Course |
PS 104 International Relations |
|
|
Professor |
Sanjib Baruah |
|
|
CRN |
90086 |
|
|
Schedule |
Wed Fr 3:00
-4:20 pm OLIN 202 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW:Social Science
|
Cross-listed: Global & Int'l Studies, Human
Rights
How does evangelical Christianity impact the United
Nations? Why are so many UN peacekeepers from Fiji? Could a book have led to
the war in Iraq? Why are most suicide bombers from the educated middle class?
This course looks to provide students with an understanding of the hows and
whys of state behavior: the "nuts and bolts" of international
affairs. Topics will include: international relations theory; how foreign
policy is made; international organizations; and some of the "hot"
issues in the world today, such as terrorism, preventive war, globalization,
and the spread of democracy. The goal of the class is to see how (or if)
theories of international relations can explain the "way of the
world."
Course |
PS 105 Introduction to Comparative Government |
|
|
Professor |
Nara Dillon |
|
|
CRN |
90041 |
|
|
Schedule |
Wed Fr 10:30 - 11:50 am OLIN
307 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Related interest: Global & Int'l Studies
The intellectual premise of the field of
comparative politics is that we can better understand the politics of almost
any country by placing it in its larger, global context. This comparative
perspective allows us to address some of the most fundamental questions of
politics. What are the different ways in which groups and individuals
participate in politics around the world? Why have some countries developed
stable democratic political systems, while others experience frequent changes
in government, or even revolutions? What relationship does a country’s political
organization have with its economic performance, social stability, and
relations with other countries? In exploring these and other questions, we will
examine advanced industrial democracies (Germany and the United States),
communist/post-communist countries (China), and third world countries (Brazil
and Iran). This course is a requirement for all political studies majors.
Course |
PS 115 A Introduction to Political Thinking |
|
|
Professor |
Elaine Thomas |
|
|
CRN |
90570 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed
12:00 - 1:20 pm OLIN 202 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: A |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Related interest: Human Rights
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 reading and
discussion of a core body of writings. Looking comparatively at texts from
diverse historical eras from ancient times to the present, we will critically
examine 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 a requirement for all
political studies majors.
Course |
PS 115 B Introduction to Political Thinking |
|
|
Professor |
Elaine Thomas |
|
|
CRN |
90097 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed
1:30 -2:50 pm OLIN 306 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: A |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Related interest: Human Rights
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 reading and
discussion of a core body of writings. Looking comparatively at texts from
diverse historical eras from ancient times to the present, we will critically
examine 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 a requirement for all
political studies majors.
Course |
PS 122 American Politics: Issues and Institutions |
|
|
Professor |
Mark Lindeman |
|
|
CRN |
90090 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu Th
1:00 -2:20 pm OLIN 305 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
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.
Course |
PS 153 Introduction to Latin American Politics and Society |
|
|
Professor |
Pierre Ostiguy |
|
|
CRN |
90091 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu Th
4:00 -5:20 pm OLIN 203 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science / Rethinking Difference
|
Cross-listed: Global & Int’l Studies, LAIS
This course examines political life in Latin
America in the postcolonial period. The course covers the entire region but
emphasizes the most representative countries: Argentina, Dominican Republic,
Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Mexico. The overarching purpose of the course is to
understand change and continuity in this region. We will endeavor to accomplish
this by emphasizing both the historical development of institutions and
political actors in Latin America (e.g. the state, capital, labor, the church, the
military) as well as the variety of theoretical frameworks that scholars have
constructed to understand the dynamics of political development throughout the
region (e.g. modernization, dependencia, and political culture). Among the
major themes covered in the course are the legacies of European colonialism,
state building, revolution, corporatism and populism, military rule, and
redemocratization. Open to all students.
