2019-2020 Catalog 
    
    May 12, 2024  
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2019-2020 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

Browse the entire list of course offerings below, or use the course filter search to view a course or selection of courses.
 

Government
  

  • GOVT030 CM - Washington Internship

    Taken as part of the Washington Program . Students work at a full-time internship in a government, political, public policy, legal, media, nonprofit, or cultural setting in Washington, D.C. Letter grade only.

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM , ECON 050 CM , and participation on Washington, D.C. internship semester

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT030 CM
  

  • GOVT041 CM - Mock Trial

    Mock Trial is a trial advocacy skills class including pre-trial motions; preparing and performing direct and cross examinations and opening and closing statements; making objections and impeaching witnesses; handling exhibits; and witness performance. Students will participate in intercollegiate tournaments throughout the year. Instructor permission required. Credit/No-Credit grading. Not repeatable for credit.  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 0.5

    Course Number: GOVT041 CM
  

  • GOVT050 CM - Introduction to Public Administration

    This course examines both the theory and practice of public administration within a democratic polity. Students will explore the difficult trade-offs involved in the implementation of democracy: beyond questions of organization and management, the course engages central dilemmas in the meaning of ‘rule by the people.’ Elected representatives do not actually perform all of the policy work; this course covers who is doing the work, how they do the work, and how their actions are directed and constrained by the public purpose of the work.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  or instructor permission.

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT050 CM
  

  • GOVT055 CM - Empirical Methods

    This course introduces students to the philosophy and practice of political science research. Students will learn how to identify a problem worthy of study, develop testable hypotheses, design a research strategy, gather data, analyze data, and interpret and present the results. Topics covered include research design, descriptive statistics, data visualization, statistical inference, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression analysis (cross-section, time-series, and panel data models). This course is not available to students who have earned credit for any other course in statistics, including ECON 120 CM , MATH 052 CM , and PSYC 109 CM .

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT055 CM
  

  • GOVT060 CM - Introduction to Comparative Government

    This course introduces students to the basic concepts of comparative government that are used to analyze political institutions and processes. We will explore fundamental political phenomena such as power, authority, legitimacy, political culture, and the nation-state in order to understand better major world events and larger political trends. Special attention is given to democratization and socioeconomic change in either the developing world, or Europe and the industrialized world.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT060 CM
  

  • GOVT065 CM - Public Opinion: Theory and Practice for Public Policy

    This course focuses on the role, and measurement, of public opinion in the public policy process. Students will develop sophisticated quantitative skills while engaging a broad literature on public opinion. The material is designed to facilitate assessing both what is important to measure as well as how best to measure it. Students will learn how to perform data analysis using modern statistical software and write about the results.

    Prerequisites:

    GOVT 020 CM   or instructor permission.

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT065 CM
  

  • GOVT070 CM - Introduction to International Politics

    This course studies relations among states and between states and other groups through close reading and intensive discussion of books and articles about international theory, history, and philosophy. Among the topics examined are: the sources of global conflict; diplomacy; war; terrorism; religion in world affairs; and the politics of economic, social, and political development.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT070 CM
  

  • GOVT071 CM - Special Studies in International Relations

    This course allows students selected to be CMC Model United Nations Committee Chairs to earn 0.5 credit for the written work they produce as part of their Chair responsibilities. Working with a faculty reader, each student will select one or two current topics in international relations relevant to his or her committee’s focus, conduct research on the topic(s), and produce written product(s) consistent with the CMCMUN guidelines and with his or her faculty reader’s expectations. The students will develop in-depth knowledge of contemporary foreign affairs while further developing their research, writing, and critical thinking skills. The course will be offered each spring and can be taken no more than twice.

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

    Offered: Every spring

    Credit: 0.5

    Course Number: GOVT071 CM
  

  • GOVT080 CM - Introduction to Political Philosophy

    An introduction to several fundamentally different philosophical understandings of political life, both ancient and modern. Authors studied include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT080 CM
  

  • GOVT097 CM - Public Policy Analysis

    This course provides an introduction to public policy analysis. Drawing on the principles and tools of political science and economics, students will hone their ability to analyze complex public problems. The course uses the case method, immersing students in real-world scenarios and placing them in the role of decision maker. Students will learn to write professional policy memos and to use Excel for basic data analysis. Also listed as ECON 097 CM .

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM  and ECON 050 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT097 CM
  

  • GOVT100 CM - Policy Lab

    This course will explore the politics and process of domestic policymaking in the United States, the analytical tools for policy creation, and client-based experiential approach to policy research and formation. Through a case study approach, students will gain the knowledge and skills required to produce professional policy studies. In addition to instruction and class projects, students will work in a policy laboratory with a Washington, DC-based client to conduct research and analysis on a real world policy question. Also listed as ECON 100 CM .

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM , ECON 050 CM ; and ECON 120 CM , ECON 125 CM , GOVT 055 CM , or equivalent

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT100 CM
  

  • GOVT101 CM - The United States Congress

    Examines congress in terms of participant roles, committee systems, party influence and leadership, legislative functions and representative democracy, legislative-executive relations, and current efforts at reform.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT101 CM
  

  • GOVT102 CM - The American Presidency

    Investigates the domestic and international sources of power which have led to the dominant position of the presidency, and the current reassessment of that position.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT102 CM
  

  • GOVT103 CM - State and Local Politics and Policy

    In the United States, the vast majority of political decision making takes place at the state and local levels of government, with far-reaching consequences for Americans’ lives. The first half of this course focuses on the institutions and processes of state and local government, including governors, legislatures, courts, parties, interest groups, elections, direct democracy, and federalism. The second half focuses on the role of state and local governments in making policy in areas such as education, welfare, health care, criminal justice, immigration, and the environment.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT103 CM
  

