Survey the basic principles, terminology, and methods of political science in this course, which combines a historical study of the discipline's greatest thinkers with an analysis of contemporary issues.
This is a survey course, and it can be used if you are looking to take just one general overview course of political science or if you want to go on to more advanced study in any of the subfields of the discipline, such as American politics, comparative politics, international politics, or political theory. This course will survey the different ways in which political scientists study the phenomena of politics and will deepen your understanding of political life as both a thinker and a citizen. The goal of this course is to introduce you to the discipline's concepts, terminology, and methods and to explore instances of applied political science through real-world examples.
As an introductory course, POLSC101 will focus on the basic principles of political science by combining a historical study of the discipline's greatest thinkers with an analysis of contemporary issues. We will also identify and discuss the questions that drive the field of political science, including: How do we define the changing nature of power? How do we differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate governance? What are the differences between political institutions and political behavior? How do leaders define who gets to be heard and counted in a political community? By the end of this course, you will be familiar with these issues and capable of discussing them in the context of contemporary politics.
- Unit 1: Foundational Concepts of Politics
- Unit 2: Participation and Public Opinion
- Unit 3: Ideologies
- Unit 4: The State
- Unit 5: Political Institutions
- Unit 6: International Politics
- Explain the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority;
- Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state;
- Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political ideologies and political economy;
- Discuss the political socialization process;
- Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective;
- Discuss the influence of public opinion on the political decision-making process;
- Identify the different types of electoral systems and assess the implications of those systems;
- Identify the role and functions of political parties;
- Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective;
- Evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems;
- Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments;
- Explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, communism, and fascism;
- Describe the origins and principles of international law;
- Assess the influence of major international organizations; and
- Analyze the causes of international conflict.
Examine the major texts and figures in the history of political thought, including Plato, Machiavelli, and Rousseau. Topics of analysis include power, justice, rights, law, and issues of governance.
Political thought, or political philosophy, studies questions about power, justice, rights, law, and other issues related to governance. While some believe these concepts are static, political thought asks how they originated and to what effect. Just as Socrates' question "how should we be governed?" led to his execution, the question "what makes a government legitimate?" can lead to political turmoil. What form should government take? What do citizens owe their government? When should citizens overthrow an illegitimate government?
In this course, we examine major texts in Western political thought, where authors pose difficult questions about the political community, social order, and human nature. How do our views about human nature and history inform government design? We explore how Plato, Machiavelli, and Rousseau responded and how these philosophers contributed to the broader conversation about human needs, goods, justice, democracy, and the ever-changing relationship between the citizen and the state.
In our first unit, we address the polis, or political community, centered upon the texts of Plato and Aristotle. In the second unit, we explore the modern state and constitutional government, featuring the work of John Locke, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. Finally, we focus on democracy and a critique of liberal ideology from the perspectives of the texts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels. These political philosophies have shaped various forms of government, from tyranny to republican democracy to welfare states.
Note that while we use the terms politics, political theory, and political science throughout the course, they are not interchangeable. Politics describes the use of power and the distribution of resources. Political theory is the study of the concepts and principles people use to describe, explain, and evaluate political events and institutions. Traditionally, political theory approaches this study from three perspectives: classic, modern, and contemporary political theory. Here, we examine all three. Political science is the academic discipline concerned with the study of the state, government, and politics. Aristotle defined political science as "the study of the state".
Western political thought has served as a philosophical and ideological foundation for governments around the world, including the United States. We give you historical, social, and cultural context to relate to contemporary political society.
- Unit 1: The Polis
- Unit 2: Modern Political Thought
- Unit 3: Liberal Democracy and Its Critics
- Summarize the passage of political thought through the classical, Renaissance, and Enlightenment periods based on the works of Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx;
- Compare and contrast the differences between Plato and Aristotle with regard to their understandings of the nature of the person, ethics, society, citizenship, and governance;
- Explain the historical and intellectual context in which the political thought that helped to develop the modern state came to be;
- Compare and contrast the concepts of justice, freedom, equality, citizenship, and sovereignty in the works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau;
- Explain the different versions and importance of the state of nature to political thought;
- Identify the influences of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau on the development of the United States Constitution;
- Summarize the thoughts of Alexis de Tocqueville on the American political landscape, particularly with regard to religion and equality, and why this has importance beyond the American context;
- Explain Karl Marx's worldview, with particular regard to his critique of democracy and the modern, politically liberal state; how it came to be; and its fundamental link to capitalism; and
- Explain John Stuart Mill's theory on utilitarianism and how he applies it to society and the state.
