in political science. Forming and testing hypotheses. Builds skills in analyzing data and interpreting the results.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 390
POL S 395 Study Abroad: Political Science (1-10, max. 15) SSc
Political science courses taken through a UW approved study abroad program. Specific content varies and must be individually evaluated.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 395
POL S 401 Advanced Seminar in Political Theory (5, max. 10) SSc
Topics can include, but are not limited to, analytical theory pertaining to justice, exploitation, and freedom; revolution and social changes; collective choice and action; sexuality and politics; critical theory; Marxist theory; post-structuralism. Content varies.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 401
POL S 402 Advanced Seminar in Human Rights (5, max. 10) SSc
Examines selected human rights topics including questions relating to the meaning, justification, promotion, implementation, suppression, or denial of human rights.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 402
POL S 403 Advanced Seminar in International Relations (5, max. 10) SSc
Examination of contemporary developments in the field of international relations. Content varies according to the nature of developments and research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 403
POL S 405 Advanced Seminar in American Politics (5, max. 10) SSc
Intensive reading and research in selected problems or fields of political analysis.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 405
POL S 406 Marxian Political Economy (5) SSc
Explores the relationship between social classes, the state, and political power in advanced capitalist societies. Investigates this relationship primarily by means of the tools of Marxian political economy and, in the process, evaluates these tools. Emphasis on theoretical perspectives, although the reading list has a few empirical applications as well.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 406
POL S 407 International Conflict (5) SSc
Examines different theoretical explanations for the causes of war, including the role of international, state, organizational, and individual factors; additional topics vary with instructor. May include the development of warfare, deterring weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, intelligence, and the ethics of warfare.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 407
POL S 409 Undergraduate Seminar in Political Economy (5, max. 10) SSc
Seminar in political economy with focus on Marxian and public choice approaches to political economy. Explores the questions raised by each approach, the assumption(s) and testability of hypotheses, and applies these approaches to a number of problems in political economy. Offered: jointly with ECON 409.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 409
POL S 410 Technology, Politics, and the State (5) SSc
Relationships between politics and technological change. Considers whether the relations between political and economic systems of industrial societies have been fundamentally altered by the increased importance and interdependence of government, experts, and new technological possibilities for intervention in social life.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 410
POL S 411 Theories of the State (5) SSc
Topics may include origins and development of the state; arguments about the necessity, desirability, and proper role of the state; the nature and operation of modern states and the international state system; the legitimacy of modern state power.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 411
POL S 412 Democratic Theory (5) SSc
Explores the concept of democracy and theoretical models purporting to describe its central features: majority rule, participation, and deliberation. Themes also include: representative vs. direct democracy; the rights of minorities; the relationship between democracy and other political theories such as liberalism, socialism, and conservatism.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 412
POL S 413 Contemporary Political Theory (5, max. 10) SSc
Analysis of political theorists, exploring contemporary theories of humanity and society that form the basis for differing political ideas.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 413
POL S 414 Politics and Culture (5) SSc
How people interpret and shape the political world around them through the use of such cultural resources as language, symbolism, myth, and ritual. The various uses of these cultural elements establish the place of the individual in society, influence the perception of political events, and create opportunities for individual and mass political responses.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 414
POL S 415 Women's Rights in an Integrated Europe (5) SSc
Examines the transformation in women's rights policy within the European community from the late 1950s through the present. Focuses on the legal rules and bodies that govern not only these policy domains, but also their evolution and impacts. Offered: jointly with LSJ 428.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 415
POL S 416 Economic Theory as Applied to the Political System (5) SSc
Explanation and evaluation of the political system, using elementary economics theory. Topics include alternative voting rules, the political effectiveness of various types of groups, causes and consequences of logrolling, and bureaucratic organizations. Prerequisite: ECON 300. Offered: jointly with ECON 452.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 416
POL S 417 Political Economy of India (5) SSc
Analysis of relationships among processes of economic change, political institutions, and structures of political power in contemporary India. Includes contrasting approaches to Indian economic development, land reform, radical and agrarian political movements, and role of foreign aid. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 417.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 417
POL S 418 Japanese Trade Politics (5) SSc
Survey of Japan's foreign trade diplomacy. Examines evolution of Japan's trade patterns in exports and foreign direct investment with key partners. Covers institutional and legal frameworks of Japan's trade relations, such as bilateral fora, regional options including free trade agreements, and multilateral venues such as the WTO. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 487.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 418
POL S 419 United States-China Relations (5) SSc
Surveys the history of United States-China relations and examines the evolution of bilateral relations, particularly since 1949. Focus on the period since 1972 and the major issues as they have evolved since that time, including trade, human rights, security, and Taiwan. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 459.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 419
POL S 420 Soviet and Russian Foreign Policy (5) SSc
