Spring 2020 Course List
| Course | Title | Faculty | Day | Time | Room | Subfield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL 110 01 | American Government | Arndt | T-F | 14:00 - 15:20 | SSB 225 | American |
| POL 110 02 | American Government | Healey | M | 17:30 - 20:20 | SSB 225 | American |
| POL 130 01 | International Relations | Arndt | T-F | 15:30 - 16:50 | SSB 225 | International |
| POL 150 01 | Comparative Politics | Chartock | M-TH | 09:30 - 10:50 | SSB 225 | Comparative |
| POL 150 02 | Comparative Politics | Chartock | M-TH | 11:00 - 12:20 | SSB 225 | Comparative |
| POL 200 01 | Political Analysis | Park | M-TH | 12:30 - 13:50 | SSB 225 | |
| POL 200 02 | Political Analysis | Park | M-TH | 14:00 - 15:20 | SSB 225 | |
| POL 215 01 | Gender And Politics | Ackerman | T-F | 09:30 - 10:50 | SSB 225 | American |
| POL 275 01 | Western Political Philosophy | Jovanoski | M-TH | 09:30 - 10:50 | EDUC 207 | Theory |
| POL 300 01 | Politics and Public Management | Keevey | M | 15:30 - 18:20 | SSB 223 | American |
| POL 311 01 | The Presidency and Congress | Garlick | M-TH | 14:00 - 15:20 | SSB 223 | American |
| POL 315 01 | Parties, Interest Groups & Media | Brindle | T | 17:30 - 20:20 | SSB 223 | American |
| POL 321 01 | Civil Rights And Liberties | Dumas | T-F | 14:00 - 15:20 | SSB 223 | American |
| POL 328 01 | State & Local Government In NJ | Healey | T | 17:30 - 20:20 | SSB 225 | American |
| POL 335 01 | International Organization | Harrison | M-TH | 11:00 - 12:20 | FOR 208 | International |
| POL 370 01 | Bears, Beets, & Babushki: The Politics of Russia & the Post-Soviet States |
Holom | T-F | 11:00 - 12:20 | SSB 225 | Comparative |
| POL 380 01 | International Political Economy | Potter | T-F | 08:00 - 09:20 | SSB 223 | International |
| POL 390 01 | Political Parties & Party Systems | Toloudis | M-TH | 11:00 - 12:20 | SSB 241 | |
| POL 390 02 | American State Politics | Bowen | T-F | 15:30 - 16:50 | SSB 241 | |
| POL 395 01 | Group Research In Political Science | Dumas | F | 09:30 - 12:20 | SSB 241 | American |
| POL 395 02 | Group Research In Political Science | Garlick | M-TH | 09:30 - 10:50 | SSB 241 | American |
| POL 498 01 | Social Movements And The Politics of Protest | Chartock | M-TH | 14:00 - 15:20 | SSB 241 | |
| POL 498 02 | Inequality | Lowi | T | 09:30 - 12:20 | SSB 241 |
For a printable list of Spring 2020 courses, click here.
Major Requirements and Program Planner
Special Topics & Seminars
For Spring 2020, the department is offering one special topics class, two group research classes, two junior tutorials, and two senior seminars. Course descriptions are below:
POL 370-01: Bears, Beets, and Babushki: The Politics of Russia and the Post-Soviet States
Dr. Brittany Holom
Russia is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”…With these poignant words, Winston Churchill challenged the world to better understand Russia and its neighbors. In this class, we will work to do just that. Students will examine the riddle itself – the political development of Russia and the surrounding post-Soviet region, from the Soviet era to the present day.
We will begin with an overview of the Soviet Union, the political and economic institutions of communism, and the eventual dissolution of the empire under Gorbachev’s leadership. Next, we will examine the development of political institutions, national identities, civil society, and formal and informal economic systems in the post-Soviet space. We will devote considerable time to understanding domestic politics within the Russian state, as well as the impact of its nuclear power, Vladimir Putin’s leadership, and the recent developments in cybersecurity and Russia’s foreign policy. Additionally, we will examine the other fourteen Soviet successor states, with a particular focus on Ukraine, looking at their varying paths of political, economic, and social development.
Throughout the course, we will be exploring topics of nationalism and multinational states, federalism, electoral revolutions, authoritarianism and democracy, challenges of economic transformations, welfare politics, and foreign policy in a digitally connected world. By the end of the course, students should have a better understanding of Russia and the post-Soviet region, recent political events, and what we can expect in the coming years
POL 390-01: Political Parties and Party Systems
Dr. Nicholas Toloudis
This tutorial deals with the relationship between political parties and representative democracy in the 20th and 21st centuries. It examines the relationships between parties and electoral systems and between parties and policy, as well as the causes of party system change. Students will write major research papers on one of these topics with reference to one or more countries.
POL 390-02: American State Politics
Dr. Daniel Bowen
The American states have great constitutional authority in our federal system to shape public policy and remain the primary providers of public services in the United States. Since policies are often first experimented on in the states before being enacted at the federal level, as evidenced by the major changes in welfare, education, and health care policies in the last 20 years, the states are often referred to as “laboratories of democracy.” The states are regularly on the front lines of public policy battles, whether it be the term limit movement that swept the western states in the 1990s, anti-abortion legislation, or the expansion of gay marriage rights prior to Obergefell. The diversity in state populations, institutions, and cultures allow the states to pursue different policy agendas long before the federal government can act on an issue.
This tutorial will focus on how differences in the political, economic, and social context of the states influence political outputs like public policy, turnout, campaigns and elections, representation, and governance. As a junior tutorial, students will undertake a large independent research project on some aspect of American state politics, and we will devote a significant portion of class time to the art and science of conducting political research.
