What can we find for you?

  • No results found

Programs

Active Course List

Catalog Year 2025-2026

Filter by Subject

Political ScienceCredits

A survey of Western political philosophy from Hegel through the post-modernist writers. An examination of 19th and 20th Century political philosophers emphasizing German transcendentalism, utilitarianism, economic determinism, state socialism, neoliberism, communitarianism and post-modernism.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Students learn about active citizenship from readings and discussions on the theory and practice of democracy. Students should become more motivated to participate, feel a greater sense of empowerment, improve political skills, and to better understand and appreciate democracy.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

An overview of the budgetary and fiscal processes of public budgeting, including the politics surrounding public budgeting and fiscal policy decisions.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course explores topics in political philosophy beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with change of topic.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Political thought in the United States from the colonial period to the Civil War. Puritans, American revolution, republicanism, debate over United States Constitution, Jacksonian Democracy, Thoreau, reformers and religious and secular utopias, womens' rights, states' rights, abolitionism, proslavery.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Political thought in United States from reconstruction to present. Controversies over industrial capitalism: Social Darwinism, Utopian Socialism, Populism, Socialism, Progressivism. Women's Rights, suffrage movement and contemporary feminism; African American political thought: liberalism; conservatism.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course explores topics in political participation and behavior beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Elections in the United States at the federal, state and local levels. Election law, history, factors affecting elections, voting behavior, campaign finance, role of parties and groups, campaign strategy and tactics. Analysis of contemporary elections.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Political parties at United States, state, local levels. Cross-national comparisons. Decline and revival of parties. What parties do. Is the two party system the best? Are third parties the answer? Party organization. Voting behavior. Legislative, executive parties. Minnesota focus.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Racial and ethnic minorities in U.S. politics. Public opinion on racial issues, minority representation, race (partisanship and voting behavior), and racial issues (affirmative action, school busing, immigration).

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Applications of psychological concepts to politics. Intergroup relations, stereotyping, political authoritarianism, presidential character and psychology, foreign policy decision-making, political tolerance, and mass violence and genocide.

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Course will explore the intersecting realms of media, entertainment, and politics. Students will explore how a convergence of social change, public policy shifts, and technology evolution have affected the three realms and facilitated greater intersections among them. Students will then analyze the overall impact these realms and their changes have had on our political lives.

This course explores topics in international relations beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites:
POL 231
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Study of the function and process of the United Nations and other international organizations.

Prerequisites:
POL 231
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course is a general overview of US foreign policy institutions, processes, and politics. U.S. foreign policy is examined in historical, global and domestic contexts.

Prerequisites:
POL 231
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course explores the interaction of the three complex contemporary political and socioeconomic phenomena: the continuing expansion of global capitalism, the rise of nationalism(s), and the new wave of democratization around the world. The following topics are covered and discussed in class, with references to specific country and regional examples, (1) the impact of international economic institutions and democratization, (2) new forms of political participation in emerging democracies, (3) cultural and ethnic determinants of democratization, (4) problems of economic inequality in new democracies, (5) social and gender issues of democratic transitions, and (6) the relationship between democratic expansion and world peace. Course format will be lecture, discussion, student presentations and occasional films.

Prerequisites:
POL 241
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Focusing on patterns, processes, and problems of international trade, monetary, technological, and investment relations, this course examines the roles played by key government organizations in managing conflict and cooperation among states.

Prerequisites:
POL 231
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This interdisciplinary proseminar focuses on conflict resolution in the international arena. We will discuss causes of conflict, examine approaches to the study of conflict resolution, and analyze the varieties of nonviolent strategies of conflict resolution, emphasizing third party mediation.

Prerequisites:
POL 231
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

An overview of the international relations of East Asia, the course examines cooperation and conflict among major powers in the area: China, Japan and the United States. Topics include Japan's pre-WWII expansionism, China's political transformation and North Korea's nuclear controversy. Fall, Spring

Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course offers a cross-national perspective on the politics of social policy and the welfare state in industrialized parts of the world, including North and South America and different regions of Europe. It also explores distinct national patterns of public policy solutions to the common contemporary problems of social security, poverty, and health care by paying close attention to both domestic factors and the forces of globalization that work to constrain government decisions. This multidimensional approach is designed to enable students to better understand how politics work in different ways to produce collective or social choices.

Prerequisites:
POL 241
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course explores topics in comparative politics beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites:
POL 241
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course focuses on the Russian political system in relation to domestic social and economic environments and also on the role of Russia as a global actor. It examines the post communist transformation in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Prerequisites:
POL 241
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

This course introduces students to the governments and politics of the South Asian countries. The historical and cultural context of politics are explored, as well as contemporary issues.

Prerequisites:
POL 241
Areas of Interest:
Government and Public Administration | Interdisciplinary Studies | People and Cultures
Programs:

Academic Catalog