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J.D. Bowen, Ph.D.
Department Chair
Wynne Moskop, Ph.D.
Graduate Studies Coordinator
Robert Cropf, Ph.D.
Co-Coordinator of the Public and Social Policy Ph.D. Program
William McCormick, S.J., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Studies Coordinator
Nori Katagiri, Ph.D.
International Studies Coordinator
Saint Louis University's Department of Political Science is home to outstanding faculty members and engaged and thoughtful students who are eager to serve in solidarity with others to address sources of injustice in the community and the world.
The discipline of political science provides analytical tools to better understand the structures of power that produce inequality and oppression and also the knowledge to build systems more likely to heighten liberty. Through graduate and undergraduate programs in political science and international studies, the department trains students to meet the challenges of public service, to take active roles as citizens, and to address critical issues in the world today. Faculty research examines questions of citizenship, representation, law, race and gender, urban and international development, national security, democratization and other topics vital to communities and countries around the world.
The political science department's undergraduate and graduate programs provide students with an effective combination of knowledge, theory, and practical research and analytical skills to prepare them to make meaningful contributions to society. Inspired by the Catholic-Jesuit heritage, the department is committed to cultivating students' abilities to think deeply, carefully and well about relations of power so that they can become engaged citizens who are able to grapple with some of the most important social justice problems of the time, from racism at home to war, persistent underdevelopment, and oppression abroad.
Our faculty members are passionate about teaching and mentoring students, and students get hands-on experience working with faculty engaged in cutting-edge research that addresses pressing national and international issues. SLU's location in the heart of St. Louis opens up opportunities for students to understand first-hand the challenges of American cities through field research and internships. SLU's campus in Madrid, Spain and many other study abroad opportunities open up the rest of the world. Coursework and co-curricular experiences broaden students' perspectives and prepare them for careers beyond SLU.
J.D. Bowen, Ph.D.
Ellen Carnaghan, Ph.D.
Sarah Cate, Ph.D.
Robert Cropf, Ph.D.
Christopher Duncan, Ph.D.
Ali Fisunoglu, Ph.D.
James Gilsinan, Ph.D.
Ruth Groff, Ph.D.
Morgan Hazelton, Ph.D.
Nori Katagiri, Ph.D.
William McCormick, S.J., Ph.D.
Wynne Moskop, Ph.D.
Matthew Nanes, Ph.D.
Steven Rogers, Ph.D.
Eric Royer, Ph.D.
Emmanuel Uwalaka, Ph.D.
Kenneth Warren, Ph.D
POLS 1000 - Introduction to Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1100 - Introduction to American Government
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to politics and government in the U.S. The course will focus primarily on political institutions (the rules and constraints placed upon political actors operating in the three branches of government) and mass behavior (how citizens behave and interpret the political world).
Attributes: Service Learning, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1105 - Introduction to American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1505
Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only
POLS 1150 - American Political Systems
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will provide you with an overview of the literature and theoretical concepts associated with political science as it relates to American politics. The intent is to provide you with a sample of key findings in the literature, as well as help you develop critical skills for evaluating research.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1300 - Introduction to Law
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The purpose of the course is to provide students an introduction to the law and legal principles.The structure of the court system, civil litigation and methods of alternative dispute resolution will be examined. Elements of the following areas of substantive law: torts, contracts, property, trusts and estates, corporations, family law, and criminal law and procedure will be examined.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective
POLS 1500 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the logic, method, and theoretical approaches of comparative politics. It examines the institutions of government in various kinds of political systems around the world, particularly liberal democratic systems in advanced industrial countries, post-communist regimes, and new democracies in developing countries. It also investigates the process of political change, particularly modernization, democratization, globalization, state-building, and pressures on welfare state.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1510 - Politics of Developing World
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is an introduction to the domestic politics of developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Topics include democracy and authoritarianism, economic development, political conflict, the role of political institutions, and political culture.
Attributes: Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-Economy, International Studies-General, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1540 - Blood and Money: Ethnic War
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course investigates conflicts within existing states, especially conflicts that appear to be based in the primary collective identity and cultural and personal features of individuals. It examines conflicts in Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, and South Africa, and in other areas of the world.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-War, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1600 - Introduction to International Politics
Credit(s): 3-4 Credits
Role of power, ethics, law, public opinion, effectiveness, of various techniques of international relations; diplomacy, propaganda, subversion. Crucial problems. Proliferation of nuclear weapons, revolutionary warfare, hunger. How should we respond to the challenge?.
Attributes: Global Citizenship (A&S), International Studies, International Studies-General, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1700 - Foundations of Political Theory
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course introduces students to political theory through competing answers to such questions as 'What is the difference between brute force and legitimate authority?' or 'What are rights and where do they come from?' Thinkers regularly studied include Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Freshman or Sophomore.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 1980 - Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2000 - Methods in Political Science
Credit(s): 4 Credits
Behaviorist-traditionalist dichotomy, the nature of science, application of scientific methods, quantification of political phenomena, function of theory and theory building, surveys and computers.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1000 or 1 Course from POLS 1001-4999)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2010 - Ethics and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course challenges students to explore the relationship between moral values and political choices. Focusing on contemporary political issues, problems, and policies, we examine how different political philosophies, including Catholic social justice principles, provide different frameworks for judging the consequences of our political choices.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Elective, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Social Justice, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 2100 - The American Constitution
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores basic themes in the American Constitution—popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and federalism—and the historical struggles between various government actors over the allocation of political power in the American constitutional system from the Constitutional Convention in 1789 to the recent conflict over terrorism and state power.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2140 - The American Presidency
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An examination of the institution of the presidency, and the ways the President marshals his political resources to provide leadership to American society.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2150 - Race and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores the dynamics of race and ethnicity in American political life. How has race shaped American political life? What role do political institutions play in constructing and maintaining racial categories? Can we use these institutions to overcome racial boundaries? Fulfills the A&S Diversity in the U.S. requirement.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Exclusion, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 2160 - Campaigns and Elections
Credit(s): 3 Credits
How age, sex, religion, occupation, education, ethnicity, group memberships, etc., explain why individuals do or do not participate in electoral activities, mainly voting and campaigning. Factors determining partisan and ideological direction of such activity; significance of elections and their outcomes for the individual and the system.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2200 - U.S. State and Urban Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines American state and urban political institutions, politics, and policy. We will evaluate policy relating to housing and land use, income and economic inequality, morality, education, and social welfare. Each section will focus on issues of race, gender, representation, and access to government for historically underrepresented groups.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Domestic, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2220 - Urban Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course offers an overview of the politics of American cities. It examines the economic, social, and political interaction of different individuals and institutions in an urban environment, provides basic knowledge of American cities. We further examine the interaction and conflict between cities and suburban areas.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Domestic, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Applied, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 2230 - Mass Incarceration
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class is an introductory survey course on the topic of mass incarceration in the United States. The course addresses many of the issues connected to the more than tripling of the incarceration rate in America since the mid-1970s, particularly keeping an eye to developments in Missouri and the city of St. Louis. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the major debates and relevant scholarship on the carceral state and especially attuned to the political nature of these issues. (Offered as needed in even years)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2300 - Public Administration
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Theoretical and practical field of public administration. Focus on: 1. the development of public administration as an academic field; 2. organizational theory and society; 3. administrative principles; 4. public administration and public affairs; 5. future challenges in public administration.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2350 - Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: Morality Politics in the United States
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Morality politics is defined as “the legal sanction of right and wrong.” This course offers an overview of morality politics and an examination of the historical foundations of legislating morality in the United States. This course examines the prohibition of alcohol, the war on drugs, capital punishment, and same-sex marriage.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2510 - West European Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Comparative study of political and governmental institutions and policy processes of France, Germany, England.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2520 - Introduction to African Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Study of governments and political processes in Africa. Examines salient themes such as the nature of African traditional heritage; the colonial experience; nationalism and independence; the challenge of nation-building; African political parties; the role of the military and contributions of different theories to the understanding of African politics.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-Africa, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2530 - Soviet and Post Soviet Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course uses the experience of the Soviet Union and Russia to understand change in political and economic systems, from collapse of existing governments to the revolutionary reconstruction of society to growing autocracy. Past developments are used to illuminate political and economic changes occurring since the collapse of communism.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), International Studies, International Studies-Europe, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2550 - Political Systems of the Sub-Sahara
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Examines governmental institutions and political processes. Emphasis is on traditional political systems, colonialism and the African experience, rise of nationalism, single-party systems, military regimes, and competitive party systems. The simple formulation of these themes presupposes comparisons among some the many cultures of Africa.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2560 - The Politics of Asia
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course examines the three waves of :1. Asia's traditional order and both its collapse and persistence in the face of the Western imperial onslaught, 2.The development of Asian nationalism out of this colonial legacy and 3.The subsequent clash between Marxist revolution and liberal democracy in Asia's quest for modernization.