Ideological, historical, and strategic components of Soviet foreign policy; Gorbachev's "new thinking" and the collapse of the USSR; redefining post-Soviet "Russia"; Russian military and security policy; Russia and the West; Russian relations with the newly independent states.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 420
POL S 421 Relations Among Communist and Post-Communist States (5) SSc
Major disputes and types of relationships among different communist states; international effects of the communist collapse; comparative dynamics of state-building, market reform, and democratic transition; international integration and domestic politics in the former Soviet bloc; ethnic conflict and the problem of state boundaries; redefining security in the post-communist milieu.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 421
POL S 422 International Environmental Politics Seminar (5) SSc
Study of the practical and theoretical challenges associated with global ecological interdependence. Examination of international treaties and institutions, state, and nonstate actors with an emphasis on the emerging concept of sustainability.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 422
POL S 423 National Security of Japan (5) SSc
Changing landscape of Japan's national security concerns: actors, institutions, and circumstances that have brought issues of defense and rivalry to the center stage of Japanese politics. Topics include nationalism, militarization, pacifism, United States-Japan security alliance, Sino-Japanese competition, constitutional revision, collective defense, and spy satellites. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 415.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 423
POL S 424 International Relations of Japan (5) SSc
Comprehensive examination of Japan's international relations. Covers issues such as trade, security, environment, aid, and human rights. Investigates Japan's participation in international organizations, including the UN, World Bank, IMF, and WTO. Examines Japan's relations with the United States, the European Union, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and other regions. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 437.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 424
POL S 425 Political Psychology and War (5) SSc
Explores how political scientists use psychology to address questions of war and peace.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 425
POL S 426 World Politics (5) SSc
The nation-state system and its alternatives, world distributions of preferences and power, structure of international authority, historical world societies and their politics. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 426.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 426
POL S 427 International Political Economy (5) SSc
Examines major theoretical problems, substantive issues, and schools of thought in international political economy (IPE), including issues of trade, production, and finance. Preparation for critical analysis of dilemmas entailed in establishing and maintaining an instrumentally effective and ethically acceptable IPE system.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 427
POL S 428 Military Intervention (5) SSc
Historical and theoretical analysis of military intervention in the post-World War II era. Considers how and why interventions occur and evaluates intervention as a foreign-policy response.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 428
POL S 429 Political Parties in Japan and East Asia (5) SSc
Focus on political parties in Japan. Combines theoretical readings on political parties with intensive study of Japanese political parties. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 436.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 429
POL S 430 Civil-Military Relations in Democracies (5) SSc
Explores issues of civil-military relations in the United States including debates about the garrison state hypothesis; military advice on the use of force; the civil-military "gap"; and issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the military. Offered: jointly with LSJ 431.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 430
POL S 431 International Relations in the Middle East (5) SSc
Study of domestic sources of foreign policy in the Middle East; politics of oil; the East-West rivalry in the arena; and conflict and collaboration among the local powers.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 431
POL S 432 Political Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism (5) SSc
Study of resurgence, since mid-1970s, of political Islam and what has come to be called Islamic fundamentalism, especially in the Middle East. Topics include the nature and variety of political Islam today, causes and implications of the current resurgence, and comparison with previous resurgences. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 406.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 432
POL S 433 International Relations in Southeast Asia (5) SSc
Analysis of the problems affecting relations among the countries of Southeast Asia.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 433
POL S 434 International Relations of South Asia (5) SSc
Interrelationships of domestic, interstate, and extraregional forces and their effects upon the resolution or expansion of interstate conflicts in South Asia. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 434.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 434
POL S 435 Japanese Government and Politics (5) SSc
Government and politics of Japan with emphasis on the period since 1945. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 435.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 435
POL S 436 Ethnic Politics and Nationalism in Multi-Ethnic Societies (5) SSc
Provides a broad theoretical base, both descriptive and analytical, for the comparative study of ethnicity and nationalism. Examples drawn from ethnic movements in different societies. Some previous exposure either to introductory courses in political science or to courses in ethnicity in other departments is desirable. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 436.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 436
POL S 437 Politics in Scandinavia (5) SSc
Twentieth-century politics in Scandinavia. How Scandinavian countries have been governed. Costs and consequences of their governmental style and its uncertain future. Optimal size of polities, problems of mature welfare states, process of leadership and representation in multiparty systems, decline of political parties. Offered: jointly with SCAND 437.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 437
POL S 438 Politics in France (5) SSc
Study of contemporary France. Structures of government in the Fifth Republic; nature of French voting behavior and evolution of the bipolarized political party system; behavior of political interest groups; training of France's administrative elite and functioning of the state bureaucracy; dynamics of policy-making.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 438
POL S 439 Politics of Divided Korea (5) SSc
