|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Course Criteria
Add courses to your favorites to save, share, and find your best transfer school.
-
3.00 Credits
Consideration of part played by the president in American politics and public policy. The powers of the president; the staffing and organization of the executive office; the relations of the president with Congress, the bureaucracy, and other participants in American politics; presidential elections. Recommended: Pol Sci 101B.
-
3.00 Credits
This course focuses on constitutional law principles in the Bill of Rights, and examines how Supreme Court decisions influence these principles in everyday life. We explore how the courts, and particularly the Supreme Court, have interpreted these rights in light of changing times and emerging issues. Topics include the First Amendment; free exercise of religion and the establishment clause; freedom of speech, assembly and association; freedom of the press; the Fourth Amendment and the rights of those accused and convicted of crimes; the right to privacy, including reproductive freedom and the right to die; equal protection and civil rights, including race, gender, sexual orientation; immigrants' rights and voting rights; and civil liberties after September 11. Recommended for the Liberal Arts and Business (LAB) Certificate.
-
3.00 Credits
This course explores the operations of the American criminal justice system. Substantial emphasis on the constitutional rights accorded to the criminally accused. Readings consist primarily, but not exclusively, of Supreme Court cases.
-
3.00 Credits
This course is intended primarily for sophomores and juniors. The topic of this course varies by semester, dependent on faculty and student interests.
-
3.00 Credits
How can we understand the recent debate about fundamental health care reform? Should social security be partially or wholly privatized? Was the 1996 welfare reform a success? Contemporary political questions frequently focus on the American welfare state and the social policies that compose it. The first half of this course describes the American welfare state broadly construed, places it in a comparative context, and elucidates major political science explanations for the size and scope of American social policy. We touch on several areas of social policy while constructing the generalized lenses through which particular political outcomes can be understood. The second part of the course then focuses on three major aspects of the American welfare state: health care, old age pensions, and policies related to work, poverty, and inequality.
-
3.00 Credits
In the past few years, a number of important books have appeared that combine elements of economics reasoning and political science, in an effort to understand the wide variation in economic development in the world. This course deals with the logic apparatus underpinning these books. In addition, the course introduces the student to the theoretical apparatus that can be used to examine democratic institutions in the developed world, and the success or otherwise of moves to democratization in the less-developed world.
-
3.00 Credits
This course surveys central topics in the study of gender and politics, covering such issues as women's participation in political parties and social movements; women as voters and candidates in political elections; feminism and the state; and gender and international politics. It draws on examples from various world regions and time periods to analyze similarities and differences across cases around the globe.
-
3.00 Credits
This course is an introduction to the functions of law and the legal system in American society. The course material stresses the realities of the operation of the legal system (in contrast to legal mythology), as well as the continuous interaction and feedback between the legal and political systems. There are four specific objectives to the course: (1) to introduce students to legal concepts and legal theories; (2) to analyze the operation of the appellate courts, with particular emphasis on the U.S. Supreme Court; (3) to analyze the operation of American trial courts, especially juries and the criminal courts; and (4) to examine the linkages between culture and law.
-
3.00 Credits
Voting procedures provide the most common means of aggregating the preferences of individuals into societal outcomes. These procedures play an integral role in our daily lives, from having a show of hands to decide which type of pizza to order for a club meeting, to electing a president. This course examines the effects that different voting procedures have on how groups make decisions. We evaluate electoral systems mathematically, by considering the various properties that procedures may or may not satisfy. A classic example is Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, which tells us that every electoral system must fail to satisfy one or more criteria of fairness or sensibility. In addition to Arrow's claim, we examine other legislative paradoxes and learn why the choice of electoral procedure is critical to our understanding of how "good" and "bad" decisions can be made. We also discuss the comparative properties of electoral systems in operation, such as fairness, proportionality, representativeness, and legitimacy.
-
3.00 Credits
This course is an introduction to the politics of the U.S. Congress and the federal lawmaking process. We focus on the behavior of individual legislators and the role they play in crafting federal legislation in policy areas such as health care, civil rights, and the environment. In general we examine questions such as: Why do legislators behave as they do? Whose interests are being represented?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Privacy Statement
|
Terms of Use
|
Institutional Membership Information
|
About AcademyOne
Copyright 2006 - 2024 AcademyOne, Inc.
|
|
|