Attributes: Asian Studies Elective, Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2570 - Introduction to Latin American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is intended to be a multi-disciplinary introduction to Latin America. It examines the cultural factors that provide a unique context in which Latin American nations develop and analyzes both the challenges and the opportunities for economic and political development in the region. The course concludes with an examination of four country case studies.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Immigration
POLS 2590 - Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the modern politics of the Middle East and North Africa, emphasizing the years 1960 to 2010. Students who complete each of the written assignments for this course will gain a stronger understanding of the system of contemporary knowledge production about the region.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-Mid East, International Studies-War, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2600 - Introduction to International Political Economy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Explores the interaction of economic and politics in global affairs by examining Realist, Liberalists, and Marxist approaches. Special emphasis is placed on the political and economic dimensions of the postwar international monetary, financial, and trading systems. Topics include, globalization, foreign departments, multinationals, international development, and regional economic organizations.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), International Studies, International Studies-Economy, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2640 - International Terrorism
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Terrorism as a major problem of world affairs; identifies different types of terrorism and analyzes their complex causes; examines policies and techniques used to combat terrorism.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2691 - Theory and Practice of Human Rights
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course critically examines the historical and intellectual evolution of human rights, different approaches and interpretations and contemporary practice. Particular topics include human rights in historical and intellectual contexts of emergence, modern slavery, human trafficking, the rights of children, gender-based violence, torture and immigration and the rights of refugees.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1000 or POLS 1600)
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Law, Religion and Politics, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2700 - Issues in Political Philosophy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course introduces students to the subfield of political theory by examining issues in the history of political thought - such as the idea of democracy; or of freedom; or the relationship between individuals and the state – through close reading of texts. Not open to students who have taken POLS-1700.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2710 - Theories of Justice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class exposes students to various ways in which political theorists have attempted to answer the question: “What is justice?” The course covers a variety of theories of justice, including utilitarian, liberal, feminist, and socialist perspectives. The course also applies theories of justice to actual political issues.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Law, Religion and Politics, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Social Justice, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 2720 - American Anomaly: American Political Institutions in Comparative Perspective
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course investigates claims that U.S. institutions are anomalous by comparing executive, legislative, judicial, and party functions in the U.S. with those functions in selected parliamentary systems. The goal is to understand how institutions and the ideas and values embedded in them shape U.S. policies and practices.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2800 - Men and Masculinities
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The course introduces research on men and masculinity, and gender more generally, and explores from a feminist perspective the personal and political issues this research – and the current state of our world – raise for men and women. Topics include socialization, college life, media, personal relations, politics, sports, and war.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 2820 - American Foreign Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Assessment of extent of formal and informal influence within the decision-making process exerted by governmental and non-governmental agencies on current U.S. foreign policy. (Offered occasionally.)
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 2930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Applied
POLS 2931 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 1-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 2980 - Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3100 - Judicial Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Organization and procedures of American federal and state courts. Factors affecting judges' rulings and interpretation of law. Topics may include: politics of judicial selection, case studies of major decisions or social issues, and scope of judicial authority to implement social change.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3130 - Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course surveys the various constitutional protections that may be employed by individuals against the state under the U.S. Constitution, the long struggle for racial equality in America, and the application of equal protection principles to other protected classes. Fulfills the A&S Diversity in the U.S. requirement.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Elective, Law, Religion and Politics, Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Exclusion, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 3140 - Public Opinion and Mass Communication
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Major media and processes through which political ideas are communicated; nature, techniques, effects of propaganda and other forms of political communication; relationship of publics opinions to policy-making. Offered occasionally.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3150 - American Presidential Elections
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Presidential nominating process and campaign; backgrounds of presidential candidates, interplay among candidates, issues, parties, interest groups, media and political strategies; considers presidential election reforms. Offered occasionally.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3250 - American Politics and Film
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Politics and Film considers the American movie industry's changing perspectives on U.S. political institutions and processes. Award winning cinema classics are analyzed both as art and as political communication within the context of their historical settings. Students research a particular work in terms of context, art, and political communication.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3300 - U.S. Public Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will serve as an introduction to the U.S. public policy process including the questions of how values, institutions and political actors shape policy outcomes Enrollment requires Intro to American Government (POLS-1100) or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 1100
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3330 - Metropolitan Environment
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An interdisciplinary course presenting the political, social, economic, education, and religious dimensions of metropolitan areas. Socio-demographic trends and methods for analyzing neighborhoods will be discussed. The political and governmental system with an emphasis on its state and local manifestations will be presented. These topics will be explored against the background of cultural diversity which exists in society.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Applied, Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 3340 - Foundations of Law
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course provides an introduction to American law, focusing on the manner in which law has been used to organize American society. Several themes will be traced through the semester, including law’s role in encouraging innovation and regulating social relations, in part through the elaboration of legal disciplines like property, tort, contract, criminal law, tax, business associations, administrative law, environmental law, securities regulation, commercial law, immigration, and civil rights. Emphasis will also be placed on the origins and evolution of constitutional law, from the founding to the present. (Offered every Fall)
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3500 - East Asian Political Economy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores the politics and processes of economic development in the four Asian 'Tigers' -- Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. It examines competing explanations for their successful performance and emphasizes the role of government, the sociopolitical causes and consequences of development, and linkages with the international economy.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-Asia, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3520 - Communism, Capitalism and Social Justice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the Marxist critique of capitalism, focusing on theoretical and practical solutions to the problems of politics in Marxist thinking. Students will investigate why real-world Communist systems largely failed to achieve the goals to which they were dedicated and will examine alternative models of social and economic organization.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Social Justice
POLS 3530 - Comparative Revolutions
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is a theoretical and historical examination of revolutions: their origins, development, and results, using examples of revolutions from around the world and integrating a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3567 - Political Development in Contemporary Spain
Credit(s): 3 Credits
A century of political reshuffling. Study of historical factors in the political development of Spain and their consequences in contemporary politics. Focus on the Second Republic, the Spanish Civil War, Franco, the Church and religion, the establishment of the new middle classes, the reign of King Juan Carlos I, the Spanish Armed Forces, and the emergence of democratic Spain.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1000 or POLS 1600)
Attributes: Cultural Diversity in the EU, Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3600 - Problems of Globalization
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of globalization. It examines the following key question: What causes globalization? What are its effects? How can countries cope with these effects? Other topics examined include, state autonomy, the democratic deficit, the IMF and WTO, equity, cultural imperialism and social justice.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Immigration
POLS 3620 - International Organization and the Management of World Problems
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Nature of the international legal system, application of international law; sources, major legal issues and how the system copes with them; state territory; nationality; jurisdiction; international agreements; state responsibility; international claims.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-War, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3630 - International Security and Conflict Resolution
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course familiarizes students with theories of international security and conflict resolution: history of political and strategic ideas; main causes of war; classification of actors in conflicts; balance of power; mediation and strategies for avoiding conflict; role of intergovernmental bodies and new technologies. Case studies include past conflicts and contemporary unrest.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1000 or POLS 1600)
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3640 - International Law
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The course examines the nature of the international legal system, how the law is made and applied, and the challenges presented by global society. It studies the main components of this body of law such as jurisdiction, the law of the sea, law of treaties, settlement of disputes and the laws of war.