Governments, politics, and economy of South and North Korea, the inter-Korea relations, and the two Koreas' relationship with the major powers - especially the United States - with emphasis on the post-cold war period. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 439.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 439
POL S 440 European Fascism (5) SSc
Analysis of fascism as revolutionary movement and type of political system in post-World War I Europe: Hitler's Third Reich, Mussolini's Italy, and Vichy France. Consideration of dynamics of resistance, policies that produced Holocaust, and questions raised at trials of fascist leaders in Nuremberg and elsewhere.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 440
POL S 441 Government and Politics of Russia (5) SSc
Ideological and historical bases of Soviet politics; Leninism; Stalinism; Gorbachev's perestroika and the collapse of the USSR; the role of Yeltsin; problems of Russian state-building, market reform, and democratic transition; political parties and civil society; the relationship between the center and the regions; the problem of Russian national identity.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 441
POL S 442 Government and Politics of China (5) SSc
Post-1949 government and politics, with emphasis on problems of political change in modern China. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 408.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 442
POL S 443 Comparative Political Societies (5) SSc
Analyses of modern and premodern types of stable political society; special attention to contemporary representative democracy.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 443
POL S 444 Revolutionary Regimes (5) SSc
Analysis of the several types of political regimes concerned with effecting fundamental social change; emphasis on the twentieth century.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 444
POL S 445 Politics and Society in Eastern Europe (5) SSc
Political and social issues in lands east of the Elbe, treating some historical problems but focusing particularly on developments since 1945. Includes all communist states of Eastern Europe and their successors. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 490.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 445
POL S 447 Advanced Seminar in Comparative Politics (5, max. 10) SSc
Selected comparative political problems, political institutions, processes, and issues in comparative perspective. Strongly
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 447
POL S 448 Politics of the European Union (5) SSc
Examines the origins, structures, and political dynamics of the European Union. Attention given to theories of integration, to relations between the European Union and member states, and to the role of the European Union in world politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 448
POL S 449 Politics of Developing Areas (5) SSc
Comparative study of problems of national integration and political development in the new states of Asia and Africa.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 449
POL S 450 Political Parties in Democratic Systems (5) SSc
Examines political parties in three different and interrelated aspects: party organizations; party in the electorate; and the party in government. How parties aggregate and represent interests. Parties at different points in time and in different states around the world. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 451; W.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 450
POL S 451 Communication Technology and Politics (5) SSc
Employs some core concepts of political communication and theories of democracy to examine the emerging role of information and communication technologies in candidate and issue campaigning; online voting; protest and advocacy movements; law-making and electronic governance in the United States and internationally. Offered: jointly with COM 407.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 451
POL S 452 Mass Media and Public Opinion (5) SSc
Examines the foundations of the idea of public opinion in a democratic environment and the role of mass communication in the organization, implementation, and control of that opinion. Considers these relationships from the perspectives of societal elites, media, and citizens. Offered: jointly with COM 414.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 452
POL S 453 The State Legislature (5) SSc
Study of American state legislatures, with special reference to Washington State legislature. Student must spend several Fridays in Olympia when the legislature is in session. Those desiring a more extensive involvement with the legislature should enroll in the political internship.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 453
POL S 454 Political Communication Seminar (5, max. 10) SSc
Contemporary topics studying how communication affects citizen engagement with public life. Offered: jointly with COM 411.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 454
POL S 456 Institutional Failure (5) SSc
Examines why political institutions fail to achieve their goals or operate in a manner they were originally intended to, and the consequences of these failures. Topics include the national security establishment, the drug war, concentrated poverty, mass incarceration, and inner-city schools. Offered: jointly with LSJ 456.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 456
POL S 457 Topics in Labor Research (5, max. 10) SSc
Analysis of the post-World War II decline of national labor movements and strategies employed to reverse this trend. Requires a major research project on organizing, bargaining, or another question in labor studies. Prerequisite: either POL S 249, HIST 249, or SOC 266. Offered: jointly with HSTCMP 457.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 457
POL S 458 Climate Politics (5) SSc
Examines important issues and policies in climate politics such as mitigation and adaptation, climate migration, climate justice, and climate finance. Assesses the effectiveness of existing policy approaches and institutions. Explores initiatives to respond to the climate challenge.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 458
POL S 460 Political Economy of the European Union (5) SSc
Historical foundation of the European Economic Community; major phases of its development; theoretical explanations for European integration.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 460
POL S 461 Mass Media Law (5) SSc
Survey of laws and regulations that affect the print and broadcast media. Includes material on First Amendment, libel, invasion of privacy, freedom of information, copyright, obscenity, advertising and broadcast regulation, and matters relating to press coverage of the judicial system. Offered: jointly with COM 440.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 461
POL S 462 The Supreme Court in American Politics (5) SSc
Explores the US Supreme Court as a political institution. Topics include processes that bring issues before the court, influences on judicial decision making, the impact of the court on democratic processes, the role of the court in constitutional development, and the court's interactions with other branches.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 462
