POLI 119A – Special Topics in Political Theory: Politics of Human Rights
Instructor – Maureen Feeley
What do we mean by "international human rights"? Are they universal?
Under what conditions have they been most systematically violated? What
are the trade-offs between national sovereignty and international action
in compelling their respect? These are some of the central questions
this course will explore through consideration of historical and
contemporary case studies of human rights abuse. In so doing, we will
compare and critique patterns of abuse and redress over time, and across
different regions of the world, and from this empirically-grounded
perspective, critically evaluate contemporary theoretical debates on
human rights.
POLI 138D – Special Topics in Comparative Politics: Autocracy, Democracy, and Prosperity
Instructor – Sebastian Saiegh
This course considers the interplay between factor endowments, political institutions and economic performance. It focuses on the connection between representative political institutions and the emergence and expansion of markets.
POLI 102G – Special Topics in American Politics: The Laws of Politics
Instructor – Thad Kousser
This class studies the intersection of election law, politics, and academia. We will look at major policy changes that affect the way that politics works, the legal decisions that govern them, and the academic research aimed at influencing policymakers and judges. Our four areas of focus will be campaign finance, redistricting, open primaries, and term limits. Students will make presentations summarizing cases and research, prepare legal briefs of their own, and argue their cases before a mock constitutional court.
POLI 119A – Special Topics in Political Theory: Plato's Republic
Instructor – Fonna Forman-Barzilai
Plato's Republic remains quite possibly the most provocative and brilliant book on politics ever written. In this advanced seminar in political theory, we will work our way critically through the ten books of the Republic, in which Socrates, the street philosopher, examines a variety of interlocutors on the idea of justice as it might manifest in an ideal city and in the individual soul.
POLI 138D – Special Topics in Comparative Politics: Becoming Evil/Genocide
Instructor – Fonna Forman-Barzilai
What motivates people to kill whole groups of other people? What happens to normal human inhibitions when they do? In this course, we will use James Waller's study, Becoming Evil, among other resources (documentary, philosophy, literature, film) to consider these haunting, very timely, questions.
POLI 138D – Special Topics in Comparative Politics: Abuse of Power
Instructor – Kaare Strom
The exercise of power is a crucial part of politics. In many contexts and in many ways, however, power can be, and often is, abused. This course surveys many different abusive exercises of power. Since the abuse of power is by no means confined by national boundaries, the course will have a broadly cross-national scope. In the initial meetings, we shall define power and its abuse. The course will then survey a variety of abuses of power, such as agenda manipulation, rent-seeking, extortion, corruption, harassment, and gross political horrors. Generally speaking, we shall begin with more benign abuses of power and gradually move on to more severe ones.
POLI 102G – Special Topics in American Politics: Political Psychology of Race
Instructor – Darren Schreiber
Drawing heavily from the political psychology literature, this course looks at race in American politics from a variety of perspectives. We consider psychological, genetic, neuroscience, economic, political, sociological, and legal views of what drives powerful dynamics of race in our country.
POLI 119A – Special Topics in Political Theory: History of Socialism
Instructor – Armin Ozwar
This course pursues three aims: First, it will give an introduction to social and socialist thought in 19th and 20th century. Secondly, it will deal with the different strategies of socialist parties. Thirdly, it offers a survey of the development of some selected socialist systems (e.g. in the GDR and the Soviet Union).
POLI 138D – Special Topics in Comparative Politics: The Holocaust (satisfies Comparative/Europe)
Instructor – David Forman-Barzilai
The term Holocaust refers to the deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate the Jewish people by the National Socialist German State during World War II. This course will course provide an historical account of the Holocaust, and examine the event through political, psychological and philosophical lenses.
POLI 138D – Special Topics in Comparative Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (satisfies Comparative/Thematic)
Instructor – Wendy Wong
This course will explore the politics of human rights from a theoretical, historical, and empirical perspective. We will tackle major debates about what human rights are, the extent to which they should and do affect domestic and international politics, and major human rights issues, such as female circumcision and torture. Texts from international relations, political theory, comparative politics, and sociology, among others, will be used in the course.
POLI 154 – Special Topics in International Relations: The Cold War (satisfies IR/Policy or Theory)
Instructor – Ellen Comisso
This seminar will analyze the basis of the US-USSR rivalry of 1946-90, as well as its impact on allies, neutrals, and especially on the domestic evolution of each superpower itself.