Attributes: International Studies, International Studies-War, Law, Religion and Politics, Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3650 - International Relations of Africa
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Examines the major goals and objectives which African states project and endeavor to attain in the international political and economic system. Impact of the international system on African states.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Citizenship (A&S), International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3710 - Ancient and Medieval Classics in Political Thought
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course traces the development of Western political thought from its beginnings in the Greek city-state to end of the Middle Ages. Thinkers addressed may include: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas. Alternate years.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3720 - Renaissance and Modern Political Theories
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is a survey of modern political thought. Issues addressed include the rise of humanism, individualism, and liberalism; changing interpretations of natural law; constitutionalism and checking of absolutism; the Enlightenment. Among writers considered are Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Nietzche, and Mill. Alternate years.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3740 - Capitalism, Racism, Patriarchy: Theorizing Structural Power
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This advanced course in political theory teaches students to analyze systemic relations of power. We first address the idea of structural rather than individual power; then examine the logics of capitalism, racism and patriarchy; then consider the whole that they jointly comprise.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Social Justice
POLS 3750 - The Modern Democratic State
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Philosophy and theory of democratic government in the context of institutions and processes of nineteenth and twentieth century Western democratic systems; fundamental tenets of popular participation in the decision-making process.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1000 or POLS 1600)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3770 - Feminist Theory: Gender Justice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Feminist Theory: Gender Justice examines the various ways of understanding gender by looking at a variety of theories and philosophical perspectives within feminist thought, especially as it is formed by political philosophy including liberal, radical, Marxist and postmodern feminism. Sub-field in political science is Political Thought.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S), Diversity in the US (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 3780 - Disability Theory and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course applies insights from disability studies to Western political thought in order to examine the political nature of disability and the disabling nature of politics. In this course, students are exposed to varying definitions, cultural representations, social justice issues, human rights concerns, and bioethical debates related to disability.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 3800 - The Structure of Poverty: Globally and Locally
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the theoretical and empirical literature on the social, political, and economic structures that produce and perpetuate cycles of poverty. Students will get a first hand view of the structure of poverty as they engage in service learning projects at the well-established, nonprofit organization, Queen of Peace Center.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Service, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Applied, Urban Poverty - Social Justice, Diversity in the US (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 3810 - Latin American-U.S. Relations
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines relations between the United States and the countries of Latin America. It focuses on both the history of US-Latin America relations as well as current issues. Topics range from economic relations and trade, security, drug trafficking, democracy and human rights, and the role of international organizations.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Immigration
POLS 3850 - Feminism in Action
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course addresses feminist activism on a wide range of issues (including domestic violence, rape, education and health care), and in a variety of forms (including writing, theater, public protests and coalition building). It gives students the opportunity to study the scholarship of activism and to participate in feminist action.
Attributes: Service Learning, Social Science Req (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 3860 - Global and Transnational Feminism
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course offers an advanced survey of the field of theory and political activism referred to as transnational feminism. Students are introduced to the history of feminist work in international political and economic forums (e.g. the UN and World Bank), as well as to on-going feminist efforts in the context of current social movements around the globe.
Attributes: Global Citizenship (A&S), International Studies, International Studies-Arts, Social Science Req (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 3880 - Violence Against Women
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines current issues and responses to the problem of gender-based violence. We will focus on the topics of rape/sexual assault, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, stalking, and sex trafficking in the U.S. We will analyze the causes and effects of such violence, and political discourses surrounding these issues.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3910 - Federal Government Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Interns serve in federal agencies or offices of elected officials, in Washington, DC or locally, and gain experience and insight into the functioning of the federal system. Students keep journals and write and essay relating their experiences to assigned readings or course work. Permission of instructor required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3911 - State or Local Government Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns serve in state or local agencies or other government offices located in Jefferson City or in the St. Louis area. Students keep journals and write an essay relating their experiences to assigned readings or course work. At least one previous course in American Politics preferred.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3912 - Public Service Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Students intern in a public service-oriented agency, non-profit or community organization in St. Louis or in another location. Students keep journals and write an essay relating their experiences to assigned readings or course work. Permission of the instructor required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3913 - Atlas Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
In this internship, students collaborate to coordinate SLU’s Atlas Program. The goal of the program is to increase awareness of contemporary global injustices and educate students of the responsibilities of global citizenship. The internship is designed to empower students to become effective leaders of social change. Permission of Instructor required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3914 - Foreign Service Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns serve in agencies or nongovernmental organizations concerned with the conduct of foreign relations abroad, in Washington or in St. Louis. Students keep journals and write an essay relating their experiences to assigned readings or course work. At least one previous course in International Relations preferred.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, International Studies-General, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3915 - Legal Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work in law firms, in the legal department of large corporations, or in public agencies involved in the judicial process. In selecting their internships, Political Science majors are guided by the faculty member directing this program. Ideal for students interested in a legal career.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3916 - Campaign Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Requirements: 1. A program of campaign activity approved by both the campaign organization and the Department of Political Science; 2. assigned preparatory reading on campaigning and a paper analyzing the participant's campaign experiences in the light of this reading. A journal and additional academic task selected by supervising Saint Louis University Political Science faculty (e.g. internship report or research project) are required. Permission of instructor required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3917 - Research Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Students work with Political Science professor on professor’s research. Instructor’s permission required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3918 - Overseas Fieldwork
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits
Students work at overseas agency or organization. Students keep journals and write an essay relating their experiences to assigned readings or course work. Permission of instructor required.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 3919 - Women Leaders Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work with women in leadership positions in governmental or nongovernmental civic organizations, or collaborate on research projects related to women leaders in the public sector. Students keep journals and write and essay relating their experiences to assigned readings on gender justice and the role of women in public policy.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 3930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Urban Poverty - Exclusion
POLS 3980 - Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4120 - Civil Rights: A Moot Court Seminar
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines civil rights law in the U.S. since mid-20th century. Students serve as lawyers and justices and retry Supreme Court cases on school desegregation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, affirmative action, school busing, sex discrimination, and sexual orientation discrimination.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1100 or POLS 1150)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Pol Sci Public Law Seminar, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4126 - Sexuality and the Law