POL S 463 Law and Violence Data Laboratory (5) SSc
Conceptual, theoretical, organizational, and ethical considerations involved in the data collection process in the social sciences. Emphasis on applications and data sources drawn from the study of law and violence.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 463
POL S 464 The Politics of American Criminal Justice (5) SSc
Political forces and value choices associated with the enforcement of criminal law. Distribution of resources among participants in the criminal justice system (e.g., police, attorneys, defendants, and judges). Understanding and evaluation of the interaction of criminal justice processes with the political system.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 464
POL S 465 Law and Public Policy in the United States (5) SSc
Relationship between law and public policy, with particular attention to problems of social, economic, and political change. Considers legal and constitutional processes as they relate to such problems of public policy as race relations, the environment, and the economy.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 465
POL S 467 Comparative Law in Society (5) SSc
Legal systems around the world as they actually work in their respective political, social, and economic contexts. Emergence and development of European legal systems, legal customs at variance with those of Europe, problems of legal processes in the modern state.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 467
POL S 468 Comparative Media Systems (5) SSc
Provides students an understanding of policies that shape national communication processes and systems. Uses comparative analysis to identify both similarities and differences among media structures of nations at different levels of development. Primary emphasis on broadcast media. Offered: jointly with COM 420/JSIS B 419.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 468
POL S 469 Law and Rights in Authoritarian Regimes (5) SSc
Explores role of law and courts and nature of rights in authoritarian regimes. Questions addressed include why authoritarian regimes promote "rule-of-law", who is empowered by law, and the political consequences of "rule-of-law' promotion. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 469/LSJ 469.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 469
POL S 470 Public Bureaucracies in the American Political Order (5) SSc
Growth, power, and roles of governmental bureaucracies in America: conflict and conformity with American political thought, other political institutions, and the public.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 470
POL S 471 Politics of Risk (5) SSc
Examines risks that occur infrequently but have catastrophic impacts, including health and environmental harms, terrorism, and natural disasters. Considers social science theorizing about risks, how risks enter the policy agenda, and political and policy responses to different risks within the United States.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 471
POL S 472 Electoral Systems (5) SSc
Explores a fundamental link between citizens and political representation: how electoral systems shape party systems, what kinds of people become candidates, how parties work, representation, and policy. Covers effects and mechanics of the various voting systems. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 472.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 472
POL S 473 Decision-Making in Politics (5) SSc
Process of decision-making in politics at elite and mass levels, comparison of approaches based on the comprehensive rationality of decision makers with approaches based on limitations on the cognitive capacities of decision makers. Applications to real decision-making situations.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 473
POL S 474 Politics of Economic Policy (5) SSc
Interaction between politics, markets, and the design and implementation of contemporary economic policies and regulation. Impact of policymakers, experts, and voters on economic policy outcomes and performance. Models of delegation and political independence. Topics include the politics of money, central banking, trade, and labor, with emphasis on consequences of new technologies for policy design and implementation. Recommended: either POL S 204, ECON 200, or ECON 201.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 474
POL S 475 Public Choice (5) SSc
Problems and prospects for collective action in a political democracy. Designing rules and institutions for effective central authority and effective constraints on governmental power. Social choice theory and game theory.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 475
POL S 476 Introduction to Game Theory for Political Economy Research (5) SSc
Introduction to non-cooperative game theory. Covers expected utility theory, static and dynamic games, and games of complete and incomplete information including signaling and bargaining models. Focus on applications in the social sciences. Prerequisite: ECON 200 and ECON 201; recommended: ECON 300 and MATH 124.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 476
POL S 477 African Politcal Development (5) SSc
Topics in contemporary African politics related to development of the African state in comparative perspective, including state formation; nationalism and the struggle for independence; civil wars, genocide, and under-development; democratic transition, elections, and voting; economic growth; film and literature; gender and ethnicity; and corruption and terrorism. Prerequisite: POL S 204.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 477
POL S 479 Contemporary Central Asian Politics (5) SSc
Examines the politics of contemporary post-Soviet Central Asia. Analyzes issues relevant to the region in comparative perspective, including democratization, religion, terrorism, civil society, economic reform, ethnic identity, and international influences. Uses theory to shed light on current policy debates. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 479.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 479
POL S 480 Comparative Politics and Korea Studies (5) SSc
Approaches Korean politics, political economy, and society from a comparative perspective. Examples of major comparative questions based on Korean case include democratization, strong state dynamics, civil society, and impact of globalization. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 466.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 480
POL S 481 Big City Politics (5) SSc
Contemporary big city politics, focusing on Seattle and the largest 25 cities. Social, economic, and political trends that have shaped characteristics of large American cities. Distribution and use of economic and political power among parties and groups. Future of large cities and politics of change.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 481
POL S 486 Political Ecology of Death in the Anthropocene (5) SSc
