CRN

93874

Distribution

A

Course No.

PS 104

Title

Introduction  to International Relations

Professor

James Ketterer

Schedule

Wed Fri    3:00 pm – 4:20 pm  ASP 302

The course introduces basic concepts of International Relations as a field of study.  It is organized around the question: how is world order maintained?  Projects to create world order are necessarily fraught with tension and conflict.  The course will examine the role of military power, alliance systems, international organizations, and international law.  The rules and institutions that govern global cooperation in areas such as trade, economic development, environmental policy, human rights or health-care will be among our concerns.  Are we seeing the emergence of a new world order?  Would it be different from the world order that prevailed during the second half of the 20th century?   What are the consequences of civil conflicts, state failure, and international terrorism for world order?  What are the implications of the Bush administration’s new national security posture of pre-emptive action against hostile states?  The goal of the course will be to learn to think theoretically about “current events.”

 

CRN

93073

Distribution

A

Course No.

PS 115

Title

Introduction  to Political Thinking

Professor

Elaine Thomas

Schedule

Tu Th            11:30 am - 12:50 pm     OLIN 202

Hobbes or Rousseau?  Plato or Locke?  Machiavelli or Aristotle?  None of the above?  Serious political debate and political study are conducted against the background of a shared history of reflection.  This is no less true of political thought that aims to break away from “the classics” than of political thought that finds in them a constant resource for both critical and constructive thinking.  This course reflects on politics through reflection on a core body of writings.  Looking comparatively at texts from diverse historical eras, from ancient times to the present, we will reflect critically on different ways of thinking about key political concepts, such as justice, democracy, authority, and “the political.”  We will also reconstruct (and perhaps deconstruct) key strategic alternatives to such enduring questions as the relationship between the state and the individual; the conditions for peaceful political order; and the relationship between political action, intellectual contemplation, and morality.  This course is required for all political studies majors.

 

CRN

93076

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 122

Title

American Politics: Issues and Institutions

Professor

Mark Lindeman

Schedule

Tu Th            4:30 pm -5:50 pm         OLIN 202

Cross-listed: American Studies

This course introduces students to the basic institutions and processes of American government. The class is meant to provide students with a grasp of the fundamental dynamics of American politics and the skills to be an effective participant in and critic of the political process. During the semester, we will examine how the government works, interpret current political developments and debates, and consider how to influence the government at various levels.

 

CRN

93070

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 130

Title

Chinese Politics

Professor

Nara Dillon

Schedule

Wed Fr          11:30 am - 12:50 pm     OLIN 204

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Human Rights

This course offers a broad introduction to the politics of contemporary China and Taiwan.  After providing some background on the Imperial and Republican periods and the development of the Communist Revolution, we focus on some of the major political events on both sides of the Taiwan straits, such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, market reforms, political liberalization and democratization, and the Tiananmen Uprising.  Then we proceed to a more thematic discussion of popular participation and elite control in contemporary politics, examining the role of women, national minorities, entrepreneurs, intellectuals and others.  In the last section of the course we will turn to comparative issues, including economic development, human rights, and the potential for democracy.

 

CRN

93177

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 214

Title

U. S. - Latin American Relations

Professor

Omar Encarnacion

Schedule

Mon Wed       11:30 am - 12:50 pm     OLIN 205

Cross-listed:  American Studies, Human Rights, LAIS

A comprehensive overview of the relationships between the United States and the nations of Latin America, how this process was affected by historical and ideological events, and what possibilities exist for its future. The course is divided into three sections: first, historical overview of the events that shaped US-Latin American relations, emphasizing  US military interventions in Latin America, US attempts to establish political and economic hegemony, and US efforts to export democratic government; second, an examination of the principal issues that currently dominate the relations between the US and its southern neighbors: economic integration, trade,  drugs, and immigration; third, a close look at the relationships between the United States and three countries of special interest to it and its domestic politics: Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

 

CRN

93065

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 228

Title

Russian and East European Politics and Society

Professor

Jonathan Becker

Schedule

Mon Wed       1:30 pm -2:50 pm         OLIN 107

Cross-listed: Human Rights, Russian and Eurasian Studies

This course examines the monumental political, social and economic changes that have swept Russia and Eastern Europe since 1985. We will ask a number of inter-related questions: Why did Communism collapse? Why did some countries experience peaceful political transitions and others violence? How have countries attempted to reconcile themselves with the crimes of the past (Lustration)? What political, economic, social and historical factors explain the relative success of some countries in the post-Communist transition and the failure of others? What role have international organizations, like the OSCE, the European Union and NATO played in the transitions? What role did the United States play in the collapse of Communism and the apparent failure of Russia’s transition? In answering these questions we will examine political, social and economic structures, the mass media, legal systems, and societal attitudes. We explore the transformation of the region not only through academic books and articles, but also through literature, film, and the speeches and writings of political figures ranging from Vaclav Havel to Vladimir Putin. Countries examined will include Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Open to all students.