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This seminar explores how law and sexuality influence each other. We read decisions that give expression to ideas about human nature, social goods, normalcy and deviancy, socially constructive behavior, the relationships between private and public, and how gender, sexuality, disability, and race interact.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Pol Sci Public Law Seminar, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4140 - Political Parties
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the role of political parties and interest groups in the US representative process, elections and governance.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1100 or POLS 1150)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4150 - Gender and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the ways women shape and are shaped by American politics and public policy. We explore the history, approaches, findings, and controversy in research about women in American politics and political science from various theoretical and methodological approaches.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1100 or POLS 1150)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 4170 - Electoral Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Discussion of subjects central to American elections, including: campaign strategies and tactics; political parties; voter behavior; the influence of social and demographic groups; issue politics; election forecasting; differences between presidential, state, and local elections; and historical development of campaigns and elections.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; POLS 1150
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4171 - Law, Policy, Society
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Law, Policy, Society examines the complexities and concerns in social science and legal understandings of the relationship between law and society. We will focus on law and legal processes and the relationship between law/courts and society.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1100 or POLS 1150)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Elective, Pol Sci Public Law Seminar
POLS 4300 - Law, Politics, and Regulatory Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course studies regulatory behavior of governmental agencies through legal cases, focusing on how administrators uphold procedural due process while conducting regulatory business. Topics include: legal-administrative relations, rule-making, adjudication, administrative discretion, judicial review of agency actions, and administrative search and seizure.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1100, POLS 1150, POLS 1200, 1 Course from POLS 2100-2350, or 1 Course from POLS 3100-3410)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Pol Sci Public Law Seminar, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4325 - Public Sector Budgeting
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course focuses on budgeting at the federal, state and local levels of government as well as the economic and political aspects of budgeting. It also features an evaluation of Rock Hill, MO, budget and case-studies.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1100 or POLS 1150)
Restrictions:
Students with a classification of Freshman or Sophomore may not enroll.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4340 - Issues in Public Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
"Issues in Public Policy" focuses on how public policies are made, implemented, and evaluated in the context of the political system. Once the principles of public policy analysis are understood, students will select and analyze major public policy problem areas facing America.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4360 - Urban Economic Development
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Urban areas are the chief engines of economic growth in many states. This is particularly true for regions that have experienced significant growth recently. This course provides an introduction to the theory, process, and practice of economic development policy with an emphasis on the economic revitalization of declining urban cores.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1150 or POLS 1100)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4500 - Russian Political Culture
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the fundamental political beliefs and values of Russians, focusing on whether Russians today have the right attitudes to sustain democratic institutions. To understand what people think, we examine various kinds of sources: works of fiction, political philosophies, historical analyses, first-hand accounts, ethnographies, and quantitative public opinion studies.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4520 - Political Change
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines major theoretical approaches to understanding and explaining periods of political change, focusing mostly on Latin America. Attention is given to both long-term and immediate causal processes and their consequences. Topics include revolution, democratization, social mobilization, and protest.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Global Local Justice-Global, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4530 - Authoritarianism: A Study in Conceptual Utility
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Since its identification as a regime-type by Juan Linz in 1964, authoritarianism has become a major concept in the field of comparative politics. In this course, we will explore the conceptual utility of authoritarianism.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4590 - Crisis of Leadership
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The research seminar analyzes different perspectives on political leadership in light of recent global challenges. Students will explore institutional settings and domestic political conditions to understand the emergence of different type of leaders.
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4610 - International Relations: Theory and Practice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course addresses multiple IR theories. Part I critiques IR theories. Part II analyzes contemporary political, economic and cultural conflicts. Part III applies theories to conflict resolution. Students learn to evaluate conflicts, apply theory and predict solutions.
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Senior.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4630 - The European Union: Politics and Political Economy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Reviews history of European integration and stages of EU's development. Addresses practical and theoretical aspects of governance, member-states, political economy issues, the implications of EU enlargement, and the US-EU relationship. Includes a compulsory Brussels trip to visit EU institutions.
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Senior.
Attributes: Cultural Diversity in the EU, Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4650 - War, Peace, and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course topics include role of military and economic power in international politics, Clausewitz, Sun Tsu's Art of War, spread of nuclear weapons, terrorism, insurgency, rising powers like China, cyber security, conflicts between cultures and civilizations and U.S. grand strategy.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (1 Course from POLS 1600-1699, 1 Course from POLS 2600-2699, 1 Course from POLS 3600-3699, POLS 2820, or POLS 3810)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4662 - International Challenges
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course provides students with tools necessary for understanding key transformation in world order today, particularly a potential move from the Westphalian world to a different era. Students explore theories in International Relations and develop knowledge of contemporary case studies that illustrate state weakness, state fragility and state fragmentation.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4692 - Theories of World Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An advanced field seminar of international relations. Students analyze some of the field's most important works. Topics include globalization, security studies, international organizations, and implications for US foreign policy.
Prerequisite(s): (POLS 1600 or POLS 2600); (POLS 2000, POLS 4010, or POLS 302)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: International Studies, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4710 - Citizenship and Social Difference
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will attempt to integrate the insights from feminist theory, critical race theory, and disability studies into an analysis of what it means to be an American citizen.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1700, POLS 2700, POLS 3710, POLS 3720, or POLS 3770)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S), Diversity in the US (A&S)
POLS 4730 - Seminar: Contemporary Political Ideologies
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Development of modern political ideologies from mid-nineteenth century to present. Course focuses on ideas and social-political contexts associated with ideologies such as liberalism, Marxism, feminism, green politics, and liberation theology. Students consider the ramifications of viewing the world through particular ideological lenses.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1700, POLS 2700, POLS 3710, POLS 3720, or POLS 3770)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Foreign Service Political Sci, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4740 - Marx's CAPITAL
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Marx's CAPITAL is a seminal work of social philosophy and political economy, providing the foundation for any number of fields of 20th century inquiry--including critical theory and cultural theory. The upper-level seminar consists of a very close reading of Volume 1.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1700, POLS 2700, POLS 3710, POLS 3720, or POLS 3770)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Theory, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4750 - American Political Thought
Credit(s): 3 Credits
From 1765 to the present. Eighteenth century consensus, nationalism versus sectionalism, nineteenth century reform movements, pragmatism and progressivism, current liberalism and conservatism.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000; (POLS 1700, POLS 2700, POLS 3710, POLS 3720, or POLS 3770)
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4840 - Global Health Politics and Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines how power relations, ideology, ethics, values determine choices made about how to confront health issues. Using case studies, students become familiar with the political roles of individuals, institutions, political leaders, and societies relative to health policy.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 2000
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Junior or Senior.