Consequences of how individuals and societies approach death. Explores themes such as justice, equity, power and authority, and political agency, and the political implications of who lives, who dies, who decides, and with what consequences.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 486
POL S 487 Political Science Honors Seminar (5) SSc
Intensive and advanced studies in various aspects of political science. Open only to participants in the Political Science Honors program. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 487
POL S 488 Honors Thesis Design (5-) SSc
Instruction in Honors Thesis research design and methods. Required for Political Science Honors. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 488
POL S 489 Honors Thesis Writing (-5)
Research and writing of thesis under supervision of a faculty member. Required for Political Science Honors. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 3.3 in POL S 488. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 489
POL S 495 Study Abroad: Political Science (1-10, max. 20) SSc
Political science courses taken through a UW approved study abroad program for which there are no direct UW equivalents. Specific content varies and must be individually evaluated.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 495
POL S 496 Undergraduate Internship (2-5, max. 15)
Students serving in approved internships. Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 496
POL S 497 Political Internship in State Government (5, max. 20)
Students serving in approved internship program with state government agencies.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 497
POL S 498 The Washington Center Internship (15)
Full-time academic internship with the Washington Center in Washington, DC. Includes internship activities, academic seminar, assemblies, and related activities. Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 498
POL S 499 Undergraduate Readings and Research (1-5, max. 20)
Intensive study with faculty supervision.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 499
POL S 500 Political Research Design and Analysis (5)
Major quantitative methods of empirical research in political science. Primary emphasis on research design, data collection, data analysis, and use of computers.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 500
POL S 501 Advanced Political Research Design and Analysis (5)
Testing theories with empirical evidence. Examines current topics in research methods and statistical analysis in political science. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and with interests of instructor. Offered: jointly with CS&SS 501.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 501
POL S 502 Qualitative Research Methods (5)
Introduction to qualitative methods in political science, emphasizing practical experience with techniques. Readings and exercises cover research design, multiple methods, varieties of qualitative data, measurement and validation, participant observation, interviewing, and content analysis. Research decision-making issues include analytical strategies, presentation of data, ethics, epistemology, and theory-building.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 502
POL S 503 Advanced Quantitative Political Methodology (5)
Theory and practice of likelihood inference. Includes probability modeling, maximum likelihood estimation, models for binary responses, count models, sample selection, and basis time series analysis. Offered: jointly with CS&SS 503.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 503
POL S 504 Multi-Method Field Research (5)
Provides training in how to design and implement multi-method field research in American, comparative, and international politics, covering qualitative/ethnographic approaches; survey design, implementation, and analysis; and the design and implementation of field experiments and randomized impact evaluation. Prerequisite: POL S 510/CS&SS 510
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 504
POL S 505 Comparative Politics Core (5)
Modern theories, approaches, and methods in the study of comparative politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 505
POL S 509 Political Theory Core (5, max. 10)
Central themes in political theory and the works of major political theorists, past and present.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 509
POL S 510 Maximum Likelihood Methods for the Social Sciences (5)
Introduces maximum likelihood, a more general method for modeling social phenomena than linear regression. Topics include discrete, time series, and spatial data, model interpretation, and fitting. Prerequisite: POL S 501/CS&SS 501; POL S 503/CS&SS 503. Offered: jointly with CS&SS 510.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 510
POL S 511 Seminar in Ethical and Political Theory (5)
Ethical writings of major political philosophers. Coherent themes arising from these works and assessment of their impact on concepts of politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 511
POL S 512 Time Series and Panel Data for the Social Sciences (5)
Extends the linear model to account for temporal dynamics and cross-sectional variation. Focuses on model selection and real-world interpretation of model results. Topics include autoregressive processes, trends, seasonality, stationarity, lagged dependent variables, ARIMA models, fixed effects, random effects, cointegration and error correction models, panel heteroskedasticity, missing data in panel models, causal inference with panel data. Recommended: Graduate level coursework in linear regression and social science research design. Basic familiarity with or willingness to learn the R statistical language. Offered: jointly with CS&SS 512.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 512
POL S 513 Issues in Feminist Theory (5, max. 10)
Contemporary issues in feminist theory as they affect studies of women, politics, and society. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and the research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 513
POL S 514 Selected Topics in Political Theory (5, max. 15)
Selected topics, historical and conceptual, national, regional, and universal. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 514
POL S 515 Political Theory Research Seminar (5)
Survey of paradigmatic research approaches in political theory through the exploration of a theme (canonical text, theoretical concept, and specific topic). Methods covered may include rational choice, psychoanalytic, Straussian, Marxian, and feminist approaches. Students carry out substantive theoretical research.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 515
POL S 516 Special Topics in American Political Thought (5, max. 15)
Special topics or themes in the development of American political culture.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 516
POL S 517 Marxism and Critical Theory (5)
Works of Marx and Engels as well as selected works of twentieth-century Marxist and critical theorists. Themes such as Marx's method, twentieth-century interpretations of Marx, and relationship of twentieth-century theorists to their eighteenth- and nineteenth-century forebears.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 517