  • GOVT105 CM - Organization of Health Care and Public Policy

    This course will examine the evolution of health care occupations and organizations in the United States with comparative references to other industrialized nations. There will be a focus on the increasing bureaucratization of health care, the increased involvement of government, private reorganization around HMO’s and managed care, and the continued push for various forms of “universal health care.” Politics and policies regarding sources and allocations of costs and benefits, access and treatment of increasingly diverse populations, advent of health care teams, “wellness” movements and alternative health and medical treatments, and increasingly complex technology, and - related to this - ethical issues regarding birth, life, and death will be addressed.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT105 CM
  

  • GOVT106 CM - Politics of Interest Groups

    The course examines the role of interest groups in American politics, particularly how they influence the formulation and implementation of public policy. Specifically, the course focuses on strategies and tactics and other integrated requisites to building a viable interest group. In addition, numerous case studies are examined.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT106 CM
  

  • GOVT109 CM - Juvenile Delinquency and Public Policy

    This course examines the social and political changes that gave rise to the concept of “childhood,” the subsequent rise of the juvenile justice system, and further modifications of that system’s strategies for prevention and treatment. Course topics include the causes of juvenile delinquency, changes in the nature and distribution of juvenile crime and deviance, and the history and changing forms of gang activity in the U.S. Guest speakers and documentaries supplement lectures, discussion, and readings.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT109 CM
  

  • GOVT110 CM - American Culture Wars

    In recent decades Americans have been increasingly divided over such issues as abortion, gay marriage, and the appropriateness of religion in the public square. This course will explore the sources and origins of such divisions. For instance, do activists on the left and right really exist in two distinct cultures? What are the philosophical assumptions and beliefs that hold their various political opinions together? What is their view of the human person and how does it shape the way they see the world? Do they each offer equally rational ways of comprehending the world? We will also investigate how deeply our nation is divided. Is it the case, for instance, that only a handful of radicals wage these wars while most Americans are actually quite moderate? Are our political divisions really rooted in separate cultures? In addition, we will ask whether the culture wars have been good or bad for American democracy. For example, have the culture wars prevented a descent into mass apathy or coarsened public life?

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT110 CM
  

  • GOVT111C CM - Democratic Education in America

    Americans generally agree that knowledge of government is a requirement of citizenship, yet polls continually show that most are unable to answer basic questions about the Constitution. This course explores what Americans should know about government and where they fall short of civic expectations. We ask whether democracy requires an active and informed citizenry, what kind of knowledge we might want democratic citizens to have, and how citizenship and governance might be taught. The course includes interviews and discussions with civic educators, and a community engagement project aimed at putting into practice the ideas we develop over the semester.

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM  or instructor permission.

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT111C CM
  

  • GOVT112A CM - Constitutional Law: National Powers

    An introduction to the Supreme Court’s treatment of the constitutional structure and powers of government in the United States, including such features as judicial review, states rights and federalism, separation of powers, and economic and environmental regulation. The course also considers the strengths and weaknesses of the legal method in examining public policy issues.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT112A CM
  

  • GOVT112B CM - Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties

    An introduction to the Supreme Court’s treatment of constitutional rights and privileges, including freedoms of speech, press, religion, and association; criminal procedure; voting rights; equal protection of the laws; and due process guarantees. Like GOVT 112A CM , this course considers the strengths and weaknesses of the legal method in examining public policy issues. Although a natural sequel to GOVT 112A CM , it may be taken alone.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT112B CM
  

  • GOVT113 CM - Inequality, Politics, and Public Policy: Class, Race, and Gender

    This course examines the basic dimensions of inequality and the history of changes in the distribution of wealth, power, and patterns of ethnic and gender relations, primarily in the United States but with particular reference to how emerging global markets may be changing inequality patterns in the U.S. Rates of social mobility (who moves up, down, sideways?) are examined. The course deals with current and emerging political and policy issues arising from such developments as: Proposition 187, the changing occupational structure and shifting career opportunities, changing policies on discrimination, affirmative action and work force diversity, generational divides, changes in crime and criminal justice, political and perceptual “gender gaps,” welfare issues and the “tax wars” (who pays, who receives?).

    Prerequisites: Introductory level economics, psychology and/or sociology course recommended. 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT113 CM
  

  • GOVT114 CM - Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Nonprofits: Law, Public Policy and Leadership

    You will likely work or volunteer for, lead, or govern a not-for-profit organization. Including churches, universities, museums, and even the Salvation Army and the Gates Foundation, the size, strength, and breadth of the non-profit sector is uniquely American. Why and how do diverse individuals come together to fulfill both their individual needs and those of their communities? Who gives and volunteers and why? This course will broadly address key topics of the non-profit sector, including: leadership, governance, accountability, and the appropriate public policy framework for determining ideal allocations of social problem-solving among government, for-profit, and not-for-profit.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT114 CM
  

  • GOVT115 CM - Politics of Journalism

    Analyzes the relationship between the political decision makers and the news media. Topics include: the structure and organization of print and electronic media; forms of political journalism, such as investigative reporting and commentary; ways by which political figures try to influence the news; the impact of news stories on public opinion.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT115 CM
  

  • GOVT116 CM - Public Policy Process

    This course analyzes the six phases of the public policy process: the origin of policy ideas, estimation of costs and benefits, choice of alternatives by political leaders, implementation by bureaucracies, appraisal of outcomes, and termination of policies. The course pays special attention to policies that affect business and the economy.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT116 CM
  

  • GOVT117 CM - California Politics

    This course focuses on California, the nation’s largest and most complex state. Course elements include California’s political history, dramatic demographic change (population growth and increased racial and ethnic diversity), partisan composition, political institutions (fragmented executive, term-limited legislature, elected judiciary, and direct democracy), major policy challenges, and impact on national politics.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT117 CM
  

  • GOVT118 CM - The Processes of Environmental Policymaking

    This course focuses on how environmental, conservation, and natural-resource policies are developed and chosen in the policy processes of the United States and other countries. This focus permits examination of the methodologies of evaluating environmental policy options, the processes of policymaking, and the institutions involved in conservation, environmental improvement, and other policies that affect the environment. The analytic approaches include the policy sciences framework for understanding the process itself, the methodologies of ecosystem valuation, and the issues involved with different types of policy instruments for environmental and conservation management. Also listed as ECON 118 CM .