Attributes: Global Local Justice-Global, International Studies, International Studies-Health, Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4910 - Political Science Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Student work in political science relevant area, such as on research projects with professor, with research governmental agencies, legislators, or legal institutions. For advanced students. Permission of instructor required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4960 - Senior Research
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4980 - Advanced Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Students examine a topic of their own choosing and write a substantial paper under the direction of a professor. Permission of the instructor is required.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4990 - Research Design
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An independent research project under a project director and a faculty committee in any of the subfields of Political Science. A requirement for students in the Political Science Honors Thesis Program, which is designed for students with a strong record in political science courses who want to apply to graduate school or top law schools. Permission of the Honors Thesis Program director and project director required. Counts as one 4000-level seminar.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 4991*
* Concurrent enrollment allowed.
Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a classification of Senior.
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Political Science.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 4991 - Political Science Honors Thesis
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits
An undergraduate thesis written in any of the subfields of Political Science under the direction of a Political Science faculty member. For members of the Political Science honors Program only. A requirement for this program. Permission from the Department Chair and Thesis Director required.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 4990*
* Concurrent enrollment allowed.
Attributes: Social Science Req (A&S)
POLS 5010 - Cultural Methods: Gender, Politics, and Power
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5020 - Advanced Topics in Research Methods
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course focuses on the application of qualitative and quantitative methods in political science. Topics examined in this course include survey design, experimental design, focus groups, field research, case study analysis, interview techniques, analysis of variance, linear regression, and in introduction to non-linear models.
POLS 5100 - Seminar in American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This is a graduate seminar in American Politics. It is designed to provide an overview of the literature and theoretical concepts associated with political science as it relates to American government and politics. The topics we cover include campaigns and elections, mass behavior, public opinion, institutions of government, and policymaking.
POLS 5130 - American Race Relations
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The theme of this course is the transformed nature of racism and its effect on racial inequality. The course examines the degree to which racism and privilege are systemic, institutionalized features of U.S. society, focusing on the structural, ideology, and public-policy factors that created and sustained patterns of racial inequality.
POLS 5140 - Political Parties
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Though the Constitution is largely silent about them, political parties and interest groups perform indispensable functions in modern democracies. Despite their importance, these institutions are often misunderstood by the public and there is a deep ambivalence toward these political organizations. In this course we will pursue a detailed understanding of parties and organized interests in America – how and why parties and organized interests form, what they do, and what we might want them to do.
POLS 5150 - Gender and American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the ways in which women shape, and are shaped by, American politics and public policy. We explore the history, approaches, findings and controversy in research about women in American politics and political science from a range of theoretical and methodological approaches.
POLS 5170 - Electoral Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Discussion of subjects central to American elections, including: campaign strategies and tactics; political parties; voter behavior; the influence of social and demographic groups; issue politics; election forecasting; differences between presidential, state, and local elections; and historical development of campaigns and elections.
POLS 5171 - Law, Policy, Society
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class examines the complexities and concerns inherent in social science and legal understanding of the relationship between law and society. The class will focus on (1) the dynamics and development of law and legal processes and (2) the relationship between law/courts and society.
POLS 5300 - Law and Regulatory Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course studies regulatory behavior of governmental agencies through legal cases, focusing on how administrators uphold procedural due process while conducting regulatory business. Topics include: legal-administrative relations, rule-making, adjudication, administrative discretion, judicial review of agency actions, and administrative search and seizure. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5310 - Issues in U.S. Public Administration
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the implementation of government policy in the US, focusing on the historical evolution of government policies, programs, and behavior of officials and current issues. Issues include: privatization, quotas, affirmative action, whistle-blowing.
POLS 5320 - Environmental Politics and Policy-Making
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course investigates why governments make environmental laws; the competing values that influence environmental policy; and the institutions, processes and political actors that shape the creation and implementation of environmental laws in the U.S. We also consider the U.S. role in global efforts to address climate change.
POLS 5325 - Public Sector Budgeting
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Public budgeting at all levels of government; economic and political aspects of budgeting. Features an in-class budget simulation.
POLS 5330 - Public Sector Economics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course introduces the economics of the public sector. Topics include: public goods, externalities, revenues and expenditures, taxation, and the economics of certain public policies like Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs.
POLS 5350 - Issues in Public Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
"Issues in Public Policy" focuses first on how public policies are evaluated, examining the different approaches used by professionals to analyze the costs and benefits of various public policies. Once the principles of public policy analysis are understood, students will select and analyze major public policy problem areas facing America. Offered as Needed / Periodically.
POLS 5360 - Urban Economic Development
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course on community economic development policy will focus on three issues: (1) theories of economic development; (2) methodological choices for the scale for community economic development (e.g., neighborhood, street, and block); and (3) best practices and evidence based approaches to community economic development. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5500 - Russian Political Culture
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the fundamental political beliefs and values of Russians, focusing on whether Russians today have the right attitudes to sustain democratic institutions. To understand what people think, we examine various kinds of sources: works of fiction, political philosophies, historical analyses, first-hand accounts, ethnographies, and quantitative public opinion studies.
POLS 5510 - Democratization
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the nature of democracy and the recent trend toward democratic reform, focusing especially on the experiences of Central Europe and Latin America. The course also examines the relationship between political and economic reform and between democratic and market systems.
POLS 5520 - Political Change
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is designed to familiarize students with major theoretical approaches to understanding and explaining periods of political change. Political change involves understanding both the long-term causal processes and their consequences and the more immediate causes and consequences of political change.
POLS 5530 - Authoritarianism: A Useful Concept?
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores the conceptual utility of authoritarianism. We begin by examining the literature on concepts. We then explore the classics in the field. The heart of our inquiry explores the transitions literature, sub-types of authoritarianism and contemporary cultural, economic and institutional approaches to the study of authoritarianism. Offered in the fall of odd years.
POLS 5550 - Politics of Economic Development
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course undertakes an advanced study of the development of the modern state and of how states interact with various other forms of political community as well as with markets and other states. Students examine how ongoing processes of economic globalization have rendered the concept of “the state” problematic.
POLS 5590 - Crisis of Leadership
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course analyzes different perspectives on political leadership. It is designed as a research seminar in which we explore institutional settings and domestic political conditions that help us to understand the emergence of different types of leaders. Students examine current leadership crises through debates, simulation, and research. (Offered: Annually in the Fall)
POLS 5610 - International Relations: Theory & Practice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores key theoretical traditions in international relations, including realism, liberalism, constructivism, Marxism, feminism, and postcolonialism. It also investigates methodological and epistemological controversies. Students stage debates about events such as the Peace of Westphalia, the decision to go to war in Iraq, and struggles for equality and emancipation. (Offered: Annually in the Spring)
POLS 5630 - The European Union: Politics and Political Economy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course aims to explain the origins of the European Union, how it came to include its Member States, how external policies have been shaped and its direction in coming years. Through debates and discussions, students will also develop their own understanding of the European project and its challenges. (Offered every Spring)
POLS 5650 - War, Peace, and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This is a graduate-level survey course in the field of international security. The course is designed to provide the student with the background and conceptual tools for understanding international security. The topics include causes of war and peace, cyber security, roles of nuclear weapons in international security, regular war and irregular war, terrorism, insurgency, and American grand strategy. Offered as needed.
