Political Science Major Requirements

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Undergraduate Courses

Spring 2010
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Undergraduate Courses

The courses listed below are permanent departmental offerings. Not all courses are offered each year. See the College Course Atlas for information about courses offered this semester. For the International Studies Major, also see the list of currently approved courses.

Political Theory
Research Methods
International Politics
Comparative Politics
American Politics

Political Theory

102. Introduction to Political Theory
Specific topics in this introductory class will vary--the problem of justice, the nature of political ambition and great leadership throughout the ages, the character of the best form of government--but all will be explored by means of a careful examination of a handful of classic writings, ancient as well as modern.

301. Classical Political Thought
Beginnings of the Western political heritage as shaped by the great political thinkers from Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and Xenophon.

302. Modern Political Thought
Political thought in the early modern period, from Machiavelli through the nineteenth century.

303. The Framing of the Constitution
Examines political thought of Founding period, focusing principally on the drafting of the Constitution in 1787 and the debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding ratification.

304. Major Texts in Political Theory
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.

305. Twentieth -Century Political Ideologies
Examination of contemporary political ideologies, focusing primarily on fascism, communism, and democracy. Some attention to Marxist humanism and the neoconservative revival.

306. Contemporary Democratic Theory
Recent efforts to rethink the concept of democracy in light of current technology (e.g., mass media) and experience. Some attention to theories of "economic democracy" in advanced capitalist societies.

307. Political Thought of Lincoln
Examination of Lincoln's speeches and writings, focusing on the 1850s (including debates with Douglas) and the Civil War.

Research Methods
308. Political Science Methods
Fundamental concepts and quantitative techniques of empirical political inquiry. Introduction to concepts of measurement, parametric, and nonparametric statistics. Basic bivariate and univariate statistics used in political science.

309. Survey Research and Political Analysis
Prerequisite: Political Science 308. Use of SPSS, multivariate analysis, and other computer routines to analyze survey and aggregate data. Special attention to political science data archives.

310. Statistical Modeling
Introduces students to the use of statistics in social scientific research. The course covers both the theory and the application of statistical methodologies.

471. Collaborative Research Colloquium
First course in an intensive seminar series for sophomore and junior political science majors. Introduces the basic debates in the chosen topic of study about which they will be writing for the next year and a half.

472. Collaborative Research Methods Tutorial
The second course in the series is devoted to methodological training and data collection. The course covers the methodology of field experiments and employ these methods to gather data for projects.

498. Writing Political Science
The final course of the series, students will complete their data analysis, finalize papers, and acquire professional social science skills such as grant writing and presenting at academic conferences.

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International Politics

110. Introduction to International Politics
Introduction to analytical concepts, nature of the interstate system, the assumptions and ideas of diplomacy, as well as the determinants of foreign policy.

311. International Conflict Resolution
Prerequisite: Political Science 110. Examines general principles and problems of international conflict resolution, including strategic bargaining, issue linkage, third party involvement, and coalition formation.

312. International Law
Prerequisite: Political Science 110, an equivalent, or consent of instructor. Procedures and practices regarded by states as constituting international law, with major emphasis on contemporary problems and probable trends.

313. International Organization
Prerequisite: Political Science 110, an equivalent, or consent of instructor. Nature and development of international organization, with emphasis on the interaction between international systems and organizations.

314. U.S. National Security Policy
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or consent of instructor. Organizations and processes involved in the formulation and execution of U.S. national security policy. Topics include nuclear strategy, bureaucratic politics, and the programming and budgeting process.

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

316. Foreign Policy of the United States
Traditions and assumptions of American foreign policy; analysis of post-World War II policy, including nuclear deterrence, foreign aid and alliance policies.

317. Global Human Rights
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. 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.

318. U.S. Policy Toward Latin America
Examination of U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean from the Monroe Doctrine to the Reagan Doctrine. Emphasis on the evolution and formulation of United States policy, national security, and foreign economic policy.

319. International Political Economy
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).

371. Domestic Politics & International Relations
This course assesses the contributions and limitations of the systemic theories of international relations by focusing on the challenges posed by domestic political factors, including interests, institutions, and inter-temporal constraints.

372. Strategic Analysis
Examines rational, strategic interaction in diverse political contexts. Applies game theory to voting and elections, legislatures, interbranch relations, bureaucracies, judicial decision making and international bargaining. Frequent class experiments and simulations.

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Comparative Government and Politics

120. Introduction to Comparative Politics
Political systems of major nations in comparative perspective.

320. Political Violence
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.

321. Comparative Political Economy
Prerequisite: Political Science 120 or consent of instructor. 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.

322. Politics of Southeast Asia
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. Introduction to the contemporary politics of Southeast Asia. Specific 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.

323. Comparative Political Parties
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. This course looks at the role of political parties for democracies and at ways parties represent interests in democracies. It combines general literature on parties and detailed study of a few countries.

324. Southern European Political Systems
Prerequisite: Political Science 120 or consent of instructor. Contemporary political systems of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece emphasized. Special attention to recent authoritarian rule, transition to democracy, current governmental institutions, and other issues.

325. Eastern European Politics
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120. An introduction to the politics and governments of Eastern Europe from World War I to the present.

326. Western European Politics
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or consent of instructor. Comparative examination of the contemporary political systems of democratic Europe. Emphasis placed on Great Britain, France, Germany, and the European Community.

327. Contemporary British Politics
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. Focuses on the breakdown of the postwar consensus and its replacement by Thatcherism in 1979. Three topics receive detailed attention: race relations, territorial politics, and radical critiques of British democracy.