POL 395-01: Group Research in Political Science
Dr. Tao Dumas
(Enrollment requires permission of instructor)
Despite narrative accounts of Americans as overly litigious, ordinary people rarely access the courts. But when they do, they tend to participate in civil disputes over physical or monetary injuries. However, a lack of available data prevents in-depth study of these critically important courts. The purpose of this seminar is for students to learn about the civil justice system and political science research methods by understanding the types of cases that civil trial courts handle and civil procedure, reading academic writings about the civil justice system, and creating and analyzing data to do new and cutting-edge trial court research.
POL 395-02: Group Research on Data Science in State Politics
Dr. Alexander Garlick
(Enrollment requires permission of instructor)
American state governments make consequential decisions that affect the daily lives of citizens, from education to transportation. However, the public knows precious little about this stage of the governmental system. Meanwhile, state governments post all sorts of information about their activities online, but it is not well structured for public consumption, applied social science research or data journalism. There is an opportunity for data science techniques to be used to create actionable information from a collection of state legislative websites and watchdog groups websites. Students will collect, clean, and analyze these data. Interested students will have the opportunity for co-authorship on a political science journal article with Professor Garlick.
POL 498-01: Social Movements & the Politics of Protest
Dr. Sarah Chartock
Often, when we think about political and social change, formal and regulated institutions and processes such as elections, political parties, and policy-making, come to mind. So often, however, the most concentrated pressures for political and social change come from ordinary people coming together outside of the formal political sphere.
In this International Studies Senior Seminar, we therefore focus on social movements and other forms of collective action aimed at achieving or preventing social and political change (often, though not always, through non-institutionalized forms of political action such as protests and demonstrations). We examine theories that explain how social movements arise and succeed (and why they sometimes do not) and apply these theories to cases from various countries around the world.
POL 498-02: Inequality
Dr. Miriam Lowi
The study of inequality is, in essence, the study of the distribution of resources – power, wealth, status, recognition– within society, across societies, in the international system. Scholars of inequality focus on race, class, or gender, but also, more recently, culture, religion, ethnicity. There is an enormous literature in the social sciences and humanities on each of these foci. From the variety of ways in which the topic can be approached, each student will structure their capstone research project to address an inequality-related question of particular interest to them in a region and/or community of their choice.
Course Descriptions
POL 110: American Government
Examines the strengths and weaknesses, problems and promise of representative democracy in the United States. Surveys the relationships of citizens to Congress, the president and the courts through political parties,
elections, interest groups, and the media. Considers the constitutional framework of government and the rights of the individual against governmental intrusion.
POL 130: International Relations
An examination of contemporary patterns of international interaction and their historic roots with attention to competing theoretical perspectives. Topics studied include foreign policy, international law and organization, and international political economy.
POL 150: Comparative Politics
Introduces students to some of the most important concepts, themes and approaches in the comparative study of politics. Comparative Politics is the study of the domestic or internal politics of particular countries. By comparing the processes, institutions and other political phenomena of one country in relation to others, those engaged in the study of comparative politics isolate the primary causes and consequences of these political phenomena and are thus able to create and test theories of politics around the world.
POL 200: Political Analysis
The course familiarizes students with the basic statistical, conceptual, and technical skills needed for research in political science. Topics include research design, hypothesis testing, statistical methodology common in the social sciences, and practical experience examining and analyzing quantitative data. This course provides students hands-on training with Stata, a commonly used statistical software package. Should normally be completed by the end of the sophomore year prior to taking POL 390.
POL 215: Gender & Politics
The role of gender in politics is examined in a lecture/ discussion format. Topics include research on gender, differences and similarities in political socialization and electoral behavior, gender-related issues in public policy, the role of gender in the decision making of public officials, and the relationship between theories of gender and the actual practice of politics.
POL 275: Western Political Philosophy
Selected political questions that have intrigued Western society from time immemorial and theoretical solutions presented by some of the great political philosophers from classical Greece to the modern era.
POL 300: Politics & Public Management
An examination of the field of public administration focusing on the external and internal factors that shape the performance of public agencies, the interaction of public agencies and their leaders with the presidency, Congress and the courts, and the administrative skills public administrators need to manage a public organization.
POL 311: The Presidency & Congress
Problems of the modern American presidency and of the U.S. Congress, with an emphasis upon interrelationships and consequences for the national policy-making process.
POL 315: Parties, Interest Groups & Media
An examination of the role of political parties, interest groups, and the media as intermediaries between
citizens and formal governmental institutions. The course will focus on the role of parties, interest groups, and the media in leadership recruitment, issue formulation, and public policy making.
POL 321: Civil Rights & Liberties
An analysis of how the U.S. Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, focusing on the rights of the individual, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right of privacy, due process of law, and equal protection of the laws.
POL 328: State & Local Government in NJ
This course provides an analysis of the institutions, the political processes, and the resultant policies of state and local government in New Jersey. Particular attention is given to the structure of state, county, and local government, related political organizations, the nature of politics in New Jersey, and the impact of the state’s cultural, economic, political, and social characteristics on political decision-making and public policy at the state and local level.
POL 335: International Organization
International legal principles concerning international legal personality, jurisdiction over persons and places, diplomatic and consular relations, treaties, war, and relations at sea and in space.
POL 380: International Political Economy
A study of the politics of international economic relations. Economic theories of international trade and finance are presented in the context of their political origins and implications. Includes review of primary analytical perspectives, historical developments, and major contemporary institutions and processes bearing on the politics of international economics.