POLS 5661 - Shifting Trends in Regional and Interregional Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course provides students with tools needed for understanding contemporary regional and inter-regional issues and ongoing transformations in the international system. While conflicts and international crises are part of the world's evolution, regional and inter-regional dynamics have developed specific trends in recent years as American hegemony has begun to decline.
POLS 5662 - International Contemporary Challenges
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Course provides students with tools necessary for understanding key transformation in world order today, particularly a potential move from the Westphalian world to a different era. Students explore theories in International Relations and develop knowledge of contemporary case studies that illustrate state weakness, state fragility and state fragmentation.
POLS 5663 - Key Contemporary Crises
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The course will explore a variety of genres of crisis – systemic crises and global restructurings, institutional crises of effectiveness, crises of economic and global governance, crises of leadership, political crises of representation, crises of the nation-state, natural disasters– and look to provide students with the necessary concepts, methods and critical thinking abilities to be able to analyze such wide-ranging current and future challenges. (Offered every Fall)
POLS 5664 - International Political Economy in Times of Crisis
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course examines the connections between financial markets and their regulatory environments in both contemporary and historical perspectives. The first part of the course introduces basic arguments and concepts on how financial markets work and the regulatory politics that affect them. The second part focuses on the recent history of financial crises, and the third part, on causes of and reactions to the financial crisis of 2008. This includes consideration of the last worldwide financial and economic crisis, its management, and whether a policy of “austerity” is either compatible with or sustainable under democratic politics. (Offered every Spring)
POLS 5690 - Theories of World Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An advanced field seminar of international relations. Students analyze some of the field's most important works. Topics include globalization, security studies, international organizations, and implications for US foreign policy.
POLS 5700 - Historical Western Political Thought
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Students in this course will engage in close reading and careful discussion of canonical texts in the history of Western social and political philosophy, so as to acquire a solid foundation for further work in political theory, political science, other social sciences and/or the humanities. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5710 - Citizenship and Social Difference
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will examine several aspects of the embodied nature of citizenship. Looking specifically at the interplay between citizenship (as an identity, legal status, and practice) and socially constructed identities predicated upon perceived bodily differences (gender, race, and disability), we will examine the following preliminary questions: Historically, how and why has the American state denied women, people of color, and people with disabilities citizenship status? Should civil, social, and political rights, which are contingent upon citizenship status, be universal rights, or group-differentiated rights? How should we expand/amend conventional definitions of citizenship and political participation to account for the lived experiences of women, people of color, and people with disabilities? How do social constructed and maintained inequalities- via sexism, racism, and ableism- influence the practice of citizenship? Overall, this course will attempt to integrate the insights from feminist theory, critical race theory, and disability studies into an analysis of what it means to be an American citizen.
POLS 5730 - Contemporary Political Ideologies
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Development of modern political ideologies from mid-nineteenth century to present. Course focuses on ideas and social-political contexts associated with ideologies such as liberalism, Marxism, feminism, green politics, and liberation theology. Students consider the ramifications of viewing the world through particular ideological lenses.
POLS 5740 - Marx's Capital
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class is devoted to the close reading of Volume 1 of Marx's CAPITAL, leading to an understanding of Marx's analysis of capitalism. Students with a background in political theory or philosophy will find that training to be helpful, but the course does not presuppose previous reading of the text. Offered periodically.
POLS 5750 - American Political Thought: Meanings of Citizenship
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course examines ideas, institutions, and practices that have influenced the different meanings of citizenship experienced by different groups of Americans since the founding era. Readings include traditional sources in American political thought as well as writings of and about women, African Americans, Native Americans, other racial and ethnic groups, and poor people. Offered every year.
POLS 5760 - Feminist Theories
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines developments in feminist thought at the turn of the twenty-first century, highlighting core concepts and tensions accompanying the growth of the field of women’s studies. Using an intersectional range of theoretical texts and cultural criticism, it explores both historical and recent perspectives on gender, sexuality.
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5770 - Feminist Epistemologies
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Examination of how feminist scholarship has recontextualized epistemological issues in the philosophy of science, eco-feminism, hermeneutics, mysticism, and phenomenology. Students will write and present papers to demonstrate their integration of feminist theory and feminist epistemological issues within their own major fields of study. (Offered every Spring)
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5840 - Global Health Politics & Policy
Credit(s): 3-6 Credits
Course offers students political and analytical insights into the understanding of health policy issues in the U.S. and developing world. It examines how power relations and values affect choices on health issues. Of particular interest in this course will be the AIDS and Ebola pandemics in Africa.
POLS 5850 - Policy Evaluation and Assessment
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will provide students with an understanding of the complexity and scope of policy evaluation and analysis. Students will become familiar with the concepts, methods, and applications of evaluation research. Students will also develop a toolkit to design traditional and cutting-edge evaluation methodology and analysis.
POLS 5910 - Graduate Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work in government agencies/offices, nonprofit organizations, or interest groups under the guidance of a preceptor from the sponsoring organization and under a course director from the political science department who develop a graduate level professional experience following department internship guidelines. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5911 - Graduate Capstone Internship
Credit(s): 3-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work in government agencies/offices, non profit organizations, or interest groups under similar conditions to POLS 5910. In addition, interns prepare either a Policy Recommendation Paper, formal Grant Proposal, or Professional Quality Paper as specified in department capstone guidelines. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5912 - MPA Internship
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
(Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5913 - Field Service
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits
Field experience by the student as community organizer, research assistant or administrative intern with a voluntary association, community organization or public or private agency. A paper evaluating the field experience is required. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 5951 - MPA Special Study for Exams
Credit(s): 0 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 5960 - MPA Capstone
Credit(s): 0-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Student selects a project examining an issue of importance to St. Louis, the region, or the nation, conducts independent research, and works with an adviser and committee to produce and present the capstone project to the committee. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5970 - Research Topics
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Students embark on a course of individual study on a course not available in the regular curriculum in an area of faculty expertise. Schedule and workload are to be determined by the faculty instructor in accordance with the mutually agreed upon pedagogical objectives of the course. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5971 - MPA Research Topics
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits
POLS 5980 - Graduate Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Students embark on a course of individual study on a course not available in the regular curriculum in an area of faculty expertise. Schedule and workload are to be determined by the faculty instructor in accordance with the mutually agreed upon pedagogical objectives of the course. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5981 - MPA Reading Course
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
(Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5990 - Thesis Research
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
For students completing an MA thesis. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 6310 - Policy Process
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course deals with various inputs into the US policy-making process. Particular attention is focused on the impact of legislative law, administrative rule, and judicial order.
POLS 6320 - Organization Theory & Behavior
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will provide a general focus on theories that provide insights into organizational life. Emphasis is given to public bureaucracies. Topics include motivational theory, management behavior and policy evaluation.