POL S 519 Modern Scandinavian Politics (5)
Analyzes the political, economic, and historical development of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland from World War II to the present. Readings focus on domestic and foreign policies that distinguish these countries from other advanced industrial societies. Offered: jointly with SCAND 519.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 519
POL S 520 Seminar on Russian Foreign Policy (3)
Selected topics in the development and objectives of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 520
POL S 521 International Relations Core (5)
Key theories, concepts, and debates in the study of world politics and international relations. Provides an overview of the field and prepares students for the IR comprehensive exam.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 521
POL S 522 International Political Economy (5)
Theories of international political economy. Focuses on the emergence and development of the modern world system, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and the institution of the nation-state system. Examines the political economy of trade, investment, and the international division of labor from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Prerequisite: POL S 521.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 522
POL S 524 International Security (5)
Introduces some of the major debates concerning the use of force in international politics. Covers traditional issues in international security such as alliances and the causes of war, as well as some of the new and important questions, such as explaining war outcomes and war termination.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 524
POL S 525 International Law and Institutions (5)
Inputs of international law into the decisional process in foreign policy. Effect of policy on law. Relevant roles of individuals and institutions in routine and crisis situations.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 525
POL S 526 The Security of China (5)
Examines how the Chinese state conceptualizes its national security interests and how it pursues strategies designed to achieve those interests. Topics include use of force, military modernization, civil-military relations, and defense industrialization. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 526.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 526
POL S 527 Special Topics in International Relations Research (5, max. 25)
Examination of current topics in the theory and practice of world politics. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 527
POL S 530 Transatlantic Relations: The United States and Europe in World Politics (3)
Fulfills required component of "American Module" of Transatlantic Studies program. Addresses political dynamics of relations between United States and Europe from American republic's founding to post-Cold War era. Limited to students in Transatlantic Studies program.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 530
POL S 532 The Chinese Political System (5)
Examination of key approaches, interpretations, and secondary literature in the study of contemporary Chinese politics. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 532.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 532
POL S 533 Seminar on Contemporary Chinese Politics (5)
Research on selected problems in contemporary Chinese politics. Prerequisite: POL S 532, or permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with JSIS D 533.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 533
POL S 535 International Relations of Modern China (5)
Foreign policy of the People's Republic of China: historical antecedents; domestic and international systemic determinants; and Chinese policies toward major states, regions, and issues. Prerequisite: a course on contemporary Chinese politics or history, or permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 535.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 535
POL S 537 Approaches to East European Politics (3-5)
Selected concepts and methodologies useful for the analysis of politics and social structure in the socialist countries of east-central and southeastern Europe. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 563.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 537
POL S 538 Government and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa (5)
Political change in the area within the context of comparative politics; breakdown of traditional political systems; new range of choice expressed in competing ideologies; governmental and nongovernmental instrumentation of change; and problems of international relations and regional conflict and integration.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 538
POL S 539 International Relations of Northeast Asia (5)
Comprehensive survey of contemporary international relations of Northeast Asia with emphasis on Russia, Japan, China, and the United States. Multidisciplinary approach placing contemporary problems in historical context, drawing on modern social science theories. Connections between defense and economics are examined. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 551.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 539
POL S 540 Problems in South Asian Politics (3)
Research problems in contemporary Indian politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 540
POL S 541 Institutions and Institutional Change in the Soviet Union, Russia, and the Newly Independent States (5)
Critical appraisal of the principal theories and research methods dealing with the development of the Soviet state from 1917-1991 and the formation of the newly independent states after the Soviet collapse.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 541
POL S 542 Seminar: State and Society (5)
Examines the mutually conditioning relationship between states and the societies they seek to govern. Studies states as large, complex organizations and their interactions with society on different levels. Shows that interactions on any level affect the nature of the state on other levels as well. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 542.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 542
POL S 543 Latin American Politics (5)
Theories of authoritarianism, corporatism, democratization, and revolution in Latin America. Explores role of international and domestic economic factors shaping politics and the effect of politics on economic development. Examines elite behavior and grassroots social movements.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 543
POL S 544 Problems in Comparative Government (5, max. 15)
Selected problems in the comparative analysis of political institutions, organizations, and systems.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 544
POL S 547 Politics of Reform (5)
Examines cases of reform in democratic political systems, e.g., Roosevelt's New Deal, Allende's Chilean "revolution," Mitterand's socialist experiment in France, and the Thatcher government in Britain.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 547