Survey the governments and politics of several contemporary societies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East by exploring political leadership, representative mechanisms, legal processes, and the extra-institutional behaviors of voting culture, ethnic conflict, and corruption.
This course focuses its efforts on exploring the formal, public sphere of politics and power relations through a systematic study and comparison of types of government and political systems. Comparativists (practitioners of comparative politics) seek to identify and understand the similarities and differences between these systems by taking broad topics – say, for example, "democracy" or "freedom" – and breaking them down into factors that can be found in individual systems. We call this general approach "the comparative method". The goal of the comparative method is to identify the factors and/or categories of analysis to effectively compare and contrast different political phenomena. Using the comparative method, we can tackle broader and more complicated questions like:
- Are certain forms of representative democracy more effective than others?
- Why are some countries extremely prosperous, while others are extremely poor?
- How does the degree of authoritarian control by a government drive economic development?
- Does culture affect quality of governance?
Unit 1 introduces basic concepts in social science, comparative political theory, and methodology. Unit 2 examines the state and compares authoritarian, totalitarian, and democratic state forms. Unit 3 focuses on the concept of democracy and democratization. Unit 4 explores institutional features of government and governance. Unit 5 moves outside the realm of government structure to explore how variables, including culture, interest groups, pressure groups, lobbying, the press, media campaigns, nongovernmental and quasi-nongovernmental organizations, shape outcomes in politics. Unit 6 compares different ideologies and government policy processes. Unit 7 applies comparative methods to examine variations of government structure and economic development across four different regions of the world: the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will have the methodological background to understand and explain variations in political behavior and political institutions. You will also have a general understanding of the issues facing political systems in each of the regions covered.
- Unit 1: Social Sciences and Comparative Politics
- Unit 2: The Nation-State
- Unit 3: Democratic States and Democratization
- Unit 4: Comparing Political Structures and Institutions
- Unit 5: Political Behavior
- Unit 6: Comparing Ideology, Policy, and Decision-Making
- Unit 7: Comparative Case Studies
- Identify and differentiate between various theoretical research paradigms employed in the social sciences; apply comparative methodology to the study of political systems;
- Identify and differentiate between various methodologies used to compare political systems;
- Understand how past events in state’s developmental path lead to differences in long-term outcomes;
- Identify key factors in the economic competitiveness among states;
- Compare and contrast development outcomes among resource-rich and non resource-rich states;
- Explain key views on the evolution of the international system;
- Understand how states approach the issue of development;
- Understand the policymaking process and some of the forces that impact that process;
- Compare and contrast the various political systems in the world;
- Understand how party identification impacts voting; explain the latest trends in voter turnout;
- Explain the impact of media on the public and the state;
- Compare and contrast the key democratic institutions in various countries;
- Understand the reasons for bureaucracy;
- Describe and explain the political economy and development in selected countries;
- Identify and explain political challenges and changing agendas in selected countries;
- Compare and contrast the effectiveness of public and private sectors;
- Identify the various approaches for studying democracy; and
- Understand the development of various systems of government.
Learn about the structure and processes of the U.S. political system: its constitutional foundations, the electoral process, political participation, the Congressional decision-making process, the executive branch, and federal courts.
In this course, we examine core concepts of the American system of government, the workings of its myriad actors and agencies, the critical components of "politics" in the American system, and how the American government shapes and influences individual freedoms and rights.
First, we explore the core concepts and theoretical underpinnings of the American system of government: American political culture, the Constitution, and federalism. A solid grasp of these concepts provides a foundation for the structure of the American political system. Next, we explore the processes citizens use to learn about politics, including public opinion, the mass media, political parties, interest groups, campaigns, elections, and electoral participation. Then we examine the organizations and processes that impact the political and electoral landscape and how candidates and voters are affected.
Then, we analyze the major U.S. governing bodies: Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the courts. Next, we explore how the U.S. government shapes and influences the individual freedoms and rights of its citizens. Finally, we look at U.S. social, economic, and foreign policies and how the broad themes of constitutional principles, political behavior, and governmental institutions have intersected to shape them.
- Unit 1: American Political Foundations
- Unit 2: American Political Behavior
- Unit 3: Political Parties, Campaigns, Elections, and Interest Groups
- Unit 4: American Political Institutions
- Unit 5: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
- Unit 6: Policymaking in American Government
- Explain the development of the U.S. Constitution;
- Describe the relationship between political socialization, public opinion, the media, and political participation;
- Explain the influence of interest groups and political parties on campaigns and elections;
- Describe the roles, functions, and structure of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches;
- Differentiate civil rights and civil liberties and their impact on American politics; and
- Define public policy and distinguish economic, domestic, and foreign policy.
