Catalog Descriptions

Intensive analysis of one or more texts of political philosophy or political science, with an emphasis on developing skills of close reading, textual analysis, and independent interpretation.

An introduction to classical and contemporary political theories of justice, with application to several specific contemporary questions of public policy.

An introduction to the various approaches to using statistics to study social phenomena.

An introduction to the various approaches to using statistics to study social phenomena.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Examines general principles and problems of international conflict resolution, including strategic bargaining, issue linkage, third party involvement, and coalition formation.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Nature and development of international organization, with emphasis on the interaction between international systems and organizations.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Nature and development of international organization, with emphasis on the interaction between international systems and organizations.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. Organizations and processes involved in the formulation and execution of United States national security policy. Topics include nuclear strategy, bureaucratic politics, and the programming and budgeting process.

Comparison of post-World War II foreign policies of selected states. Primary focus on developing an understanding of the impact of internal influences on external behavior.

Traditions and assumptions of American foreign policy; analysis of post-World War II policy, including nuclear deterrence, foreign aid, and alliance policies.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110. This course delves into the philosophical and contextual underpinnings of human rights in order to create a framework for understanding the increasing importance of human rights in the international system.

Examines interactions between economic developments (domestic and external) and political changes (domestic and external). Begins with general views and then examines particular issues (e.g., trade, monetary, development, environmental).

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Reviews several theories of the causes and dynamics of political violence. Includes an exploration of the ethical and moral issues concerning the proper role of government, the question of ends versus means, and the value of human existence.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Examination of the theoretical and substantive relationships between politics and economics from a comparative perspective, including macroeconomic policy, economic influence on the vote, and political control of economic behavior.

Suggested prerequisite: POLS 110 or 120. Intro to the contemporary politics of SE Asia. Focus on capitalist developing countries of the region - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore. Approach is comparative, with focus on democratization, economic growth, and environmental issues.

Examines the contemporary political systems of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece, including the topics of authoritarian rule, transition to democracy, reform of government institutions, and other issues.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. An introduction to the politics and governments of Eastern Europe from World War I to the present.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Comparative examination of the contemporary political systems of democratic Europe.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Examines politics of contemporary Japan, with stress on political bases of Japanese economic growth and in comparison with other East Asian economic successes (e.g., Taiwan, South Korea).

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Provides a survey and analysis of ways states undergo transitions from authoritarian to democratic regimes. Emphasizes interplay of elite and social factors, and addresses relationship between political and economic reform.

Overview of the major political systems in Latin America; emphasis on patterns of authority; development of groups; the nature of institutions; political culture; forces of change; and the role of the state.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Institutions and processes of the European Union including issues of membership, federalism, regional cohesion, effectiveness, accountability, and identity.

Politics of sub-Saharan Africa are examined, with emphasis on the major issues of social and political analysis as well as the African economic predicament and its political implications.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. This course discusses the contemporary Russian political system, including major institutions and processes. Reviews development and collapse of the U.S.S.R. and briefly examines developments in other newly independent successor states.

A broad introduction to the relationship between Islam and politics in twentieth-century Iran, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Political Science 120 is recommended but not required. Introduces students to critical issues in Middle East politics. Central themes include the colonial encounter, the rise of the authoritarian state, Israel and Palestine, and the rise of political Islam.

Examines the connection between political activity and environmental management. Focus ranges from regulatory activity to the environmental consequences of particular electoral forms of democratic governance.

An introduction to the structure and behavior of the American presidency. Examines presidential elections, the organization of the office, and its relations with the other national political institutions.

Constitutional responsibilities of the federal legislature. Effects of internal procedures and organization, external links, and member goals on congressional decisions.

Examination of how and why national, state, and local governments in the American federal system interact (or fail to interact) to resolve important public policy problems.

Party organization, candidate recruitment, political campaigning, and legislative parties as facets of the total political system. Effect of parties in differing national and cultural contexts in fostering or inhibiting democratic values and practices.

Comprehensive examination of African American politics and its critical influence upon the American political system. Civil rights and black power movements; the voting rights act and redistricting; African American political participation, attitudes, and governance.

Examination of the past, present, and future of Latino politics in the U.S. Analyzes historical and contemporary political preferences, voting, and representation of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central American, and other Latino populations, and how Latinos shape U.S. politics broadly.

Voter and candidate decision-making during primary and general elections, patterns of partisan support in the electorate, and factors affecting campaign strategy in American elections.

