CMS/PL 312
Social Media, Social Movements, Social Change
(Prerequisite: COM 220 or permission of the instructor)
This course examines the technological capabilities, organizational structures, social effects, and ethical implications behind the use of social media platforms –Twitter, Facebook and others-- in recent social movement organizing. The course will investigate how social media have been utilized and rendered effective by a variety of social movements and in a diversity of contexts and interests, from the Arab Spring, to Black Lives Matter, to It Gets Better. Students will be offered a broad overview of the affordances of social media for mobilizing for social change or political action. Students will consistently engage with critical concepts from both classic social theory and new media studies put forward both by scholars and organizers.
CMS/PL 331
Media in the Arab World
(Prerequisite: COM 220 or permission of the instructor)
This course examines the various media systems, both news and entertainment, from the southern Mediterranean all the way to Iran through screenings of films and television programs from the region. The topics to be covered include the motion picture industry, news and entertainment media, including satellite TV, magazines, newspapers, internet, and alternative media and their role in the perception and practice of Middle Eastern politics and culture. Special emphasis will be put on questions of gender as well as the use of the media by social movements and the ways these transform the institutional arrangements between the media, publics and governments, both nationally and transnationally.
CMS/PL 348
War, Terrorism, and Violence in Visual Culture
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing or permission of the instructor)
This course examines violence and terror as inherent structural components of contemporary politics and media. Students will study how the performance of violence in the contemporary media landscape has shaped new visual cultures, such as emergent modes of producing evidence, bearing witness and archiving personal and collective memories of traumatic events. Conversely, the course examines how visual culture has dramatically impacted on the way in which we understand and consume violence and terror. Subsequently, students will examine the relationship between violence and visibility, the performance of terror and its representational regimes, through a variety of global visual media from around the world. Example include Hollywood movies; art documentaries; amateur films; photographs; art projects and performances; user-generated videos (including audiovisual material produced by armed groups and terrorist organizations); and state produced media.
CMS/PL 399
Special Topics in Media Studies and Political Science
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
HS/PL 393
Walls, Separation and Integration
(Co-requisites: EN 110; Recommended: Junior Standing, One previous history course)
This
course provides an analytical study of walls and separation barriers in
a comparative, global perspective. In it, students will examine the
debates and controversies surrounding the construction of the most
significant barriers built in the modern world. Did walls achieve their
alleged objectives? Did they provide a protective shield? Or did they
merely reflect the inadequacies of modern diplomacy, intercultural
dialogue, and peace-making? Are contemporary walls the product of a
“cold war mentality”? Or do they effectively prevent conflict? Students
will attempt to answer such questions by studying particular walls and
the social-political contexts in which they were built, using a range of
different historical sources.
Satisfies "Modern History" core course requirement for History majors.
M-BUS/PL 325
NGO Consulting Lab
In this transdisciplinary course, students develop a project for a non governmental organization (NGO) and they learn how to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - including social, economic and environmental sustainability - into it. This learning-by-doing approach is accompanied by a sound theoretical framework in which the role NGOs play in the fragmented system of global governance is analyzed and the ways in which these non-State actors contribute to achieving the SDGs is examined. Moreover, students learn how to mainstream human rights, gender equity, diversity and environmental sustainability in NGOs’ work and to understand the challenges posed by managing projects and evaluating their impact.
M-BUS/PL 325
NGO Consulting Lab
In this transdisciplinary course, students develop a project for a non governmental organization (NGO) and they learn how to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - including social, economic and environmental sustainability - into it. This learning-by-doing approach is accompanied by a sound theoretical framework in which the role NGOs play in the fragmented system of global governance is analyzed and the ways in which these non-State actors contribute to achieving the SDGs is examined. Moreover, students learn how to mainstream human rights, gender equity, diversity and environmental sustainability in NGOs’ work and to understand the challenges posed by managing projects and evaluating their impact.