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT118 CM
  

  • GOVT119 CM - Study of Law

    This course is intended to illuminate law by studying it with ideas and methods from several of the other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. It is also intended to help the students unify their grasp of these disciplines by using them in the study of law considered as a central social phenomenon.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT119 CM
  

  • GOVT120 CM - Environmental Law and Policy

    This course is intended to introduce students to environmental law through an examination and discussion of a number of currently debated issues. The emphasis of the course will be on the role of law in protecting environmental quality and mediating environmental disputes.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every spring

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT120 CM
  

  • GOVT120E CM - Environmental Leadership

    The purpose of this course is twofold: (1) to provide students with a historical perspective on environmental leadership and (2) to focus on and analyze the elements of modern environmental leadership by interaction with a variety of environmental leaders from the governmental, non-profit and corporate sectors.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT120E CM
  

  • GOVT123 CM - American Political Parties

    This course examines American political parties as electoral organizations, as voting blocs in the general public, and as groups of government officials. It explores linkages of these three dimensions in national, state, and local politics. Topics include: political realignments, minor parties, national conventions, and quasi-parties such as United We Stand.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT123 CM
  

  • GOVT123C CM - Evangelicals & American Politics

    Once at the center of political and cultural life, evangelicals were objects of ridicule by the 1920s. Many responded by withdrawing into something like a religious ghetto. Today, however, evangelicals are once again at the very center of American political and cultural life. This course will explore these developments and the sometimes contentious relationship between evangelicals and the wider society. It will especially scrutinize the ways in which evangelicals have both contributed to and reacted against the cultural and social upheavals of the 1960s. We will further ask whether these developments have contributed to the health of American democracy. Have American evangelicals, for example, contributed to a democratic culture that depends on thoughtful deliberation over the good society or have they undermined common democratic values by seeking a theocratic republic? More generally, what should be the proper relationship between religion and democracy?

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT123C CM
  

  • GOVT124 CM - Cases in American Political Leadership

    This course will consist of an intensive case study of a single American political leader. The case study, which will change from year to year, will test generalizations about American political ideas, interests, and institutions. The cases may include presidents, lawmakers, and leaders of social movements.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT124 CM
  

  • GOVT125 CM - The President and U.S. Foreign Policy

    This course offers a political-historical view of how Washington, particularly the executive branch leadership, makes U.S. foreign policy. In practical terms, students will focus on the President as a leader and his interactions with the individuals who head the National Security Council, Congress, the State Department, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community. In thematic terms, students will concentrate on the policies and politics that pertain to national security, diplomacy, development, defense, and intelligence. By the end of this seminar, students will understand the main domestic policymakers, institutions, political factors, and grand strategies that - all in a Washington, D.C., context - go into shaping American foreign policy. Taken as a part of the Washington Program . Letter grade only.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT125 CM
  

  • GOVT126A CM - Federal Budget Process

    This course takes an advanced look at the federal budget in all its component parts, including defense and domestic discretionary spending, mandatory programs, and revenue. Students will learn how the President, through the Office of Management and Budget, puts together his annual budget proposal to the Congress and how Congress does its work to fund programs and legislate on the tax code. Most importantly, the course integrates policy and process with politics so students come away with a practical and comprehensive look at the federal budget. Taken as part of the Washington Program . Letter grade only.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT126A CM
  

  • GOVT126B CM - Problems in Public Policy

    This course will deal with the causes and consequences of public policies, with special attention given to analysis of the roles of national political institutions, of interest groups and of the political environment in shaping public policies. Primary focus will be placed on policies of social import. Taken as part of the Washington Program . Letter grade only.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT126B CM
  

  • GOVT127 CM - Washington Research Project

    The primary goal of the course is the development, in conjunction with the internship, of a research project conducted in Washington, D.C. Taken as part of the Washington Program . Students will be introduced to research resources in Washington and will select their research topic and faculty supervisor. Letter grade only. May also be taken for credit in Economics, History, International Relations, Religious Studies, or other majors depending on the topic and with permission of the appropriate department chair or program director.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT127 CM
  

  • GOVT128 CM - Power, Politics, and Persuasion in Washington

    This course examines the mores, folkways, and working styles of the political communities of Washington, DC. Students will analyze the formal and informal “rules of the game” both through scholarly literature and their own experiences as interns, coming to an understanding of how policies are made in Washington. They will also study and practice various genres of political writing. Taken as part of the Washington Program . Letter grade only.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT128 CM
  

  • GOVT128 JT - The University Blacklist

    Like every age, ours has its dangerous ideas. Hundreds of disinvitation movements have sprung up on American college campuses in recent years to protect students from ideas they might find threatening, offensive, or dangerous. These movements have targeted a broad spectrum of influential intellectuals-from classical liberals like Ayaan Hirsi Ali to leftists like Angela Davis to conservatives like Christina Hoff Sommers. By exploring books by many such disinvited authors, this course explores contemporary contention over free speech, provides a window into the dangerous ideas of our time, and will help students think more deeply about the virtues and costs of censoring them. Co-taught and cross-listed as SOC 128 JT at Pitzer.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT128 JT
  