POLS 6330 - Public Finance Theory
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the public finance functions of governments: stabilization, allocation, and distribution. Topics include the elements of an effective tax structure, in-depth analysis of revenue sources. Discussion is focused on theories of political economy, including classical, Marxist, Keynesian, neo-classical and new institutional economics.
POLS 6930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 0 Credits
POLS 6980 - Independent Study
Credit(s): 1 or 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 5010 - Cultural Methods: Gender, Politics, and Power
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5020 - Advanced Topics in Research Methods
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course focuses on the application of qualitative and quantitative methods in political science. Topics examined in this course include survey design, experimental design, focus groups, field research, case study analysis, interview techniques, analysis of variance, linear regression, and in introduction to non-linear models.
POLS 5100 - Seminar in American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This is a graduate seminar in American Politics. It is designed to provide an overview of the literature and theoretical concepts associated with political science as it relates to American government and politics. The topics we cover include campaigns and elections, mass behavior, public opinion, institutions of government, and policymaking.
POLS 5130 - American Race Relations
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The theme of this course is the transformed nature of racism and its effect on racial inequality. The course examines the degree to which racism and privilege are systemic, institutionalized features of U.S. society, focusing on the structural, ideology, and public-policy factors that created and sustained patterns of racial inequality.
POLS 5140 - Political Parties
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Though the Constitution is largely silent about them, political parties and interest groups perform indispensable functions in modern democracies. Despite their importance, these institutions are often misunderstood by the public and there is a deep ambivalence toward these political organizations. In this course we will pursue a detailed understanding of parties and organized interests in America – how and why parties and organized interests form, what they do, and what we might want them to do.
POLS 5150 - Gender and American Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the ways in which women shape, and are shaped by, American politics and public policy. We explore the history, approaches, findings and controversy in research about women in American politics and political science from a range of theoretical and methodological approaches.
POLS 5170 - Electoral Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Discussion of subjects central to American elections, including: campaign strategies and tactics; political parties; voter behavior; the influence of social and demographic groups; issue politics; election forecasting; differences between presidential, state, and local elections; and historical development of campaigns and elections.
POLS 5171 - Law, Policy, Society
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class examines the complexities and concerns inherent in social science and legal understanding of the relationship between law and society. The class will focus on (1) the dynamics and development of law and legal processes and (2) the relationship between law/courts and society.
POLS 5300 - Law and Regulatory Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course studies regulatory behavior of governmental agencies through legal cases, focusing on how administrators uphold procedural due process while conducting regulatory business. Topics include: legal-administrative relations, rule-making, adjudication, administrative discretion, judicial review of agency actions, and administrative search and seizure. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5310 - Issues in U.S. Public Administration
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the implementation of government policy in the US, focusing on the historical evolution of government policies, programs, and behavior of officials and current issues. Issues include: privatization, quotas, affirmative action, whistle-blowing.
POLS 5320 - Environmental Politics and Policy-Making
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course investigates why governments make environmental laws; the competing values that influence environmental policy; and the institutions, processes and political actors that shape the creation and implementation of environmental laws in the U.S. We also consider the U.S. role in global efforts to address climate change.
POLS 5325 - Public Sector Budgeting
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Public budgeting at all levels of government; economic and political aspects of budgeting. Features an in-class budget simulation.
POLS 5330 - Public Sector Economics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course introduces the economics of the public sector. Topics include: public goods, externalities, revenues and expenditures, taxation, and the economics of certain public policies like Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs.
POLS 5350 - Issues in Public Policy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
"Issues in Public Policy" focuses first on how public policies are evaluated, examining the different approaches used by professionals to analyze the costs and benefits of various public policies. Once the principles of public policy analysis are understood, students will select and analyze major public policy problem areas facing America. Offered as Needed / Periodically.
POLS 5360 - Urban Economic Development
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course on community economic development policy will focus on three issues: (1) theories of economic development; (2) methodological choices for the scale for community economic development (e.g., neighborhood, street, and block); and (3) best practices and evidence based approaches to community economic development. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5500 - Russian Political Culture
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the fundamental political beliefs and values of Russians, focusing on whether Russians today have the right attitudes to sustain democratic institutions. To understand what people think, we examine various kinds of sources: works of fiction, political philosophies, historical analyses, first-hand accounts, ethnographies, and quantitative public opinion studies.
POLS 5510 - Democratization
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the nature of democracy and the recent trend toward democratic reform, focusing especially on the experiences of Central Europe and Latin America. The course also examines the relationship between political and economic reform and between democratic and market systems.
POLS 5520 - Political Change
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course is designed to familiarize students with major theoretical approaches to understanding and explaining periods of political change. Political change involves understanding both the long-term causal processes and their consequences and the more immediate causes and consequences of political change.
POLS 5530 - Authoritarianism: A Useful Concept?
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores the conceptual utility of authoritarianism. We begin by examining the literature on concepts. We then explore the classics in the field. The heart of our inquiry explores the transitions literature, sub-types of authoritarianism and contemporary cultural, economic and institutional approaches to the study of authoritarianism. Offered in the fall of odd years.
POLS 5550 - Politics of Economic Development
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course undertakes an advanced study of the development of the modern state and of how states interact with various other forms of political community as well as with markets and other states. Students examine how ongoing processes of economic globalization have rendered the concept of “the state” problematic.
POLS 5590 - Crisis of Leadership
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course analyzes different perspectives on political leadership. It is designed as a research seminar in which we explore institutional settings and domestic political conditions that help us to understand the emergence of different types of leaders. Students examine current leadership crises through debates, simulation, and research. (Offered: Annually in the Fall)
POLS 5610 - International Relations: Theory & Practice
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course explores key theoretical traditions in international relations, including realism, liberalism, constructivism, Marxism, feminism, and postcolonialism. It also investigates methodological and epistemological controversies. Students stage debates about events such as the Peace of Westphalia, the decision to go to war in Iraq, and struggles for equality and emancipation. (Offered: Annually in the Spring)
POLS 5630 - The European Union: Politics and Political Economy
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course aims to explain the origins of the European Union, how it came to include its Member States, how external policies have been shaped and its direction in coming years. Through debates and discussions, students will also develop their own understanding of the European project and its challenges. (Offered every Spring)
POLS 5650 - War, Peace, and Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This is a graduate-level survey course in the field of international security. The course is designed to provide the student with the background and conceptual tools for understanding international security. The topics include causes of war and peace, cyber security, roles of nuclear weapons in international security, regular war and irregular war, terrorism, insurgency, and American grand strategy. Offered as needed.
POLS 5661 - Shifting Trends in Regional and Interregional Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course provides students with tools needed for understanding contemporary regional and inter-regional issues and ongoing transformations in the international system. While conflicts and international crises are part of the world's evolution, regional and inter-regional dynamics have developed specific trends in recent years as American hegemony has begun to decline.
POLS 5662 - International Contemporary Challenges
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)
Course provides students with tools necessary for understanding key transformation in world order today, particularly a potential move from the Westphalian world to a different era. Students explore theories in International Relations and develop knowledge of contemporary case studies that illustrate state weakness, state fragility and state fragmentation.