PH/PL 311
Greek and Roman Political Philosophy
(Corequisites: EN 110; Recommended: PL 210, Junior Standing)
The advanced course offers students a philosophical encounter with the key ideas and arguments of Greek and Roman political philosophy. Through a reading of ancient texts in English translation – such as Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, and Cicero’s Ideal Orator – students will scrutinize the central debates of Greek and Roman thought, including those about justice, the city, the regime, and the responsibilities of citizenship. The distinctive nature of classical thought – such as its insistence on the unity of ethics and politics and on the importance of metaphysics for politics, the dialectical manner in which Socratic philosophy emerges from political opinion, and the idea of philosophy as a unique way of life – will be examined. While the principal aim of the course is to engage philosophically with primary works of Classical thought, secondary literature will be assigned to illuminate historical context or wider philosophical themes, including the influence of the classical legacy on contemporary politics and political theory – for instance, on modern political forms, such as democracy, tyranny, republicanism, and the mixed constitution.
PH/PL 312
Freedom, Equality, and Democracy
(One previous philosophy course or Junior Standing Co-requisites: EN 110; Recommended Junior Standing)
This course introduces students to current philosophical debates over what makes a ‘just’ society, relating these debates to controversial issues in contemporary politics. In particular, students will develop their understanding of such crucial political ideas as ‘freedom,’ ‘equality’ and ‘democracy’ and of how these ideas can be interpreted and argued over in debates about issues such as healthcare, terrorism, poverty, immigration, and climate change.
PH/PL 399
Special Topics in Philosophy and Political Science
(Prerequisites: One previous philosophy course or PL 210 or Junior Standing Co-requisites: EN 110; Recommended Junior Standing)
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL 101
Introduction to Political Science
The course introduces students to basic concepts, methods, and theories of the scientific study of politics. In so doing, the class provides a systematic understanding of the foundations of government, political systems, and political behavior. The course familiarizes students with the functioning of political institutions and political power, constitutional frameworks and procedures to obtain public legitimacy, and approaches to different fields, problems and issues of—domestic, comparative, and global—politics in the 21st century.
PL 201
American Government: Democracy, Federalism and the Separation of Powers
This course examines the basic concepts of the American constitutional system of government, and its major strengths and weaknesses, starting from the main principles supposed to be animating American government – democracy, federalism, the separation of powers, checks and balances – and focusing on the Constitution itself and contemporary debates surrounding its meaning. It also strives to understand the institutions – legislative, executive and judicial – that simultaneously embody and challenge these governing principles. Strong attention will be paid to the role of state and local governments, and the different roles of “the people” in the American system of government, as citizens, electors, rights-bearers, violent mobs and peaceful agents of political change. Students will keep abreast of current events in American politics, paying attention to the systematic threats to American democracy and prospects for preserving it.
PL 208
Statistical Analysis for Political Science
This is an applied course on statistical methods commonly used in social science research (including political science and sociology) and provides the necessary foundation to conduct your own analysis and to help you interpret the numbers presented in the media. Students will learn how to read statistics in a research context, what data to use for different research topics, to adopt research designs that are relevant for the research question, use statistical tests and draw conclusions based on statistical tests. Students will also learn how to carry out statistical tests using statistical packages, and to interpret results based on their own analyses.
PL 209
World Politics
An introduction to the theory and practice of
international affairs, this course discusses the main schools of world
politics as well as actors, structures and institutions of international
relations. Through this framework the course explores key conflicts and
issues in the post-World War II era, including problems of war, armed
conflict, and peace, and the impact of recent trends in globalization on
world politics.
PL 210
Introduction to Political Theory
An introduction to the history of political thought, from Ancient Greece to the 19th century. Through a close reading of selected canonical texts, students will examine the evolution of ideas about democracy, liberty, equality, justice, political authority, the social contract, different conceptions of human nature and the role of the individual in society. The theorists examined may include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill.
PL 212
International Organizations
(Prerequisite: PL 209)
This course examines attempts at international cooperation in various institutional forms. The course analyzes efforts of twentieth-century internationalism, from the League of Nations up to the United Nations (UN). Main regional organizations are also examined, such as NATO, the African Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, World Trade Organization and Organization of American States.
PL 214
Visual World Politics: The Role of Images, Art and Architecture in Contemporary Power Politics
This course explores how the realm of international politics is visually constructed and how pictures, digital images, films, art works, monuments, and buildings shape public perceptions. It uses a multidisciplinary approach and relies on cultural theory, anthropology, political science, and art theory to provide students with a solid theoretical framework. Case studies will focus on the functions that visual sources perform in international conflicts and in strategies addressing global challenges such as poverty, famine, human rights violations, migration and climate change. Overall, the course develops students’ analytical skills related to the critical assessment of visual information and encourages them to challenge their thoughts about factors driving world politics.