  • GOVT128C CM - Civic Leadership & Ethics

    Introduces students to the moral challenges and ethical responsibilities of leadership in the private and the public spheres.  We focus on: 1) leadership and ethics in the private business community; 2) statesmanship in modern constitutional democracies; and 3) political leadership on the economy and immigration in an era of globalization.  Topics: the leading role of private enterprise in confronting global challenges (with Google and Facebook as case studies); case studies of Lincoln, Wilson and FDR, and post-9/11 leadership of Presidents Bush and Obama; and a comparative study of the challenges of immigration and the welfare state in Europe and America.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT128C CM
  

  • GOVT129 CM - Ethics, Character, and American Political Leadership

    Examines the importance of ethics and character for American political leadership. It will address the following questions: Do democratic institutions require leaders with certain kinds of virtues or personal character? What dangers, if any, arise if our leaders are not exemplars of virtue? Are American institutions and our legal system sufficient to check immoral or unethical behavior by leaders? And does the success of American democracy depend at crucial moments on leaders of exceptional virtue or character? The course examines national political scandals since the Watergate controversy of the Nixon administration and the remedies that have been proposed or embraced for combating unethical behavior by public officials. In addition, students will read biographies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for insight into the connection between character and leadership.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT129 CM
  

  • GOVT130 CM - Presidential Primaries, Nominations, and Elections

    This course will familiarize students with the process of presidential selection in the United States, including both party nominations and the general election. Special attention will be paid to recent election campaigns and the ways in which they illustrate broader course materials.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT130 CM
  

  • GOVT131 CM - Political History of the Middle East 1973-present

    This course is a sequel to Political History of the Middle East I and covers the major political events in the region following the Arab-Israeli October war in 1973 until the eve of the 2011 popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring. This includes several major turning points in the history of the Middle East such as the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the Islamic Revolution and rise of Khomeini in Iran (1979), the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and subsequent Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), as well as the American invasion of Iraq known as the second Gulf War (2003).This course examines the meaning of heroism, villainy, and clownishness as they occur in western politics, literature, plays, and film. Drawing on materials in all media, including biography, history, fiction, poetry, plays, and cinema, the course studies specific individuals and works of art, ancient and modern. Among the individuals and works studied are: Churchill, Nero, Nixon, Faust; the movies Shane, and From Here to Eternity; the novel Anna Karenina; and the play Medea.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT131 CM
  

  • GOVT132E CM - Politics and Economics of Natural Resource Policy in Developing Countries

    This seminar course addresses the question of how countries dependent on natural resources ought to husband these resources and invest the proceeds productively. It employs the policy sciences framework to explore the political and economic-policy challenges of minimizing the abuse of resource endowments due to mis-pricing, corruption, intra-governmental conflicts, and perverse governance arrangements. It examines why governments seem to abuse natural resources willfully, what forms of privatization hold promise for better resource use, what fiscal and governance arrangements are optimal for the relationship between government and state natural-resource agencies, and whether resource abundance is actually a “curse” rather than an advantage for a country’s economic and political development. The cases will be drawn predominantly from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Also listed as ECON 142 CM .

    Prerequisites: ECON 101 CM  and GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT132E CM
  

  • GOVT133 CM - India in Asia: Democracy and Development in India, China, and Pakistan

    This course introduces students to the history and politics of countries in South Asia in a comparative framework. Despite the recent increased international attention to the countries of the region, South Asia continues to puzzle scholars, policymakers, and journalists alike.  The so-called “problems” endemic to the countries in South Asia – the tendency to use violence to resolve conflicts, potential of nuclear conflict, and radical political change – must be placed within the domestic, historical, and international context of the various countries in the region.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT133 CM
  

  • GOVT133E CM - Democratic Politics and the Military in Latin America

    This course explores the changing dynamics of Latin American countries in the process of change from authoritarian to democratic political systems, and how that is influencing the role of the military in their societies, the changing missions of the armed forces, including drug-related violence, and civil-military relations.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT133E CM
  

  • GOVT134 CM - Mexican Government and Politics

    An introduction to major themes, historical patterns, political institutions, and developmental issues facing Mexico.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT134 CM
  

  • GOVT134E CM - Democratization, Violence and Change: Mexico’s Political Transformation

    Examines current political conditions in Mexico, focusing on influential obstacles to its transition from an electoral to a consolidated democracy, including organized crime, violence, political sovereignty, the legitimacy of electoral and governmental institutions and processes, and the role of media.

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT134E CM
  

  • GOVT135 CM - Comparative Politics of the Middle East

    This course offers students a broad overview of current political themes in the Middle East and North Africa—one of the most talked about slices of political geography on the globe. Starting with the issue of colonial legacies and concluding with the future prospects for democracy and development, the course covers a range of themes, including: authoritarianism, popular uprisings, oil, gender, political Islam, and foreign intervention.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT135 CM
  

  • GOVT136 CM - The Politics of Radical Movements in America

    Radical politics from 1620-2016, including the separatist radicals, the revolution, American Utopianism, abolition, suffrage and feminism, labor radicalism, anarchism, socialism, and communism, “New Negro” and black power, and queer liberation.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT136 CM
  

  • GOVT136C CM - International Relations of South Asia: Security, Economics, and Culture

    South Asia includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives. Some definitions of South Asia also include Afghanistan.  This course focuses on how the international system affects countries of the region and how developments within these countries shape global interactions. We examine both the effect of international forces on the countries of the region as well as how state and societal responses in South Asia affect the prospects of security, prosperity, and cultural integration in the world. This will include FOREIGN relations between states in this region, as well as their relations with the external world.

