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.