PL 215
Italian Politics and Society
(PL 223 recommended for students majoring in Political Science and International Affairs)
This course examines the evolution of Italian political culture from 1945 to the present. Highlighting the problems of developing a national identity and the legacies of Fascism and the Resistance in influencing the 1948 Constitution, the course will look at Italy’s position during the Cold War, the economic miracle of the 1950s, the political conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s, the end of the First Republic and the political scene since 1992, as well as the political influence of such actors as the Vatican and the Mafia. This course examines the major features of the political and social systems of the Italian Republic. Topics of analysis include the Constitution, the Italian economy, the role of the State, unions, the relationship between North and South, NATO, the U.S.-Italian partnership, and the European Union. Special attention will be given to the political developments leading to the establishment of the Second Republic.
PL 223
Comparative Politics
As both a subject and a method of study, comparative politics examines the nature, development, structure and functioning of the political systems of a selection of countries with very different cultures, social and economic profiles, political histories and geographic characteristics. Through case studies, students will learn to use the comparativist’s methods to collect and organize the information and develop general explanations.
PL 228
Genocide
The course examines such violent forms of identity politics as ethnic cleansing and genocide in an international and historical perspective. The program covers the genocides in Europe against the Jews and Roma, in Armenia, the Balkans, the Ukraine, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Darfur region.
PL 250
Western European Politics
(Prerequisite: PL 223)
The course examines the political systems in Western Europe and major political developments affecting Western Europe since 1945 through a comparative lens. Looking at historical legacies, political cultures, types of government, and party systems shaping the major Western European powers, students will gain an understanding of the constitutive features, and transnational developments, challenges and changes in Western European states.
PL 265
Politics of the Middle East
(Prerequisite: PL 209 OR PL 223)
The course offers an introduction to the history and politics of the contemporary Middle East. It combines an IR/political science perspective with an area study approach in understanding the historical grounding of ongoing processes that affect the region and its relations with the rest of the world. In particular, it focuses on the legacy of imperialism and recent foreign powers’ penetration on contemporary nation-states' tensions; transnational ideologies (nationalism, pan-Arabism, Arab socialism, Islamism) and their impact on intra-regional and extra-regional relations; the roots and evolution of the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts; the Islamic revolution in Iran and its consequences on the “sectarianization” of conflicts; the question of democracy and authoritarianism before and after the “Arab uprisings”; and shifting alliances and political violence between State and non-state actors from the Gulf to the Levant.
PL 280
Intelligence and Espionage from World War I to the Digital Age
This course introduces students to espionage practices and examines contemporary intelligence and counterintelligence activities conducted by multiple states. The role played by espionage and the advancements in technology during key historical events, including the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War, is examined to contextualize its current function in framing the national security strategies and foreign policies of democratic countries. The legal and ethical tension between engaging in espionage and counterintelligence activities while upholding the rule of law is discussed. The course concludes by analyzing the current and future challenges in this field.
PL 281/381
Independent Study
PL 299
Special Topics in Political Science
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern within the field of Political Science. Topics may vary.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL 310
Modern Political Theory
(Recommended: PL 210)
This course introduces students to key modern & contemporary political thinkers and their contributions to the development of political theory and ideas. The class covers a wide range of different European, American and African thinkers shaping political philosophy and political theory from the 19th to the 21st century, such as Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Carl Schmitt, Antonio Gramsci, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas. The course examines the way these thinkers appropriate traditions of political thought, and provide their own vocabularies to understand the modern world, the modern state, and modern politics. In so doing, the course addresses and critically discusses these thinkers’ different approaches to key political concepts such as power, political order, rationalism, political violence, community, democracy, sovereignty, justice, legitimacy, plurality, difference, and the rule of law.
PL 312
Machiavelli
(Prerequisites: PL 210 recommended)
No great political thinker is more controversial than Niccolò Machiavelli. He has been accused of being a teacher of evil and an advisor to tyrants, and the very term “Machiavellian” has become a byword for cunning wickedness. On the other hand, he has been praised as a philosopher of liberty and an Italian patriot. For some he is the founder of modern political realism, for others a reviver of ancient virtue. What is certain is that his influence has been immense, even if not always acknowledged. Issues on which he reflected profoundly and which are still with us include the problem of political morality (i.e., can a political leader afford to be good?), the relation between politics and religion, imperialism, and the relative merits of autocracies and republics. This course will introduce Machiavelli’s political thought through selections from the Prince and other relevant texts.