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM  and GOVT 060 CM  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT136C CM
  

  • GOVT138 CM - Religion, Politics, and Change in Latin America

    An exploration of the impact of religion, the Catholic Church, Evangelical Protestantism, and new religious movements on politics in the region, including influential consequences for democratic transition and consolidation.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT138 CM
  

  • GOVT139 CM - Development, Power, and Globalization

    This course analyzes the relationship between globalization and development with reference to a diverse group of developing countries. Different dimensions of globalization—economic flows, international rules and organizations, and role of international aid—will be studied. We will also analyze how the concept of development has changed over time and evaluate it from the perspective of different social groups. We examine the impact of globalization from the perspective of different countries focusing on some large developing countries such as India, China, Brazil, as well as smaller countries such as Guatemala.

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT139 CM
  

  • GOVT140 CM - International Politics of Nuclear Weapons

    Nuclear weapons have the potential to cause extraordinary devastation and require enormous resources to produce. How have these deadliest of all weapons changed international politics? This course will begin with a historical overview of the development of nuclear weapons and a practical introduction to the weapons and their effects. In the first half of the course, we will discuss the strategic implications of nuclear weapons; the reasons states proliferate; nonproliferation efforts; and the use of nuclear weapons in 1945. The second half of the course will be devoted to case studies of states with past or present nuclear weapons programs.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT140 CM
  

  • GOVT141 CM - The Politics and Craft of International Journalism

    Journalism not only records history and world events but shapes them as well. Urgent breaking news, daily wrap-ups and thoughtful analyses impact global understanding and policy, and provide an early framework for the historical record. This course presents the fundamentals of news reporting, sourcing and writing, and applies them to assignments the media face every day overseas: spot news and briefs, daily stories on deadline, feature writing, and reporting on political, business, diplomatic, military, social, cultural, sports and other subjects. Students will train to interpret international events and present them in professional journalistic formats.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every fall

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT141 CM
  

  • GOVT141B CM - East Asian Political Economy

    The rise of East Asia has reshaped the global economy. Many theories try to explain this phenomenon. This course examines the economic development models adopted in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and China. It explores the complex and dynamic relationship among political institutions, government policies, industrial strategies, and the business community. The objective is to provide a theoretically informed survey of East Asia’s political economy landscape and familiarize students with the most important issues concerning the economic relationship between the East Asian region and the world, in particular the United States.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT141B CM
  

  • GOVT142 CM - International Political Feature Writing

    This is a longer-form journalistic writing class on international political topics. The course covers researching, interviewing and writing about subjects including migration, pollution, unrest overseas, cross-border disputes, international military and security issues and war in a clear, well-organized style. Students will write drafts for detailed feedback and reworking, similar to how correspondents work with their editors, as they gain a new eye to following global political events and sharpening their journalistic writing skills. 

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT142 CM
  

  • GOVT142C CM - Democratic Transitions in the Middle East and Beyond

    This course analyzes dynamics of authoritarianism and democratization in the Middle East and beyond. The course will be divided into three sections: the first covers the main theoretical perspectives explaining the persistence of authoritarian rule in the Middle East and other regions of the world (i.e. the cultural approach centered on value systems and religion; the structural approach centered on oil and other natural resources; and the institutional approach centered on civil-military relations and coercive agencies). The second section will ponder the theory and practice of non-violent challenges to authoritarian regimes. And the third section will study processes of authoritarian breakdown and consolidation during the 2011 Arab uprisings and their aftermath.

    Prerequisites: GOVT 020 CM   or instructor permission.

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT142C CM
  

  • GOVT142E CM - Chinese Politics

    The primary objective of this course is to help students both acquire the basic knowledge of politics and political economy of the People’s Republic of China and to develop the analytical skills to understand and explore the underlying factors that shape Chinese political institutions, culture, politics, and social movements. The focus of the first half of the course is on understanding the causes that have contributed to the outcomes of the key political events in China and on analyzing the long-term consequences of these events. The second half of the course examines some of the most important and intellectually interesting topics in contemporary Chinese politics, society, and economy, such as politics reform, democratization, mass media, civil society, corruption, social conflict, ethnic minorities, sustainable development, and China’s experience viewed from a comparative perspective.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT142E CM
  

  • GOVT143 CM - Introduction to Political Journalism Writing

    Journalism informs people, societies and history. Journalistic writing focuses facts and descriptions into tight, compelling paragraphs, and is a skill that is applicable to writing throughout one’s life, from emails to acceptance speeches. This course teaches the fundamentals of sharp journalistic writing, against the backdrop of the role of the media in domestic politics today, at a time of unprecedented scrutiny, criticism and influence. Students will learn to act as reporters and conduct interviews and write news stories on campus, local, regional and national topics, while examining the importance, and limitations, of the press in today’s volatile political environment.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT143 CM
  

  • GOVT143C CM - International Political Economy of Money and Finance

    This course seeks to provide students with an overview of several key international monetary and financial policy issues. We will begin with an historical overview of the international monetary system, from the gold standard to the contemporary monetary system. We will then examine how financial globalization affects the national policy autonomy of advanced industrialized countries. Subsequently, we turn to the international monetary experience of developing countries in the global economy, focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, post-Communist states and Asia, paying particular attention to the causes and consequences of the major financial crises.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT143C CM
  

  • GOVT144A CM - Sixties Movements

    This course explores the movements that led to the social, cultural, and political upheavals of the sixties. They include movements on the left, such as campaigns for civil rights, participatory democracy, gay liberation, and feminism, as well as movements on the right, such as the Goldwater insurgency, Campus Crusade, and the anti-abortion campaign. It further explores how movements work and why some succeed, while others fail. It also pays special attention to the ways in which these movements have remade American democracy and considers their place in our constitutional democracy.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT144A CM
  