 

CRN

93077

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 232

Title

Social Movements and Political Change: Labor, Race and Gender in America

Professor

Mark Lindeman

Schedule

Tu Fr             10:00 am - 11:20 am     OLIN 203

Cross-listed: American Studies, Gender Studies, Historical Studies, Human Rights

Related Interest:  AADS

This course considers three general questions:  What accounts for the emergence of social movements?  What explains their development and decline over time?  And, finally, why have some movements succeeded in shaping American politics while others have failed?  Looking at the labor movement, the civil rights movement, and the women's movement, we will investigate the conditions for successfully affecting the American politics and policy.  Particular attention is paid to movement tactics and the changing structure of political coalitions.

 

CRN

93074

Distribution

A/C

Course No.

PS 238

Title

Capitalism and Its Critics

Professor

Elaine Thomas

Schedule

Mon Th         3:00 pm -4:20 pm         OLIN 307

PIE Core Course

This course considers the origins and effects of modern capitalist economies, and of the division of labor involved in modern industrial production.  We will focus especially on the transformations of social life and human experience associated with the emergence of 'the economy' and 'the market' as we now know them.  The course will center on discussion of the original works of leading eighteenth through twentieth-century analysts.  Using these texts to challenge and broaden our 'taken for granted' perspective on the kind of economic system we now find ourselves in, we shall, first, critically consider the origins and effects of the modern capitalist system of production.  Here, we will be concerned not only with the system's impact on material prosperity, but also how it affects human capabilities, producers' experiences of time, and our relationship to the natural world.  The second part of the course will then turn to the changing character, experience, and effects of consumption. The course will focus primarily on the seminal works of Adam Smith, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, with supplementary readings by E.P. Thompson, Karl Polanyi and others.

 

CRN

93473

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 239

Title

The United Nations and Model UN

Professor

Jonathan Becker

Schedule

Alternate Wed     4:30 pm – 5:50 pm  OLIN 107

Cross-listed: Human Rights

1 credit* The course would be divided into two parts. The first part will explore the history of the United Nations and will introduce students to its structure and principal aims. It will also focus on the role of specialized agencies and the ways in which alliances impact on the UN’s day-to-day operations. The second part of the course will focus on an assigned country (for each Model UN, each college is assigned a country to represent: this year Bard had represented Azerbaijan and Moldova). It will entail a study of the country’s history, politics and economics and will conclude with the writing of ‘position papers’ that reflect that country’s approach to issues confronting the UN. In addition, there will be a public speaking component. Students taking the course will have the opportunity to participate in a Model United Nations. Students wishing to participate should e-mail [email protected] with 1-2 paragraphs indicating why they would like to participate.

*One credit per semester, two-credit course. Students must take both halves to obtain credit.

 

CRN

93481

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 248

Title

Women and International Human Rights

Professor

Janet Benshoof

Schedule

Mon Wed       11:30 am – 12:50 pm     OLIN 101

Cross-listed: Gender Studies, Human Rights

Traditional human rights activists have largely ignored the cultural, religious, political, and economic conditions that impede women from becoming part of civil societies and equal political players. The failure to address the root causes of women's political inequality means that equality efforts hit a "glass ceiling." This in turn impedes both democracy and international human rights movements. This course will analyze the unique problems of women in the developing world and study feminist strategies to address those issues including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). We will explore how this treaty mandates a legal vision of women's equality that surpasses any current legal protections in the US constitution or laws.  And to the extent that poverty is an issue across the board for the developing world, the course will show how other factors (such as religion) operate to exclude and affect women in a very gender specific ways. Readings are drawn from scholars including Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, and case studies in successful feminist legal strategies for implementing CEDAW and other international legal instruments and procedures.