PL 315
Institutions and Policies of the European Union
(Prerequisite: PL 223)
This course aims to provide students with a firm understanding of the origins, dynamics, institutions, and policies central to the process of European integration. In so doing, students will examine such issues as the relationship among the different EU institutions, and their relationships with the Member States, as well as EU trade, monetary, foreign, and security policies.
PL 316
History and Politics of Sino-European Relations (1949 to the present)
This course explores the history and politics of Sino-European relations from 1949 to the present, examining the role played by these dynamics in the transformation of the international system from the Cold War to today. The Cold War was characterized by the supremacy of the United States and the Soviet Union, an initially divided and weakened Europe, and the progressive move away from bipolarity toward multipolarity, given the increasing relevance of Asia and especially China. This advanced class analyses the influence of the great power rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union on the development of relations between Europe and China, as well as the influence of these same relations on the superpowers, their policy-making processes, their strategic choices, and the international system itself. It moreover explores the living legacy of these dynamics in contemporary Sino-European relations.
PL 321
War, Peace, and Conflict Resolution
(Prerequisite: PL 209; Recommended PL 223)
This course is an introduction to the study of War, Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies. The course will draw on classical and contemporary global political theory and introduce students to the methods, cases, data, and major theoretical debates that structure the study of war and peace in global politics.
PL 327
Interventions in the 21st century: Complexity, Resilience, and Remote Warfare
(Prerequisites: recommended PL 321)
This course introduces students to security interventions, which includes military interventions as well as other practices where external actors seek to shape a state’s internal security. It particularly emphasises the shift from liberal interventionism of the 1990s and early 2000s, to post-liberal interventions from mid-2000 onward, including ‘light footprint’ warfare, stabilization, complexity, resilience and ‘remote warfare’. It explores changing intervention practices, different types of intervention actors, and their effects on local conflicts, regional security and international orders. The course engages with International Relations theory, peace and conflict studies, political sociology and critical geopolitics, and furnishes an advanced understanding of global-local relations in international security.
PL 328
International Humanitarian Action
(Prerequisites: PL 209)
The course introduces students to humanitarian action, delving into its challenges and opportunities as well as protection needs in response to contemporary crises, such as complex emergencies and natural hazards. It examines debates on how to transform the delivery, coordination and financing of humanitarian action while guaranteeing that affected people’s needs, including those of vulnerable groups, are at its core. Issues such as the depoliticization and neutrality of humanitarian action, and the fostering of inclusive leadership, which are fundamental in contemporary emergencies, are explored.
PL 329
Religion and Global Politics
“Religion” is driving contemporary political events in multiple, multifaceted, and mysterious ways. This course is designed to help students to make sense of this phenomenon and to begin to understand why, and in what ways, religion influences global politics today. In order to do so, the course will address normative concerns about the proper relationship between religion and states in contemporary political societies; theoretical concerns about how various religious institutions and religion-state arrangements influence and are influenced by political processes; and empirical concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities might influence their political decisions and behaviors. Throughout the course students will be introduced to a set of concepts used by scholars to understand the theory and practice of religion and politics today. They will then have an opportunity to employ and critique these concepts by researching and writing a term paper on a case of religion intersecting with international affairs today. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the Iraq war debate; the EU vs. the Crucifix debate; the Islam and Democracy debate; and the US foreign policy debate over the engagement of the “global Muslim community.”
PL 330
American Foreign Policy
(Prerequisite: PL 209)
The course examines the foreign and security policy of the United States against the backdrop of the evolution of the international system, from both a historical and analytical perspective. In particular, the course will introduce students to the fundamental principles, concepts and interests that have shaped U.S. engagement in global dynamics, as well as the historical record of U.S. foreign policy from the origins of the United States to the present. The central objective of the course is to delineate the historical trajectory of U.S. political, military, economic, and cultural projection in the world, and to examine the intertwining of U.S. grand designs and the transformation of the global environment. The course is designed to enable students to critically assess the rationale for US foreign policy decision-making and its connection with domestic issues, as well as to evaluate the broader vision and role of the United States in contemporary world politics, with particular reference to the current phase of the decline of the international liberal order and the resumption of great power competition. Furthermore, the course will equip students with the proper methodology for the analysis of U.S. foreign policy documents, including both diplomatic materials (such as the Foreign Relations of the United States [FRUS] series) and official documents (such as the National Security Strategy).