Course |
PS 214 US-Latin American Relations |
|
|
Professor |
Omar Encarnacion |
|
|
CRN |
90053 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed 12:00
-1:20 pm OLIN 201 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: American Studies; GISP; LAIS
Related interest: Human Rights
A comprehensive examination 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 U.S.-Latin American relations, emphasizing
U.S. military interventions in Latin America, U.S. attempts to establish
political and economic hegemony, and U.S. efforts to export democratic
government; second, an examination of the principal issues that currently
dominate the relations between the U.S. 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.
Course |
PS 222 Dependency, Development and Democracy: Latin American Political Economy |
|
|
Professor |
Omar Encarnacion |
|
|
CRN |
90054 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed
3:00 -4:20 pm OLIN 201 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: History
|
Cross-listed: GISP, Human Rights, LAIS
This course examines the intersection of politics
and economics in Latin America. Perhaps unlike any other region of the
developing world, economic factors feature prominently in the political
development of Latin America. This is especially the case with respect to
democracy, whose fortunes in Latin America for much of the 20th century have
been intimately linked to shifting conditions in the world economy. The course
is divided into three sections. The first looks at the political
consequences of a variety of economic models implemented in Latin America since
the colonial period; from the formation of single crop economies during late
19th century, through the rise of developmentalism during the 1950s-1960s to
the advent of neo-liberalism in the 1990s. The second part looks at a
number of political science explanations to account for conditions of economic
under-development in Latin America. The third and last section reviews
contemporary developments in Latin American political economy such as economic
integration (NAFTA, CAFTA and Mercosur in particular), the consequences of
industrial re-structuring on the labor movement, and the role of the United
States and international financial organizations (the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund) in the economic life of Latin American nations.
Prerequisite: some social science background on Latin America.
Course |
PS 239 United Nations and Model UN |
|
|
Professor |
Jonathan Becker |
|
|
CRN |
90443 |
|
|
Schedule |
Wed 4:30 – 5:50 pm OLIN 201 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: n/a |
NEW: n/a
|
Related
interest: GISP, Human Rights
1
credit* The course will 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 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.
Course |
PS 247 American Foreign Policy Traditions |
|
|
Professor |
Walter Mead |
|
|
CRN |
90101 |
|
|
Schedule |
Th
7:00 -9:20 pm OLIN 202 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: History
|
Cross-listed: Global & Int’l Studies, Human
Rights
This course will be an introduction to the history
of American foreign policy and to the connections between foreign policy and
domestic policy that have developed throughout the course of American history.
Students will be introduced to the principal geopolitical, economic and
ideological pillars that have shaped American strategic thought. Particular
attention will be devoted to how popular religious, cultural and political
movements have attempted to influence American foreign policy, including
anti-war movements: What, for example, are the similarities between today’s
anti-war movements and those that have existed since the War of 1812? In the
context of the course, students will be asked to read key documents that have
defined American foreign policy.
Course |
PS 256 Politics and News Media |
|
|
Professor |
Jonathan Becker |
|
|
CRN |
90093 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed 10:30 - 11:50 am OLIN
107 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social Science
|
PIE Core course
Related interest: Global & Int’l Studies, Social Policy
This course examines broad questions about the
relationship between the news media and politics. It addresses the interaction
between government and news media, concentrating on the characteristics of
different national media systems, legal regulation of the media, the impact of
corporate ownership and globalization, and the role of new media technologies.