Comprehensive examination of the significance of race in the development of the American political system. Topics include Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and the contemporary political attitudes and behavior of black and white Americans.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 100. Basic concepts of American law, judicial selection, the legal profession, court systems, and judicial behavior.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 100. Basic principles of the Constitution and powers of the national and state governments, examined through Supreme Court decisions and secondary works.

Personal liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution, including freedom of speech, religion, assembly, petition; the right of privacy; the right against age, sex, race, or economic discrimination.

Overview of the role of gender in defining and shaping politics, political systems, political beliefs, political behavior, and public policy in the American and/or international context.

Comprehensive analysis of legal issues relevant to women's status in society. Constitutional and statutory law addressed.

How national public policies develop. Focus on who American governing actors and elites are, what they control, how they work together, and how issues thereby develop, recur, and evolve into policy.

Examines how American executive branch agencies behave as organizations and how they relate in practice to the rest of the people in government and the nation.

The nature, sources, and consequences of Americans' political preferences and beliefs. Topics include public opinion research methods, political socialization, self interest, reference groups, and voting behavior.

Focusing primarily on politics in the United States, this course examines the important roles played by organized interest groups and broader social movements in democratic politics.

Structures and political processes of state and local governments. Emphasis on the roles of state and local governments in the American federal system.

Three fundamental questions about poverty in America will be assessed: Who are the poor and how has the composition of the poverty population changed recently? What role do politics and ideology play in assessing the needs of the poor? What has been the effect of government programs and policies?

POLS 367 - Urban Politics

Introduction and overview to the politics and governance of American cities. Emphasis is on understanding the relationships among governing structures, decision-making processes, and policy outcomes.

Overview of major public policy problems confronting American urban areas today and the responses city, state, and national governments have made to address these problems. Policy areas covered include poverty, education, crime, housing, and community development.

Overview of the quantitative and qualitative methodologies employed by analysts in determining whether public programs and policies work. Attention is also given to research utilization and the role of analysis in the policymaking process.

Open only to undergraduate students by permission of the instructor. Additionally, this course is required for all students seeking to apply for the fellowship in Community Building and Social Change.

Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

Practical, applied course on how to express political ideas using the video medium. This course is appropriate for students with no prior experience in video production. This course also addresses the theory of political television advertising, political documentaries and commentaries.

This course examines the science, history, politics and policy of nuclear weapons.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Describes the manifold consequences of war to the individual, the state, and the international system; reviews a variety of theories of war consequences and explores the possible political and moral implications.

This class covers a variety of topics regarding the nature, causes, prosecution, and consequences of war. Specific topics discussed include counterinsurgency, deterrence, public opinion and war, economic development and war, democracy and war, civil-military relations, civil war, ethnicity and war.

This class covers a variety of topics regarding the nature, causes, prosecution, and consequences of war. Specific topics discussed include counterinsurgency, deterrence, public opinion and war, economic development and war, democracy and war, civil-military relations, civil war, ethnicity and war.

Examines contemporary Chinese politics, covering regime institutions and processes, policies and their effects, and the dynamics of political development, including Chinese Communist party and central government, as well as the role of subnational government.

Suggested prerequisite: Political Science 120. Analysis of the contemporary Spanish political system, including its transition to democracy, political institutions, and governmental processes.

An examination of political information as it is conveyed through music and music video/film art forms. Course fulfills an elective requirement for the political science major.

Influence of political institutions (e.g. democracy), domestic interests, external constraints (e.g. global value chains), and structural factors (e.g. natural resources) on various types of development (e.g. GDP growth, economic upgrading, poverty alleviation, green growth, human development).

Course focuses on economic development in post-World War II dictatorships, emphasizing conceptual issues, typologies of dictatorships, dynamics of dictatorships, and benefits of democracy vs. dictatorship for development.

Progression of the conflict from the 19th century to the present is reviewed in a multidisciplinary manner. Topics include political history, communal disparities, and the various wars and their diplomatic outcomes.

Focuses on the complexity of policy problems surrounding international environmental issues, the fragility of international environmental institutions, and specific policy problems such as free trade, sustainable development, population growth, climate change, and endangered species.

Selected topics and problems in political science. Content will vary in successive offerings of this course. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Selected topics and problems in political science. Content will vary in successive offerings of this course. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

This is a variable credit course; special topics in Political Science.

This is a variable credit course; special topics in Political Science.

This course offers independent research study credit. Participating students are matched with a member of the Emory faculty (or advanced graduate student) and conduct independent research under the faculty member's supervision.

Research on selected topics and problems in political science. Class will fulfill the "research" requirement for the political science major. May be repeated for credit when the topic varies.