  • GOVT144B CM - Comparing Social Movements Across the World

    This course attempts to understand similar expressions of collective protest, referred to as “social movements”. Analyzing a variety of such movements in both the West and the developing world, we will explore the following questions: What social and political conditions give rise to such movements? How do social movements affect political institutions and vice-versa? What determines their success or failure? What is the impact of social movements both on public policy and on patterns of everyday interaction? In short, we will be concerned with the relationship between social movements, political institutions and public policies.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT144B CM
  

  • GOVT144D CM - Democracy and Dictatorship

    This seminar explores the rise and fall of democracies and dictatorships since the 20th century. It seeks to understand the various underlying factors associated with the emergence of democratic political institutions in developing countries as well as analyzes representative cases of transition to democracy in the last century. It also studies the political institutions and dynamics of dictatorships and seeks to understand the sources of their durability and weaknesses. The seminar will pay special attention to the decline and demise of democracies by examining the role of flawed democratic institutions, populism, globalization, identity politics and elite manipulation. Other topics to be covered include governance in democracies, management of ethnic conflict, the rule of law, performance of democratic institutions, autocratic response to democratization, and inequality.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM   or instructor permission.

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT144D CM
  

  • GOVT145E CM - Security Studies

    This course will introduce students to the study of how states provide for their security through the use of military force. The course will first explore the origin and nature of threats to states’ security. It will then examine the key military implements and strategies that states employ in attempting to deal with these threats. Finally the course will study several historical cases of military conflict in light of its earlier theoretical and strategic findings.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT145E CM
  

  • GOVT146 CM - Chinese Foreign Policy

    Examines China’s contemporary foreign policy with emphasis on its structure and processes and on the consequences of its rise in world affairs and analyzes China’s relations with the United States, Japan, Korea, Russia, India, Europe, and other countries and regions. It focuses on such issues as diplomatic negotiations, economic interdependence, containment strategies, and constructive engagement.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT146 CM
  

  • GOVT146A CM - Middle Eastern Politics I (1918-1967)

    This course in political history studies the making of the modern Middle East, from the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. The lectures are divided into three parts: The first part covers major events in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East strategies of European Powers. The second part is centered on the making of the new Arab states, and their struggles to gain independence. The third part covers the rise of the Arab authoritarian order and military interventionism in politics. Different aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict will be discussed throughout the three parts of the course.

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT146A CM
  

  • GOVT149 CM - Foreign Relations of the United States

    This course will provide insights into the processes and dynamics of US foreign policy, with an emphasis on the complexities of foreign policy-making and contemporary foreign policy issues. The course introduces many of the ideas underpinning American foreign policy and examines how governmental and non-governmental actors drive the country’s agenda and its implementation. Students will become familiar with key debates about the US national interest, global challenges, US foreign policy goals, and the means by which they might be achieved.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every semester

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT149 CM
  

  • GOVT150 CM - U.S. National Security Policy

    In this course, we will engage with both theory and case evidence to analyze U.S. national security policy. We begin by examining the concepts of national security and vital interests. How are they defined? Who defines them? How have they changed over time? We will examine how national security policies are developed and applied. We will explore the ways in which policy decision making involves complex trade-offs among competing goals and values, and will practice policy decision making ourselves through a policy round-table session and a National Security Council simulation.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT150 CM
  

  • GOVT151C CM - Nations, Nationalism, and State-Building in the Middle East

    This course offers students an in-depth look at the emergence of nationalism and the processes of state building in the Middle East and North Africa. The first section of the course reviews seminal theoretical works and defines key concepts related to nations, nationalism and the technologies of state building. The second section of the course uses case studies from Middle Eastern countries to examine core issues related to nationhood, including: the relationship between nationalism and colonial legacies, religious nationalism, the failures of pan-Arab nationalism, diaspora nationalism, and the politics of nationalism in “state-less” societies.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT151C CM
  

  • GOVT154 CM - Policymaking in International Organizations

    This course examines the nature, processes, and implications of official international organizations and their growing role in international affairs. How and why does multilateralism arise, what are the relationships between official international organizations and the member countries, how do they make decisions, what implications do these processes have on international cooperation and conflict? The course will focus largely on international economic organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, but will also focus on mutual security and environmental organizations.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT154 CM
  

  • GOVT156C CM - War

    This course is a great books seminar on war. Students would be expected to read one book a week and then meet once weekly to discuss how the text illuminates the use of war as an instrument of politics, the evolution of warfare (perceptions, strategy, tactics, players, and technology), and the ethics of war. The books selected cover war from ancient times to modern as well as internal and international warfare. The course provides a comprehensive overview of war for students of international relations and for those interested in security studies more specifically.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT156C CM
  

  • GOVT156E CM - War II: Film

    Innumerable excellent films have used depictions of war to examine politics, power dynamics, international relations, institutions, ethics, history, social evolution, leadership, identity, community, and human nature. This seminar course will rely on a combination of films, readings, and research to deeply examine these issues in light of contemporary international security. This course serves as a complement and supplement to War, but stands independently.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT156E CM
  

  • GOVT157S CM - Special Topics in International Relations

    This course examines special topics in international relations. The topics will vary from year to year.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT157S CM
  

  • GOVT160 CM - Statesmanship and Leadership

    A study of the phenomenon of statesmanship, its relation to political life, and its status vis-a-vis the philosophical life, and of the profound change from statesmanship to the modern concept of leadership. The course has two parts: readings in political philosophy, and readings in political history and biography that examine the lives of actual statesmen and leaders.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT160 CM
  

  • GOVT161 CM - The Natural Law

    An inquiry into the idea of natural law as expounded and criticized by ancient, medieval, and modern political philosophers. Readings from Aristotle, Cicero, Aquinas, Hobbes, Kant, and others.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every third year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT161 CM
  

  • GOVT162 CM - C.S. Lewis

    C.S Lewis was one of the most influential thinkers and writers of the 20th century. Though perhaps best known as a defender of Christianity in an increasingly secular world, his writings cover a wide range of ethical, religious, and political issues. In this course we will cover his contributions to the debates over moral relativism, religion and science, the problem of evil, public policy issues (such as pacifism, crime and punishment, democratic education, and the welfare state), and the relationship of science to political rule. Readings will include essays, several of his well-known short books, the third volume of his science fiction trilogy (That Hideous Strength), his deeply allegorical The Great Divorce, and writings by those on the side on these great debates.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT162 CM
  

  • GOVT163 CM - Democracy in Crisis: the Statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln

    This course will consider the obstacles to emancipation posed by democratic institutions and how Abraham Lincoln attempted to overcome them without vitiating those institutions. Readings will be taken primarily from the speeches and letters of Lincoln and his contemporaries.