POL S 548 Comparative Political Parties (5)
Role of political parties in the modern state. Similarities and differences in origins and development of political parties and functions they perform, both in established democracies and in developing countries.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 548
POL S 549 Problems of Political Development (5)
Concepts of development and modernization, with particular attention to their political dimensions and their application to various historical and contemporary cases.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 549
POL S 550 American Politics Core (5)
Systematic survey of the American government and politics literature; focuses on national politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 550
POL S 551 Political Communication (5)
Surveys classic works and new directions in political communication, including functionalist, structuralist, constructivist, network, and comparative approaches, reflecting a range of methods. Examines political organizing, electoral and legislative processes, civic (dis)engagement, media and politics, public deliberation and opinion formation, political identify and discourse. Offered: jointly with COM 551.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 551
POL S 552 Special Topics in Political Communication (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics in the theory and practice of political communication.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 552
POL S 553 Public Opinion (5)
Selected problems in opinion formation, characteristics, and role of public opinion in policy-making process.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 553
POL S 554 Legislative Politics (5)
Selected problems in legislative processes and leadership, state and national.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 554
POL S 555 American Politics Topics (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics in the theory and practice of American politics. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 555
POL S 556 American Political Development (5)
Examination of leading works in, and theories of, American political development. Topics include the development approach itself; critical junctures in U.S. political history; key changes in institutions, the American state, the representation of interests and party politics; and the relevance of development studies to current politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 556
POL S 557 United States Party System (5)
Examines the institutional and behavioral foundations of party politics in the United States, emphasizing key historical patterns of party system development and the major scholarly approaches to the study of the American parties and party politics.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 557
POL S 559 Special Topics in Political Methodology (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics on the theory and practice of political methodology. Course content varies according to recent developments in the field and the research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 559
POL S 560 Industrialization and International Relations (5)
Examines internal-external linkage with a focus on industrialization and international relations. Comparative perspective on the question of how industrialization shapes distinctive international perspectives in terms of perception, strategies, and foreign policy behaviors. Countries covered: South Korea, Japan, Prussia, the Soviet Union, and China. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 552.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 560
POL S 561 Law and Politics (5)
Points and levels at which law and politics intersect. What is distinctive about legal forms; how these legal forms influence, and are influenced by, politics. Conceptions of law, courts and public policy, law and bureaucracy, civil and criminal justice, and the legal profession.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 561
POL S 562 Law, Politics, and Social Control (5)
Explores works of social scientists and lawyers regarding these competing conceptions of social control: as the seamy side of law - reinforcing equitable patterns of domination and disciplining deviants; as law embodying society's basic values, articulating minimum rules for harmonious social interaction.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 562
POL S 563 Supreme Court in American Politics (5)
Explores the tendency in the United States to turn to the Supreme Court to provide constitutional solutions for some of our biggest social, economic, and political problems. Focuses on the controversies concerning the legitimacy and capacity of the Supreme Court to intervene in American politics and public policy.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 563
POL S 564 Law and the Politics of Social Change (5)
Explores the many ways that law figures into the politics of social struggle and reform activity. Analyzes law in terms of particular state institutions (courts, agencies), professional elites (lawyers, judges), and especially cultural norms ("rights" discourses) that are routinely mobilized by reform-movement activists.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 564
POL S 565 Special Topics in Public Law (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics on the theory and practice of public law. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and the research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 565
POL S 566 Comparative Law and Politics (5)
Study of the interaction between law and politics, at both the macro and micro levels of politics, and discussion of research drawing from a wide array of geographical settings. Examination in comparative context of whether macro-structures are autonomous from underlying social structures of power and interest in the micro-level.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 566
POL S 569 Law and Rights in Authoritative Regimes (5)
Explores role of law and courts and the nature of rights in authoritarian regimes. Questions addressed include why authoritarian regimes promote "rule-of-law", who is empowered by law, and the political consequences of "rule-of-law promotion. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 569.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 569
POL S 570 The American Racial State (5)
Explores the mutually constitutive relationship between race and American political institutions, beginning with theories of race and racial constructions, race-making and nation-making, racial triangulation, and intersectionality. Examines various institutions and public policies as manifestations of the American racial state, focusing on the epistemological challenges of identifying race, racism, and racialization.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 570
POL S 571 American National Institutions (5)
