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Professors: Michael Kelley, Paul W. Zagorski
Assistant Professor: Darren Botello-Samson, Mark J. Peterson
Instructor: John McCormack
Descriptions of Courses
Undergraduate
POLS 101. U.S. Politics. 3 hours. Fundamental study of how the U.S. government is organized and functions, with emphasis on the political processes and citizen participation.
POLS 270. Introduction to Political Science. 3 hours. An introduction to the world and science of politics. Examines political topics related to the functioning of political systems and stressing the interrelatedness of those systems. Required of all political science and social science pre-law majors.
POLS 301. State and Local Government and Politics. 3 hours. A study of the structure and functions of state, county, and municipal government in the United States. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or permission of instructor. Students who have taken POLS 102 are not eligible to take this class.
POLS 324. Introduction to Comparative Politics. 3 hours. Survey of basic principles and practices of liberal democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian governments, with a review of politics in selected countries of various regions.
POLS 412. Law in Film and Literature. 3 hours. Philosophical inquiry into the nature of law and legal phenomena as elucidated by film and literature. Focus on constitutive legal theories, including natural law, legal realism, Marxist legal theory, and poststructuralism.
POLS 450. Political Philosophy I. 3 hours. The nature of distributive, social, and corrective justice. Natural Law, natural rights, utilitarianism, Marxism, and their contemporary counterparts. May be taken for honors.
POLS 492. Directed Readings in Political Science. 1-3 hours. Individual study and research in selected areas of political science. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
POLS 512. Environmental Politics. 3 hours. Analysis of historical and contemporary concerns and values relating to environmental protection and natural resource management and their manifestation into political movements and policy. Prerequisites: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or POLS 324 Introduction to Comparative Politics. May be taken for honors.
POLS 516. Political Parties and Elections. 3 hours. Examination of political parties as organizations, their role within government, and the effectiveness of parties and elections as democratic links between citizens and those who govern. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics. May be taken for honors.
POLS 517. U.S. Congress. 3 hours. Comprehensive study of the U.S. Congress, including legislator selection, legislative organization and procedure, and other participants in the legislative process. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or POLS 301 State and Local Government and Politics. May be taken for honors.
POLS 524. European Politics. 3 hours. Investigation of the institutions, politics, and policies of contemporary Europe. Includes analysis of the European Union (EU) and country studies of Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Prerequisite: POLS 324 Introduction to Comparative Politics or consent of instructor. May be taken for honors.
POLS 525. Politics and War in the Middle East. 3 hours. Comparative politics of the Middle East and nearby Muslim countries. Focus on war, insurgency, coups, and their regional and global implications. May be taken for honors.
POLS 526. Latin American Politics. 3 hours. Survey of institutions, problems. parties and politics of Latin America, with emphasis on selected countries. Prerequisite: POLS 324 Introduction to Comparative Politics or consent of instructor. May be taken for honors.
POLS 530. International Relations. 3 hours. Close attention to current affairs, international law, the principles and practices of diplomacy, international organizations, the efforts to prevent war and maintain peace. May be taken for honors.
SOC 534. Political Sociology. 3 hours. Analysis of political institutions and movements by using concepts such as legitimacy, power, authority, elites, oligarchy, and authoritarianism. Prerequisite: SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology or permission of instructor. May be taken for honors.
POLS 538. Philosophy of Law. 3 hours. Philosophical issues in law using actual cases as well as philosophical writings. Nature of law, judicial reasoning, rights, liberty, responsibility, and punishment. May be taken for honors.
POLS 550. Political Philosophy II. 3 hours. The political philosophy of institutions and institutional change. Covers topics from the classical, modern, and contemporary periods such as Aristotle, Montesquieu, the Federalist, Lenin, and Qutb. May be taken for honors.
POLS 562. Judicial Process. 3 hours. Analysis of the Judicative Roles performed by federal and state judiciaries in the American political system. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or POLS 270 Introduction to Political Science. May be taken for honors.
POLS 571. Political Studies-Selected Topics (____). 1-3 hours. Intensive examination and analysis of selected topics in political science. May be repeated when subject is different. May be taken for honors.
POLS 578. Democratic Theory and Public Opinion. 3 hours. Interpretations of democracy, the degree to which the United States is democratic, and the formation of public opinion and its role in U.S. politics. May be taken for honors.
POLS 587. U.S. Foreign Policy. 3 hours. The foreign policy of the United States with emphasis on current trends and the foreign policy decision-making process. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or permission of instructor.
POLS 604. The American Presidency. 3 hours. The office of the President of the United States and its relationship with other governmental institutions in the constitutional and political system. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or equivalent. May be taken for honors.
POLS 616. Interest Groups and Social Movements. 3 hours. Examination of various groups attempting to influence governmental policy, their form, function, and method. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or POLS 270 Introduction to Political Science. May be taken for honors.
POLS 630. International Political Economy. 3 hours. Examination of the interdependent relationships between government, politics, and economics, and among the countries and economies of the world. Prerequisite: ECON 201 Introduction to Macroeconomics or permission of instructor. May be taken for honors.
POLS 640. African Politics. 3 hours. Modern political systems of Sub-Saharan Africa. Particular attention to issues of ethnicity, the role of government in development, problems associated with government failure in the region, the role of the international community in Africa.
POLS 660. Political Science Internship (___). 1-3 hours. Supervised work experience in the local courts, state and national legislatures, approved campaign experiences and political party activities, and public administrative service agencies. May be repeated once. Permission of instructor. Offered on a Pass-Fail basis only.
POLS 661. Constitutional Law I. 3 hours. The role of the Supreme Court in the development of constitutional principles of the separation of powers and federalism. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or equivalent. May be taken for honors.
POLS 662. Constitutional Law II. 3 hours. The role of the Supreme Court in the development of civil liberties and related matters. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or equivalent. May be taken for honors.
POLS 680. War: The Politics of Violence. 3 hours. The phenomena of war; the etiology of war, its history, and utility in the modern age. Prerequisite: POLS 101 U.S. Politics or permission of instructor.
POLS 686. Senior Seminar in Political Science. 3 hours. A "capstone" course to enhance the ability of graduating seniors to apply the basic concepts of political sciences and its major sub fields. The seminar involves the analysis of a variety of contemporary issues and stresses the clear communication of such to both students and non students of the discipline. Required of all majors in political science. Prerequisite: 24 hours of political science, including required courses in major, or permission of instructor.
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