Particular attention will be devoted to the role of media in elections and
restrictions related to national security concerns. A little more than half of
the course will be devoted to media and the system of political communication
in the United States. The rest of the course will involve thematic comparisons
of media in a number countries, including Russia, Hungary, Sweden, Italy,
Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Course |
PS 258 Strategies of Radical Political and Social Change |
|
|
Professor |
Pierre Ostiguy |
|
|
CRN |
90092 |
|
|
Schedule |
Mon Wed
8:00 -9:20 pm ASP 302 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: Human Rights, Sociology
Related interest: GISP
How can we change the political condition of
society? A century ago, Lenin concisely asked ‘What is to be Done?’ Can we
achieve political change through force of will, organization, and political
strategies, as ‘Che’ Guevara or Mao, on the left, argued? Or is long-lasting
political change a product of slower, more ‘passive’ transformations of the
social fabric, such as industrialization, increased literacy and education, or
the rise of so-called ‘post-materialist values’? Somewhere between will and
structure, social scientists have highlighted the importance of historical
repertoires of collective action in the form our protests take, while Gramscians
have stressed the need to think about hegemony, cultural traditions, and the
‘role of the party’ or political organization. This course examines various
strategies designed to trigger and achieve social and political change. Within
the voluntaristic views, two drastically opposed strategies have existed for a
long time: violence as a trigger of change, and non-violent strategies. Which
one is more effective? Which one more ethical? We will look at and discuss, for
example, the guerrilla strategy used historically in Latin America. Such armed
struggles are then compared to non-violent strategies, from Gandhi to
contemporary civil disobedience. While there are certainly ethical reasons for
choosing one over the other, we will also discuss key factors such as state
penetration of society, stricter and more standardized legal codes, as well as
developments in law enforcement technologies.
Course |
PS 265 Congress: Campaigns and Policymaking |
|
|
Professor |
Mark Lindeman |
|
|
CRN |
90096 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu Th 10:30 - 11:50 am OLIN
205 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: Social Policy
By constitutional design, the U.S. Congress ‘
particularly the House of Representatives ‘ is the branch of the federal
government most often and directly accountable to the citizens who elect its
members. It is also the least trusted of the major government institutions ‘
and yet, its members usually win reelection. Who are the people whom Americans
choose to make our laws, and why are we so ambivalent about them? We will
consider how Congress is organized and how it has changed over time, how it is
influenced by various forms of lobbying, and how it interacts with the
executive and judicial branches. We will pay special attention to the impact of
Republican control of Congress since the ‘Republican Revolution’ of 1994, and
to the ongoing congressional campaigns culminating in November.
Course |
PS 268 Revenge and the Law |
|
|
Professor |
Roger Berkowitz |
|
|
CRN |
90119 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu Th
1:00 -2:20 pm OLIN 101 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: Human Rights
To speak of revenge in a
course on law is to lay bare an open wound at the heart of law. On the one
hand, law is built upon the exclusion of vengeance. On the other hand, revenge
remains a constant presence in criminal law. In spite of the best efforts of
philosophers, moralists, and jurists to banish it, revenge remains an
irrepressible social and legal force. This course asks the question: Can
revenge be a just motive for criminal punishment? By considering those in the
victims’ rights movements who argue for the importance and justice of
“legalizing” and thus legitimating revenge, we ask whether justice is actually
something other than legalized revenge. To do so, we explore the phenomenon of
revenge as it has been practiced, imagined, and conceived throughout history.
Through a close reading of texts, films, and works of art, we will ask: why
does revenge persist as an ideal of justice despite the best efforts of lawyers
to banish it?
Course |
PS 270 The Power of Healing: The Politics of Medicine in East Asia |
|
|
Professor |
Nara Dillon |
|
|
CRN |
90095 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu Th 10:30 - 11:50 am OLIN
307 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: GISP, Asian Studies
This course examines the history, culture, and
politics of health, disease, and medicine in East Asia. The first part of the
course focuses on the development of East Asian healing traditions, with a
particular emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine. The second part of the
course explores the political conflicts that ensued after the introduction of
Western biomedicine to the region. In addition to tracing the impact of these
conflicts on ideas, institutions, and practices in East Asia (primarily China,
Japan and Korea), we will also look at parallel conflicts in the United States
over acupuncture and other Asian medical practices. The third part of the
course focuses on a variety of contemporary issues in the politics of medicine
in East Asia, including public health, family planning, mental health, and
newly emerging diseases. Course readings are drawn from the disciplines of
history, anthropology, sociology, and political science.
Course |
PS 311 Immigration & Citizenship |
|
|
Professor |
Elaine Thomas |
|
|
CRN |
90098 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu 1:00 -3:20 pm OLIN 303 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science / Rethinking Difference
|
Cross-listed: GISP, Human Rights, Social Policy, SRE
Related interest:
French Studies, German Studies
PIE Core course
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.