POLS 5663 - Key Contemporary Crises
Credit(s): 3 Credits
The course will explore a variety of genres of crisis – systemic crises and global restructurings, institutional crises of effectiveness, crises of economic and global governance, crises of leadership, political crises of representation, crises of the nation-state, natural disasters– and look to provide students with the necessary concepts, methods and critical thinking abilities to be able to analyze such wide-ranging current and future challenges. (Offered every Fall)
POLS 5664 - International Political Economy in Times of Crisis
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course examines the connections between financial markets and their regulatory environments in both contemporary and historical perspectives. The first part of the course introduces basic arguments and concepts on how financial markets work and the regulatory politics that affect them. The second part focuses on the recent history of financial crises, and the third part, on causes of and reactions to the financial crisis of 2008. This includes consideration of the last worldwide financial and economic crisis, its management, and whether a policy of “austerity” is either compatible with or sustainable under democratic politics. (Offered every Spring)
POLS 5690 - Theories of World Politics
Credit(s): 3 Credits
An advanced field seminar of international relations. Students analyze some of the field's most important works. Topics include globalization, security studies, international organizations, and implications for US foreign policy.
POLS 5700 - Historical Western Political Thought
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Students in this course will engage in close reading and careful discussion of canonical texts in the history of Western social and political philosophy, so as to acquire a solid foundation for further work in political theory, political science, other social sciences and/or the humanities. Offered occasionally.
POLS 5710 - Citizenship and Social Difference
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will examine several aspects of the embodied nature of citizenship. Looking specifically at the interplay between citizenship (as an identity, legal status, and practice) and socially constructed identities predicated upon perceived bodily differences (gender, race, and disability), we will examine the following preliminary questions: Historically, how and why has the American state denied women, people of color, and people with disabilities citizenship status? Should civil, social, and political rights, which are contingent upon citizenship status, be universal rights, or group-differentiated rights? How should we expand/amend conventional definitions of citizenship and political participation to account for the lived experiences of women, people of color, and people with disabilities? How do social constructed and maintained inequalities- via sexism, racism, and ableism- influence the practice of citizenship? Overall, this course will attempt to integrate the insights from feminist theory, critical race theory, and disability studies into an analysis of what it means to be an American citizen.
POLS 5730 - Contemporary Political Ideologies
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Development of modern political ideologies from mid-nineteenth century to present. Course focuses on ideas and social-political contexts associated with ideologies such as liberalism, Marxism, feminism, green politics, and liberation theology. Students consider the ramifications of viewing the world through particular ideological lenses.
POLS 5740 - Marx's Capital
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This class is devoted to the close reading of Volume 1 of Marx's CAPITAL, leading to an understanding of Marx's analysis of capitalism. Students with a background in political theory or philosophy will find that training to be helpful, but the course does not presuppose previous reading of the text. Offered periodically.
POLS 5750 - American Political Thought: Meanings of Citizenship
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Course examines ideas, institutions, and practices that have influenced the different meanings of citizenship experienced by different groups of Americans since the founding era. Readings include traditional sources in American political thought as well as writings of and about women, African Americans, Native Americans, other racial and ethnic groups, and poor people. Offered every year.
POLS 5760 - Feminist Theories
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines developments in feminist thought at the turn of the twenty-first century, highlighting core concepts and tensions accompanying the growth of the field of women’s studies. Using an intersectional range of theoretical texts and cultural criticism, it explores both historical and recent perspectives on gender, sexuality.
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5770 - Feminist Epistemologies
Credit(s): 3 Credits
Examination of how feminist scholarship has recontextualized epistemological issues in the philosophy of science, eco-feminism, hermeneutics, mysticism, and phenomenology. Students will write and present papers to demonstrate their integration of feminist theory and feminist epistemological issues within their own major fields of study. (Offered every Spring)
Attributes: Women's & Gender Studies
POLS 5840 - Global Health Politics & Policy
Credit(s): 3-6 Credits
Course offers students political and analytical insights into the understanding of health policy issues in the U.S. and developing world. It examines how power relations and values affect choices on health issues. Of particular interest in this course will be the AIDS and Ebola pandemics in Africa.
POLS 5850 - Policy Evaluation and Assessment
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will provide students with an understanding of the complexity and scope of policy evaluation and analysis. Students will become familiar with the concepts, methods, and applications of evaluation research. Students will also develop a toolkit to design traditional and cutting-edge evaluation methodology and analysis.
POLS 5910 - Graduate Internship
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work in government agencies/offices, nonprofit organizations, or interest groups under the guidance of a preceptor from the sponsoring organization and under a course director from the political science department who develop a graduate level professional experience following department internship guidelines. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5911 - Graduate Capstone Internship
Credit(s): 3-6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Interns work in government agencies/offices, non profit organizations, or interest groups under similar conditions to POLS 5910. In addition, interns prepare either a Policy Recommendation Paper, formal Grant Proposal, or Professional Quality Paper as specified in department capstone guidelines. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5912 - MPA Internship
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
(Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5913 - Field Service
Credit(s): 1-6 Credits
Field experience by the student as community organizer, research assistant or administrative intern with a voluntary association, community organization or public or private agency. A paper evaluating the field experience is required. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 5951 - MPA Special Study for Exams
Credit(s): 0 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
POLS 5960 - MPA Capstone
Credit(s): 0-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Student selects a project examining an issue of importance to St. Louis, the region, or the nation, conducts independent research, and works with an adviser and committee to produce and present the capstone project to the committee. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5970 - Research Topics
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Students embark on a course of individual study on a course not available in the regular curriculum in an area of faculty expertise. Schedule and workload are to be determined by the faculty instructor in accordance with the mutually agreed upon pedagogical objectives of the course. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5971 - MPA Research Topics
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits
POLS 5980 - Graduate Independent Study
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
Students embark on a course of individual study on a course not available in the regular curriculum in an area of faculty expertise. Schedule and workload are to be determined by the faculty instructor in accordance with the mutually agreed upon pedagogical objectives of the course. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5981 - MPA Reading Course
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
(Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 5990 - Thesis Research
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
For students completing an MA thesis. (Offered every Fall, Spring and Summer)
POLS 6310 - Policy Process
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course deals with various inputs into the US policy-making process. Particular attention is focused on the impact of legislative law, administrative rule, and judicial order.
POLS 6320 - Organization Theory & Behavior
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course will provide a general focus on theories that provide insights into organizational life. Emphasis is given to public bureaucracies. Topics include motivational theory, management behavior and policy evaluation.
POLS 6330 - Public Finance Theory
Credit(s): 3 Credits
This course examines the public finance functions of governments: stabilization, allocation, and distribution. Topics include the elements of an effective tax structure, in-depth analysis of revenue sources. Discussion is focused on theories of political economy, including classical, Marxist, Keynesian, neo-classical and new institutional economics.
POLS 6930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 0 Credits
POLS 6980 - Independent Study
Credit(s): 1 or 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
PSP 6930 - Special Topics
Credit(s): 3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
PSP 6980 - Graduate Reading Course
Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)
PSP 6990 - Dissertation Research
Credit(s): 0-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)