328. Politics of Japan and East Asia
Prerequisite: Political Science 110 or 120 or consent of instructor. 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).

329. Democratic Transitions
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.

330. Developmental Democracy
Examines those political, social, and economic conditions necessary for the successful implementation of a democratic form of governance.

331. Latin American Politics
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.

332. Latin American Revolutions
An analysis of the Mexican, Cuban, and Nicaraguan revolutions, with emphasis on the sources and consequences of political change.

333. Politics in the European Union
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. Institutions and processes of the European Union including issues of membership, federalism, regional cohesion, effectiveness, accountability, and identity.

334. Contemporary African Politics
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.

335. Nations and Nationalism
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. Surveys the main contemporary theories of ethnic mobilization and nation building. Discusses the relationship between ethnicity and nationalism, and examines ethnic conflict and ways of resolving and preventing it.

336. Politics in Russia
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.

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

338. Politics of the Middle East
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.

339. Politics and the Environment
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.

375. Contemporary Chinese Politics
Examines key issues in contemporary Chinese politics, spanning the period from the Communist Revolution (1949) through the Maoist (1949-1976) and reform eras (1978 to present).

376. Comparative Representative Institutions
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. This course examines the consequences of alternative constitutional arrangements, especially parliamentary and presidential systems. Cases discussed include the United States, established European democracies and new democracies in Eastern Europe.

377. Politics of Democratic Spain
Prerequisite: Political Science 120. Analysis of the contemporary Spanish political system, including its transition to democracy, political institutions and governmental processes.

378. Comparative State and Stratification
Prerequisite: Sociology 214 or 311 or Political Science 321, 324, 326, or 327. Comparative sociology of state social and economic politics in advanced industrial democracies, 1880 to present.

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American Government and Politics

100. National Politics in the United States
Origins, principles, structures, processes, and practices of American national government. Stresses different perspectives on democratic theory and practice, and the adequacy of governmental institutions.

341. The Presidency
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.

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

343. Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
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.

344. American Political Leadership
Theories of leadership. Cultural and structural factors that influence leadership in the American political system. Leadership in American political institutions (national, state, and local), interest groups, and social movements.

345. American Political Parties
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.

346. African American Politics
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.

347. The South in National Politics
The changing roles of the South in national politics since World War II, with attention to presidential elections, the two-party system, and the U.S. Congress.

348. American Elections and Voting
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.

349. Politics of Race in the U.S.
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.

350. The American Legal System
Prerequisite: Political Science 100. Basic concepts of American law, judicial selection, the legal profession, court systems, and judicial behavior.

351. The United States Supreme Court
Course focuses on the Supreme Court as an institution. Legal, attitudinal, and strategic models are employed to examine the court's history and processes, and its rolw in the political system.

352. Constitutional Law
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.

353. Civil Liberties
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.

354. Criminal Justice
Examination of the various stages of the criminal justice process in the United States and the constitutional rights accorded to the criminally accused.

356. Politics of the Budgetary Process
An examination of the role of budgets as policy instruments and the key actors and institutions engaged in budget policy making. Primary emphasis is given to the federal budget, but budgeting at the state and local levels is also examined.

357. Gender Politics
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.

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

359. American Radicalism
History, ideas and personalities of American radicalism, including utopianism, socialism, the Industrial Workers of the World, communism, and the New Left. American reactions to radicalism, including McCarthyism.

360. Public Policy Process
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.

361. Public Administration
Alternative approaches to the study of administrative structures and processes. Emphasis on administrative obstacles and prospects, and the intellectual crises in public administration today.

362. Executive Branch Governance
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.

363. Public Opinion
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.

364. Interest Group Politics
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.

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

366. Southern Politics
The politics of the South since 1960, with emphasis on the following topics: Southern political culture, the civil rights movement, and the rise of two-party competition.

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.

368. Urban Public Policy
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.

369. Public Policy Analysis
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.

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Special Courses and Programs

190. Freshman Seminar
For first-year students only. Entry level seminar for first-year students focusing on a specific topic. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

370A. Community Building for Social Change
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.

370B. Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives
Open only to students admitted as fellows in the program in Community Building and Social Change.

379. Politics in Music
An examination of political information as it is conveyed through music and music video/ film art films.

383. The Arab-Israeli Conflict (Formerly 169)
Progression of the conflict from the nineteenth century to the present is reviewed in a multi-disciplinary manner. Topics include political history, communal disparities, the various wars, and their diplomatic outcomes. (Note: Counts only as an elective course. It does not satisfy the International Politics distributional requirement for the Political Science major.)

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

486. Washington Semester
Special course for students selected by the department to study for one semester in the nation's capital.

487. International Studies at Bard (NY)
Special course for students selected by the department to study for one semester in New York City.

490. Advanced Seminar
Open only to junior and senior majors and by permission of instructor. Selected topics in political science.

492. Practicum: Community Building and Social Change
Open only to senior and junior majors and others by permission of instructor. Selected topics in political science.

495. Honors Tutorial
Open only to students selected to participate in the department's Honors Program. Basic social science research methods and preparation of an honors thesis on some previously uninvestigated or insufficiently investigated area of political science. This course is required for completion of the Honors Program in political science.

496R/496RWR. Internship in Political Science
Credit, four to twelve hours. Supervised participation in a government/political internship authorized by the department.

497R/497RWR. Directed Study
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Credit, one to eight hours. Independent reading and research under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.

499. Honors Research
Credit, one to eight hours. Independent research course for students selected to participate in the department's Honors Program. This course is required for completion of the Honors Program in political science.

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