    Prerequisite:  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT163 CM
  

  • GOVT164 CM - Political Rhetoric

    This course is devoted principally to examining the classical understanding of political rhetoric and the problems and possibilities connected with it. Readings are Plato’s Gorgias and Aristotle’s Rhetoric. In the final part of the course, some famous speeches from the American political tradition are examined.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT164 CM
  

  • GOVT165 CM - Political Philosophy and History

    An examination of the turn from nature to history as the ground of politics, philosophy, and being, and of the significance of this turn for the conduct and understanding of modern politics. Readings in Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Weber, and Heidegger.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT165 CM
  

  • GOVT166C CM - The Politics of the Gig Economy: Entrepreneurship, Technological Innovation, and Politics

    This course introduces students to ongoing technological, political and economic transformations that are redefining the meaning of work, prosperity, innovation and entrepreneurship in post-Industrial capitalist economies. The course covers: foundational texts of political economy; theoretical debates about capitalism, profit, property, and inequality; entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and government regulation; and domestic and international public policy debates.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT166C CM
  

  • GOVT167 CM - The American Founding

    An inquiry into the character of the American regime as intended by the Founders. The method of the course will be the close reading of the writings and speeches of the Founders, supplemented occasionally by secondary accounts and interpretations.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every third year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT167 CM
  

  • GOVT168 CM - Black Intellectuals: Debating Race in the Age of Obama

    In post-civil rights America racial inequality remains an enduring problem and source of controversy. This class explores that problem and controversy through the writings of the nation’s most influential black intellectuals. They include liberals, conservatives, and many iconoclasts who are not easily placed on any political spectrum. As these differences suggest, disagreements among our nation’s most prominent African American intellectuals run deep. They disagree, for example, over such fundamental questions as the significance of racism in modern America and the best means of achieving racial equality. Their varied perspectives have enriched and shaped our national conversation about race, and they continue to help all of us think more deeply about racial inequality-America’s most enduring social and political problem.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT168 CM
  

  • GOVT169 CM - American Political Thought I

    This course will examine the emergence in America of revolutionary ideas about law and politics and their embodiment in wholly new forms of government. The course will then consider the implications and contradictions in these ideas and institutions, as revealed in the debates leading up to the Civil War.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every third year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT169 CM
  

  • GOVT170 CM - American Political Thought II

    This course will examine the transformation of the American idea of natural rights and natural law under the influence of Social Darwinism, Progressivism, and Pragmatism, as well as the emergence of modern American liberalism and conservatism in their distinctive modes. The effort throughout will be to understand the significance of these developments for the philosophy, and conduct, of republican government in America.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every third year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT170 CM
  

  • GOVT171 CM - From Theocracy to Democracy

    This course will examine the historical conditions and theoretical presuppositions of modern secular society, or how democratic principles came to replace theological claims as the basis for political legitimacy in the Western world. Readings will be drawn from the Bible, Luther, Calvin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Thomas Jefferson, Mirza Abu Talib Khan, Tocqueville, U.S. Supreme Court cases, and contemporary writings concerning modernization and democracy in the Islamic world.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT171 CM
  

  • GOVT171C CM - Religion and Liberalism: Enlightenment Approaches to Comparative Constitutional Secularism

    This course offers students an engagement with the major debates in political philosophy and constitutional practice over religion, liberalism, and secularism. Major themes include Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment debates over religious church establishment, toleration, and official state secularism; multiculturalism and religious immigration in the EU; and comparative constitutionalism and secularism in an era or religious revival and globalization. Readings include Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes and Locke, contemporary political theory (John Rawls), and theories of multiculturalism and religious revival and migration in Western liberal democracies. Case studies include American disestablishment and Supreme Court First Amendment jurisprudence, EU multiculturalism, and secularism in comparative contexts (focusing on Turkey and India).

    Prerequisite:  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT171C CM
  

  • GOVT172 CM - Political Philosophy and Foreign Policy

    After a brief consideration of contemporary debates on moralism versus realism in foreign policy, the fundamentally different positions of Aristotle and Machiavelli on the relative status of foreign and of domestic policy are examined. The course concludes with Thucydides, the relation of domestic institutions to foreign policy, and the role of justice in foreign affairs.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT172 CM
  

  • GOVT173C CM - Russian Politics

    This course provides an in-depth study of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian politics. The course begins with an analysis of the Communist system and analyzes the nature of the regime, its sources of legitimacy and sustenance, and the reasons for the system’s decline. The course then examines Russia’s post-Soviet period in order to understand the successes and failures within political and economic liberalization. In this course, we will examine the transformation of political institutions, national identities, and economic systems that followed from the collapse of the Soviet system. While this course reviews the main historical events in Russian politics, the main focus of the course is to evaluate Russian political developments within the context of theories in political science on democratization, national identity, and the role of ideology in political and economic regime change. The course concludes with a special focus on Russian energy politics and the evolution of Russian foreign policy toward Eastern Europe and the “Near Abroad.”