Course |
PS 330 Politics of Democratization |
|
|
Professor |
Omar Encarnacion |
|
|
CRN |
90057 |
|
|
Schedule |
Tu
4:00 – 6:20 pm OLIN 310 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: A/C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: GISP, Human Rights; PIE Core course
The American invasion of Iraq and the attempt to
implant democracy in the very heart of the Middle East has awakened interest in
the politics of democratization. Underlying this interest is a cluster of
questions and inquiries such as what makes for a successful transition from
dictatorship to democracy? Can democracy be successfully imposed from the
outside? What kind of governing institutions (parliamentary versus
presidential, for instance) are best suited for a new democracy? Is the
stability and longevity of democracy the result of structural factors such as
the level of social and economic development, the density of civil society or
the talents of politicians? These questions are examined in this seminar
through the lenses of the expansive literature on democratization accumulated
since the late 1970s. The course is divided into three main sections. The first
looks at key concepts in the study of democratization. The second examines
theoretical approaches to understanding the sources of democratic stability and
performance. The final section examines the politics of democratization in four
distinct historical and geographic settings: Spain, Brazil, Russia and Iraq.
Course |
PS 347 Civil Society and Democracy in Africa |
|
|
Professor |
Geoffrey Nyarota |
|
|
CRN |
90449 |
|
|
Schedule |
Th 1:30 -3:50 pm OLIN 306 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: Social
Science
|
This course examines the extent to which freedom of
expression has empowered civil society and opposition political parties in
challenging threats to democracy in various states on the African
sub-continent. Where authoritarian regimes have curtailed the right of civil
society to freedom of expression and prevented the media from effectively
playing their role as a watchdog over government and as a cornerstone of
democracy, abuse of human rights, poverty, corruption and a general decline in
living standards have proliferated. The course will analyze case studies of
countries where civil society, working in tandem with the political opposition,
the media, the church, the trade unions and the judiciary, have effectively
challenged dictatorship. We will also investigate the role of censorship and
ownership of mass media by government, as well as the complex role of Western
NGOs and media coverage in the struggles of post-colonial Africa. A number of southern African countries,
which have endured threats to democracy under the rule of authoritarian regimes
will be considered case studies during this course, while parts played by the
forces of resistance will also be highlighted.
Course |
PS 349 Bard – West Point Seminar: The Nature of Power |
|
|
Professor |
Jonathan Cristol |
|
|
CRN |
90886 |
|
|
Schedule |
Wed 4:30 – 6:50 pm OLIN 205 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD: C |
NEW: History
|
Please note: This class will occasionally travel by van
to West Point for 7:35 am classes and on two days during term will spend the
bulk of the day there. It will also
require reading one book per week.
Please be sure the class fits into your schedule before you register.
Course |
PS 361 The Great Asian Transformation |
|
|
Professor |
Sanjib Baruah |
|
|
CRN |
90094 |
|
|
Schedule |
Fr
9:30 - 11:50 am OLIN 107 |
|
|
Distribution |
OLD:
|
NEW: Social
Science
|
Cross-listed: Asian Studies, GISP
There has been much interest lately in what appears
to be a global shift in economic power towards Asia. The dramatic
economic growth of Asian countries -- notably of China and India -- undoubtedly
will have consequences for global politics. But it would be misleading to view
it entirely through traditional state-centric lenses, for there is a change in
the spatial organization of the world economy. After all, manufacturing in Asia
is incorporated into the global supply chains of transnational companies, and
for many such companies a technology hub in Asia is a link in a global
innovation chain. It has also become difficult to draw sharp lines
between countries and their neighborhoods. A number of East Asian countries and
the overseas Chinese for instance, are a part of the story of China's
transformation. The course will look closely at these dimensions of the Asian
transformation and ask a few long-term questions: Can this pattern be
sustained? What are its consequences for the well being of the people in the
region and elsewhere? How would one make sense of this shift in world
historical terms?