Examine the role that ethical, cultural, religious, and moral principles play in the formulation and execution of public policy by lawmakers and other public officials. Topics include domestic and international policy, justice, equality, fairness, individual liberty, free enterprise, charity, and human rights.
This course discusses the role ethical, moral, and cultural principles play in how lawmakers and public officials formulate and execute public policy.
After studying the foundational theories of ethics and morality in politics, we review arguments about issues in domestic and international policy from a variety of perspectives. Common themes in ethics debates include justice, equality, fairness, individual liberty, free enterprise, charity, fundamental human rights, and minimizing harm to others. These themes are integrated into various decision-making models, such as the utilitarian approach, the fairness and justice approach, and the rights approach.
When executing public policy, it is impossible to avoid harming others. Public policy often requires a redistribution of resources, denial of rights or privileges, or promotion of one group at the expense of another. We use decision-making frameworks to help balance competing interests to make the best decision, or the one that causes the least amount of pain. We examine five types of decision frameworks used to make and implement public policy, and rationales used to justify inequitable impact and outcomes of policies.
- Unit 1: The Role of Ethics and Morality in Politics
- Unit 2: Theoretical Frameworks for Analyses of Ethical Dilemmas
- Unit 3: Individual Liberty, Public Safety, and Justice
- Unit 4: Income Taxation, EEO Compliance, and Affirmative Action
- Unit 5: Care for the Poor, Sick, Elderly, and Infirm
- Unit 6: Issues Involving Families and Relationships
- Unit 7: National Security and Foreign Relations
- Explain how personal morality and ethics impact the policymaking process;
- Discuss various ethical frameworks used to resolve policy dilemmas;
- Describe policy arguments pertaining to individual liberty, public safety, and justice;
- Identify dilemmas related to tax policy, equal employment opportunity, and affirmative action;
- Discuss policy considerations related to care for the poor, sick, elderly and infirm;
- Describe ethical implications concerning families and relationships; and
- Explain the ethical concerns governments face regarding national security, foreign relations, trade, and military intervention.
Explore the contemporary debates and controversies around global justice, including topics like human rights, national and cultural boundaries, distributive justice, global inequality and poverty, environmental devastation, and violence against women and children.
How do we define, understand, and uphold principles of justice in the global political environment? Some argue we cannot achieve global justice in a world that is increasingly chaotic and diverse. Others say that, by its very nature, justice demands a global context and uniform scope of applicability.
In this course, we review political philosophy, international and global relations, history, practical reasoning, the tensions between universalism and relativism, and the challenge of creating and maintaining just or fair societies in a global context.
Can global society be just and fair? Should individuals and states desire convergence on a set of abstract principles or consequent norms? Furthermore, does this type of global convergence (whether required, coerced, or encouraged) necessarily occur at the expense of particular cultures, traditions, and identities?
Justice is fundamentally about human rights. We begin this course by reviewing political theories of global justice, followed by an exploration of contemporary global dynamics in applied and distributive justice. In Units 4–7, we study gender and sexuality issues, race and ethnicity, genocide, self-determination, environmental concerns, class, and participatory rights within the context of global justice.
- Unit 1: A Human Rights Context for Global Justice
- Unit 2: Origins of the Contemporary Justice and Rights Discourse
- Unit 3: Political Theory and Global Justice
- Unit 4: Empowerment, Agency, and Global Justice: Revisiting the Universal-Relative Debate
- Unit 5: Resolving Conflicting Claims for Justice: Revisiting the Individual-Collective Debate
- Unit 6: Participation, Rights, Needs, and Global Justice: Revisiting Civil, Political and Economic, Social, Cultural Rights Debate
- Unit 7: Final Considerations: Are Global and Justice Compatible in Theory and Practice?
- Discuss the significance of a human rights context for exploring global justice including key conceptual, international historical developments, and western versus non-western perspectives of human rights;
- Compare and contrast competing notions of justice grounded in the debate between natural order and utilitarian conceptualizations;
- Compare and contrast nationalist and cosmopolitan political perspectives, and explain how different conceptions of the self and corresponding theories of justice relate to each perspective;
- Identify different conceptions of global distributive justice and articulate arguments made in support of and against these conceptions;
- Analyze western and non-western perspectives as well as their related conceptual underpinnings of human rights and associated notions of theoretical and applied justice; and
- Reconsider theoretical material in light of specific global realities pertaining to political agency, conflicting pursuits of justice, and the needs versus rights discourse.