Answers the question, "Do institutions matter?" Surveys American national institutions from theoretical perspectives, focusing on how they affect the manner in which decisions are made. Employs cross-institutional perspective of American institutions.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 571
POL S 572 Electoral Systems (5)
Explores a fundamental link between citizens and political representation: how electoral systems shape party systems, what kinds of people become candidates, how parties work, representation, and policy. Covers effects and mechanics of the various voting systems. Offered: jointly with JSIS B 572.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 572
POL S 573 Topics in Public Policy (5, max. 10)
Specialized research topics with a policy process or related theoretical content.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 573
POL S 574 Environmental Regulation Policy (5)
Scholarly and practical aspects of environmental regulation. Examines literature concerning regulatory policy design, policy instruments, federalism, compliance, and enforcement. Studies selected federal, state, and other nations' environmental policies. Participants are expected to have a good understanding of American policy processes.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 574
POL S 575 Public Policy Processes (5)
Covers political science research about policy processes. Research seminar addressing frameworks and perspectives on policy processes as they concern issue emergence, agenda dynamics, policy subsystems, policy learning, and implementation.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 575
POL S 576 Introduction to Game Theory for Political Economy Research (5)
Introduction to non-cooperative game theory. Covers expected utility theory, static and dynamic games, and games of complete and incomplete information including signaling and bargaining models. Focus on applications in the social sciences.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 576
POL S 577 The Politics of Social Movements (5)
Theoretical inquiry directed to questions of collective action and political tactics by social movement groups. Case studies include labor, civil rights, women's, environmental, and other movements in twentieth-century United States.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 577
POL S 578 Health Politics and Policy (5)
Introduces central themes of health-policy research: health is not healthcare and politics has much to do with why our healthcare system works as it does. Investigates how social science helps us understand health issues.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 578
POL S 579 Contemporary Central Asian Politics (5)
Examines the politics of contemporary post-Soviet Central Asia. Analyzes issues relevant to the region in comparative perspective, including democratization, religion, terrorism, civil society, economic reform, ethnic identity, and international influences. Uses theory to shed light on current policy debates. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 579.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 579
POL S 580 Comparative Politics and Korea Studies (5)
Approaches Korean politics, political economy, and society from a comparative perspective. Examples of major comparative questions based on Korean case include democratization, strong state dynamics, civil society, and impact of globalization. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 566.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 580
POL S 582 Institutional Analysis (3/5)
Social change and property rights theory. Exploration of long-term secular change through works whose approaches derive from neoclassical economics and analytical Marxism. Evolution and transformation of property rights over land, labor, and capital and the consequences of the property rights structure for political and economic institutions.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 582
POL S 583 Economic Theories of Politics (5)
Problems of public goods provision and collective action. Collective action theories and applications as well as critical review of the concept of rationality.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 583
POL S 584 Comparative Political Economy (5)
Overview of current developments in comparative political economy. Topics may include globalization, the welfare state, partisan models of economic policymaking, economic development, and trade.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 584
POL S 586 Topics in International Political Economy (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics in the theory and practice of international political economy. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 586
POL S 587 Politics of Urban Reform (5)
Interpretations of urban reformers at turn of this century and during 1960s and 1970s. Historical and political science literature on the subject. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 587
POL S 588 Special Topics in Comparative Political Economy (5, max. 10)
Examination of current topics in the theory and practice of comparative political economy. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and research interests of the instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 588
POL S 589 Special Topics in Political Economy (3-5, max. 10)
Evaluating research in political economy as well as developing research problems. Topics vary with instructor and with current problems in the literature.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 589
POL S 590 Seminar in Political Behavior (5, max. 10)
Analysis of behavioral research in selected fields of political science.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 590
POL S 591 Applied Game Theory for Political Economy Research (5)
Introduction to non-cooperative game theory. Covers expected utility theory, static and dynamic games, and games of complete and incomplete information, including signaling and bargaining models.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 591
POL S 593 Theories of Decision Making (5)
Explanation of political decisions using models of such theoretical processes as preference formation, learning, heuristics, noncooperative games, collective action, agenda manipulation, and coalition formation. Examination of competing notions of political rationality and irrationality and criteria for their evaluation. Strategies for design of decision research.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 593
POL S 595 College Teaching of Political Science (1)
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 595
POL S 597 Directed Readings (1-10, max. 10)
Intensive reading in the literatures of political science, directed by the chair of the doctoral Supervisory Committee. Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 597
POL S 598 Independent Writing I (1-5, max. 5)
Supervised research and writing for graduate students completing the MA essay of distinction.
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 598
POL S 600 Independent Study or Research (*-)
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 600
POL S 800 Doctoral Dissertation (*-)
View course details in MyPlan: POL S 800