PL 331
European Security Issues after the Cold War
(Prerequisite: PL 209)
This course will examine how the almost simultaneous collapse of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact and Yugoslavia in 1991 gave rise to a new set of challenges to European security. It will also examine the NATO-EU-Russia relationship and the foreign policies of major European powers, US priorities in the area, nation building, minorities and territorial issues and problems in Central and Eastern Europe, new spheres of influence and related conflicts.
PL 333
Populism
(Prerequisite: PL 209, Junior Standing)
This upper-level course will focus on the populism and populist politics which currently challenge Western liberal democracies and their party systems. While populism as a political style or ‘thin’ ideology is not limited to parties and actors classified as “populist,” populist parties and movements have seen a dramatic rise in popularity and electoral support in recent years. In the US core supporters of the Trump presidency self-identify as “populist”. In many European countries, populist parties have emerged as relevant challengers of both mainstream parties and established liberal democracy as a political system; in several cases these parties have become junior or senior partners in government as well. The seminar explores the nature and dynamics of this political phenomenon, the origins and causes of populist politics--as well as the conditions for its success. Situating the rise of various populist parties and movements in a comparative European, American and global context, the course will examine parties, cases, issues, cross-national similarities, variations--and implications of populist politics and the rise of populist parties. In search for explanations of what Cas Mudde has aptly called the “populist Zeitgeist” and the current transformation of political landscapes in Western democracies, we will also take broader socio-cultural changes and conflicts within Western societies into account—looking beyond party systems, platforms, and elections.
PL 334
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
(Prerequisite: PL 209 or permission of the instructor)
This course will provide the student with an understanding and basic foundation to: explain and compare the varying definitions of terrorism; distinguish the different types of terrorist motivations including left-wing, right-wing, ethnonationalist, separatists, and religious; differentiate terrorism from other forms of violence including political violence, guerilla warfare, insurgency, civil war, unconventional warfare, and crime; understand and describe the historical foundations of terrorism and apply them to modern terrorist events and methods being used to combat them.
PL 340
Politics of Developing Countries
The definition of Devoloping Countries has been applied to
countries which, albeit located in different geographic areas of the
globe, are affected by similar features and problems: recent
independence from colonial rule, limited economic development,
overpopulation, insufficient infrastructures and availability of public
hygiene/health care/education, persisting dependency on developed
countries and attempts at reducing or altogether eliminating it. The
course will explore the various patterns with an emphasis on three
aspects. The first will examine comparative theories of social
backwardness and belated development, particularly those elaborated by
Bairoch, Gerschenkron, Barrington Moore jr., Skocpol and others. The
second will discuss geography and historical issues: colonialism,
imperialism, decolonization and the impact of the Cold War being the
main ones. The third will focus on the past couple of decades and the
current situation. In examining country studies, particularly focused on
the roots of democratic systems and of stability, the dichotomies of
dictatorship and democracy, national sovereignty and human rights,
globalization and autarchy will be analyzed and assessed.
PL 345
Latin American Politics and Society
(Prerequisite: PL 223)
This course compares Central, Caribbean and South American systems of government and discusses their major socio-economic challenges. Problems of dictatorial legacies and democratic stability, accountability for human right abuses, regional integration, Latin America’s global role, as well as inter-American and international relations are also explored.
PL 346
African Politics
Following a survey of the pre-colonial history of the African continent, this course surveys the history of African state formation, the development of post-colonial African political practices and ideas, and ongoing challenges (to include war and conflict, illicit trafficking, environmental change and humanitarian crises) throughout the African continent, that continue to impact African livelihoods, the entire Mediterranean region, and beyond. Through case studies we consider recurring patterns of internal African state politics and policies, the ongoing influences of external actors and interests on African political norms and behaviors and, in turn, the prospects for improved security and development throughout the African continent.