 

CRN

93175

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 249

Title

Dreams of Perfectibilty I: The Quest for a Moral Foreign Policy from Jefferson to Wilson

Professor

James Chace

Schedule

Mon Wed       11:00 am – 12:20 pm     ASP 302

Cross-listed: Human Rights

From the earliest days of the Republic, America's intense drive for absolute security has shaped our history and national character.  Americans have, of course, gone to war for a variety of specific reasons--to expand their territory for economic gain, in response to affronts to their national honor and territorial integrity, to secure their nation's role as the guardian of freedom and the promoter of democratic values.  Moreover, the overarching response to America's need to counter real or imagined foreign threats has been the use of unilateral action as the surest method of achieving national security.  But American foreign policy has always been justified by appeals to American exceptionalism.  America as an exemplar or as a crusader--these are the moral poles of U.S. foreign policy.  Yet no American foreign policy can be successful in the long term without a moral component.  Should America have a democratizing mission?  What are the consequences of this search for perfectionism in an imperfect world? 

(Open to first-year students.)

 

CRN

93075

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 311

Title

Immigration & Citizenship

Professor

Elaine Thomas

Schedule

Wed               1:30 pm -3:50 pm         OLIN 303

Cross-listed:  CCSRE, Human Rights

This course examines the ways that responses to immigration have affected existing policies and practices of citizenship. The course will focus primarily on the post-World War II experience of developed countries and the practical and theoretical issues it has raised. One of the challenges that migration to these countries has presented has been that of politically integrating culturally and religiously diverse new social groups of immigrant origin. The course will explore the often contrasting ways in which different countries have confronted this task and the historical, social, and intellectual roots of variations in their approaches, and levels of enthusiasm. Topics addressed include multiculturalism, minority rights, visions of state and nationhood, nationality law, alien voting rights, migration-related social movements, and citizenship of the EU.

 

CRN

93174

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 318

Title

Power Politics

Professor

James Chace

Schedule

Tu   10:30 am – 12:50 pm   OLIN 304

Cross-listed: Human Rights

The realist tradition in international relations has long been central to the method by which rulers and policymakers deal with the foreign policy of the state. This is an upper-level seminar that will concentrate on analyzing the classic works of the co-called realist tradition. Readings will include Thucydides, Machiavelli, Lorenzo dei Medici, Hobbes, Hume, Bolingbroke, Locke, Alexander Hamilton, Harold Nicolson, Henry Kissinger, Woodrow Wilson, George Kennan, Hans Morganthau, David Fromkin, and Fareed Zakaria. Theory will be combined with an historical study of power politics from 1815 to 1940. In this context, we will examine the exercise of the balance of power in Europe as against Wilsonian universalism in 20th-century America.

 

CRN

93069

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 345

Title

The Political Economy of Development: East Asia and Latin America Compared

Professor

Omar Encarnacion / Nara Dillon

Schedule

Tu                 10:30 am - 12:50 pm     OLIN 307

Cross-listed: LAIS and Asian Studies

This course explores the politics of development in post-war East Asia and Latin America.  At the heart of this comparative exercise is the provocative premise that animates the growing literature comparing development in East Asia and Latin America: a distinct trade-off between politics and economics in each area.  Simply put, it goes as follows:  Latin America has accepted lower levels of development in exchange for greater political freedoms and democracy while East Asia has chosen higher levels of economic development under the aegis of authoritarian rule or limited democracy.  This premise provides the framework for the examination of a wide range of subjects from the role of ideology and revolution in political development to the emergence of distinct models of state-society relations, to different approaches to economic policy and foreign relations.  The seminar also hopes to chart cross-national historical and contemporary developments linking the countries of East Asia to Latin America such as foreign investment, migration, and globalization.

 

CRN

93269

Distribution

C

Course No.

PS 376

Title

The Politics of Terror: Confronting Violent Political Change

Professor

Mark Danner

Schedule

Tu           10:30 am – 12:50 pm  OLIN 107

PIE Core Course

Cross-listed: Human Rights

This course will study violence and politics and try to understand within that broad subject the singular case of terrorism: its history, its evolution, its technique. We will study some of the seminal texts of terrorism and some of their more celebrated applications. We will work to place terrorism within the broader subject of practicing politics through violence, particularly revolution and coup d'etat.  We will seek to understand, within the broader history of terror, the evolution, techniques and goals of Al Qaeda. We will look at the task of reporting on terrorism, with special attention given to terror's use of the press. Theclass will require extensive reading, periodic film-viewing and frequent writing assignments, most of the latter to be done in class.

 

 

Note: David Kettler is on assigned research leave during the Fall Semester, 2003. He will hold regular office hours and remain available for informal student conferences, senior project advising, and individual tutorials/reading courses on subjects relating to his specialties: topics in eighteenth-century political thought, Weimar social and legal theory; labor and the law in the US and Canada; intellectuals in exile.  Registration for tutorials by interview only.