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT173C CM
  

  • GOVT174 CM - Topics in Political Philosophy

    A topic of enquiry will be chosen to reflect current challenges and concerns in the field of political philosophy.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT174 CM
  

  • GOVT174C CM - Politics, Philosophy, and War: Xenophon’s Political Philosophy

    Xenophon, like Plato, was a student of Socrates. But Xenophon led a more active life, traveling to Persia where he became general of an army of Greek mercenaries. This practical bend is reflected in the Anabasis, describing his adventures in Persia, and the Education of Cyrus, an account of how to conquer the world that earned Machiavelli’s approval. Yet Xenophon also wrote the Memorabilia, a work devoted to a consideration of Socrates and his more contemplative way of life. This class will consist of a close reading of these works with particular attention to the tension between the political and philosophic life.

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT174C CM
  

  • GOVT175C CM - Psychoanalysis and Politics

    This course examines how the discipline of psychoanalysis can prove useful in the understanding of political behavior and political thinking. Concern with the relation between psychological investigation and political activity has a long history, and goes back to the portrayal of Achilles in The Iliad and Suetonius’ investigation of perverse leadership in The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. In its modern form it originates in Freud’s 1921 essay, “Mass Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego.” In the realm of political science, Harold Lasswell (Psychopathology and Politics) studied politics through psychoanalytic ideas, and he has been followed by many other political analysts.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT175C CM
  

  • GOVT178 CM - International Law

    International law is the law of nations, but it can also be the law applied to individuals, relationships, and transactions that cross national boundaries. It addresses norms concerning the use of force and the conduct of war, while also covering such discrete areas as international trade and investment, human rights, environmental protection, ocean resources and maritime issues, and international crimes. This course provides a broad introduction to international law, including the sources of international law; the relevant actors, including states, international organizations, individuals, and non-governmental organizations; dispute resolution and enforcement of international law; and its specific application to discrete topics.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT178 CM
  

  • GOVT180A CM - Political Reading and Writing I

    In this semester the emphasis is on political reading and writing that is intended to support a political candidate. During the first half of the semester we will read examples of political writing that are mainly intended to support a political position or attack a political opponent: (1) op-ed (2) a longer newspaper or magazine editorial in support of or opposition to a political position, cause, or person. (3) an advertisement for a political candidate meant to appear on TV, radio, or social media. (4) a blog. (5) A direct mailing soliciting contributions for a political campaign or a political cause. (6) a biographical profile of a candidate for a political office. (7) a letter to an editor. (8) A statement of personal and political convictions given at the close of a debate.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT180A CM
  

  • GOVT180B CM - Political Reading and Writing II

    In this semester the emphasis is on political reading and writing that is intended to support a political candidate. During the first half of the semester we will read examples of political writing that are mainly intended to support a political position or attack a political opponent: (1) op-ed (2) a longer newspaper or magazine editorial in support of or opposition to a political position, cause, or person. (3) an advertisement for a political candidate meant to appear on TV, radio, or social media. (4) a blog. (5) A direct mailing soliciting contributions for a political campaign or a political cause. (6) a biographical profile of a candidate for a political office. (7) a letter to an editor. (8) A statement of personal and political convictions given at the close of a debate.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT180B CM
  

  • GOVT181 CM - Crime and Public Policy

    Assesses the nature and adequacy of government’s response to the crime problem in the United States. Specific topics include the extent and nature of the problem; the response of police, prosecutors and courts; the nature and extent of punishment imposed for criminal behavior; the philosophic basis for punishment; the role that public opinion does and ought to play in guiding criminal justice policy; and the performance of representative institutions in meeting the crime problem.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT181 CM
  

  • GOVT182 CM - Church and State in American Constitutionalism

    Over two hundred years into the American experiment, issues of church and state continue to divide the nation. How far reaching is “the great separation” between church and state? Does it require the development of a secular citizenry? Is it consistent with claims that America is a Christian nation? The vexed relationship between church and state is at the heart of public debates regarding education, marriage, and numerous other issues. To illuminate current debates we will examine the philosophical and political arguments for separation and how these have played out over the course of American constitutional history.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT182 CM
  

  • GOVT185 CM - The Supreme Court and Criminal Procedure

    Intensive analyses of major judicial opinions on the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, focusing on search and seizure, self-incrimination, right to counsel, and other procedural rights of accused persons.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT185 CM
  

  • GOVT186 CM - the Death Penalty Debate in Philosophy, Religion, Law, and Popular Culture

    This course will examine key issues in the debate over the death penalty throughout Western history, with an emphasis on the current debate within the United States. Focusing on the crime of murder, readings will begin with the ancient legal codes of Hammurabi and Moses and extend up to the most recent court decisions and social science research in the United States. The course will cover the most important philosophic and religious arguments for and against the death penalty, as well as all the major critiques currently leveled against the practice of capital punishment in the United States. Readings will also cover the treatment of the death penalty in popular culture, including ancient Greek plays, the plays of Shakespeare, the debate among the Romantic poets of the 19th century, Clarence Darrow’s classic attack on the death penalty in the 1920s, and modern Hollywood treatments.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM  

    Offered: Every other year

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT186 CM
  

  • GOVT187 CM - Women and the Law

    The purpose of this course is to explore whether and how gender matters in American law, and to examine the constitutional and statutory legal doctrines that apply in sex discrimination claims. More specifically, the course will (a) examine the ways gender has affected citizenship status; (b) address major constitutional themes that are invoked in sex discrimination cases and their evolution across time; and (c) consider how alternative schools of legal thought address these issues. Particular attention will be paid to employment law, reproductive rights, family law, and criminal law.

    Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM 

    Offered: Occasionally

    Credit: 1

    Course Number: GOVT187 CM
 

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