All Results
Political ScienceCredits
Advanced study and research on topics not currently available in existing courses. May be repeated with a change of topic. Requires advisor and instructor approval of topic.
- 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.
Political thought in United States from colonial period to the Civil War. Puritans, American revolution, republicanism, debate over United States Constitution, Jacksonian Democracy, Thoreau, reformers and religious and secular utopias, women's' rights, states' rights, abolitionism, proslavery.
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.
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.
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.
Political parties in United States at the federal, state, and 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.
Politics impact on women: women's impact on politics and governance; primary focus on United States but some comparative considerations.
History, philosophy, techniques, and countermeasures to terroristic and low intensity threats to public order. Both domestic and international terror. The blurring of the lines between low intensity conflict/terrorism and multinational high intensity crime.
This course examines the interrelationships between race/ethnicity and politics in the United States with a focus on African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans: their experiences, political attitudes and behaviors, and representation in government. We will examine how some issues, including crime, welfare, and immigration have taken a racial cast, as well as white attitudes toward racial and race-related policies.
This course examines how psychological ideas and processes (such as intergroup and intragroup relations, stereotyping and authoritarianism) illuminate concepts, theories, and principles used in understanding political life. We will explore the contributions of psychology in political arenas such as presidential greatness and character, foreign policy decision-making, political tolerance, and mass violence and genocide.
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.
An advanced theoretical survey of the dynamics of politics and political change at the global level.
Study of the function and process of the United Nations and other international organizations.
This course is a general overview of US foreign policy institutions, processes, and politics. US Foreign Policy is examined in historical, global, and domestic contexts.
THis course explores the interaction of the three complex contemporary political and socioeconomic phenomena: the continuing expansion of global capitalism, the rise of national(s), and the new wave of democritization 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 democritization, (2) new forms of political participation in emerging democracies, (3) cultural and ethnic determinants of democritization, (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.
Focusing on patterns, processes, and problems of international trade, monetary, technological, and investment relations, this course examines the roles played by key government organization in managing conflict and cooperation amoung states.
This interdisciplinary proseminar focuses on conflict resolution in the international arena. In this course, we will discuss causes of conflict, examine approaches to the study of conflict resolution, and analyze the varieties of nonviolent strategies of conflict resolution. Special emphasis will be on the role of third part mediation. Cases (settled or ongoing) will be used to reflect on and evaluate all aspects-from conflict conditions to negotiating activities and process to outcome.
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.
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 works in different ways to produce collective or social choices.
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.
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.
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.
This class explores the dynamics that determine politics and effect change in the region. Using a comparative perspective for the major countries in the region, we examine such issues as Islam, nationalism, resources, regional conflicts, impact of the international system, and political development.
This course includes a detailed analysis of select countries and theoretical concerns in Latin American studies. Its general goal is to provide students with the knowledge of Latin American politics and societies in both regional and comparative contexts.