PL 350
Politics of China
This course reviews the evolution of China's national policies, focusing on its 1949 foundation, the Cultural Revolution, the post-Mao economic reforms, the events of 1989 at Tiananmen and their impact on different aspects of Chinese cultural and social life. It examines such contemporary issues as human, civil and political rights, environmental politics, the problems of minorities, and covers China's foreign policy and international relations.
PL 352
Politics of South-East Asia
(Prerequisite: PL 209 or permission of the instructor)
This course explores the contemporary history and politics of Southeast Asia, one of the most diverse regions on Earth, which includes the ten members of ASEAN—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam. It focuses on economic development and societal change at both regional and national levels. The course starts by examining the challenges of state formation due to colonial legacies, competing nation-building projects, and alternative models of economic development. It look at key Cold War events that continue to impact the region. It then analyzes economic change, including the 1997-98 financial crisis that disrupted growth and triggered political impasses. The course also investigates the region's transformation into a manufacturing hub and the rise of industrial workers. The course concludes by discussing Southeast Asia's role in the ongoing "new Cold War" between China and the United States in the South China Sea.
PL 355i
Russia, Ukraine and East European Politics
(Prerequisite: PL 223)
This course presents an overview of the main cultural, religious, historical, political and socio-economic developments in the Central and Eastern parts of Europe. Topics discussed will include the concept of 'Three Europes', religious identities and cleavages, the legacy of empires and interwar nation-states, the impact of two totalitarian regimes on the region, transition to democracy, relations with NATO, the EU and other countries.
PL 356
Might and Right Among Nations
(Junior Standing)
An interdisciplinary course at the intersection of
political theory and international relations, which examines justice among
nations, focusing on the relationship between justice and necessity in the work
of ancient, modern, and contemporary authors. Explores the question of whether
international justice is genuine or largely spurious, the extent to which
nations are bound to consider the good of other nations, to what extent it is
reasonable to expect them to do so, as well as the prospects for a just
international order. Overall, the class creates a running dialogue between
various thinkers’ views on the proper relationship between justice, advantage,
and necessity in international affairs, using Thucydides’ History of the
Peloponnesian War as a touchstone for scrutinizing the moral bases of war
and peace.
PL 357
Italy and the Middle East
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
This course will cover the beginnings of this interaction from the rise of Islam as a faith to Italy’s involvement in the 2011 Libyan war and introduce the students to varying themes that characterize this interaction. This course will transcend wide expanses of time and geographic boundaries. We will cover the study of Muslim societies in Italy ranging from Medieval Muslim communities in Sicily and then jump to the North African Muslim communities of the 20th century. It will examine Italian excursions in the Middle East from the Crusades to the Italian experience in Libya in 1911. It will deal with the Middle Eastern commodities Italy imported from this region, ranging from sugar in the 13th century to oil in the 20th century. To sum up, this course focuses not only on diplomatic and political history, but on the circulation of ideas, the interaction between societies, and how trade and art forms created links between the Middle East and the Italian peninsula from the early Islamic era to the 21st century.
PL 358
Politics of Enchantment
The purpose of this course is to demonstrate that without reflecting on the imagination, emotions and desires of political actors (leaders and citizens), it is not possible to understand today’s world. While they have always been present throughout the history of politics, the role of feelings and fantasies, myths and charismatic authority has become even more crucial and visible in the twenty-first century. The course aims to investigate how extra-rational factors shape political decision-making and public responses through psychoanalytic and anthropological theories. Its interdisciplinary approach offers students the opportunity to better understand the deeper causes of the rise (or return) of nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and radicalization.
PL 359
History and Politics of Modern Iran
(Pre-requisites: PL 209, PL 223 or Junior Standing)
This course will examine the history and the domestic and the foreign politics of modern Iran, highlighting its strategic role in the Middle East. It will analyse the institutional structure of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing how this political system can be classified as peculiar hybrid regime, and the role of Iranian civil society, particularly the youth and the women. Through critical analysis of the core texts and common explanatory theories (modernization theory, hybrid regimes theory, neoclassical realist theory), the course aims to examine Iran both before and after the 1979 Revolution to provide students with a multidisciplinary international relations perspective and a domestic political science approach.
PL 361
Globalization and Democracy
(Prerequisite: PL 209)
“Globalization” is perhaps the keyword of our time. It signifies a multifaceted development that also has major implications for world politics and democratic nation-states. From a theoretical, normative and empirical perspective, the course examines the complex relationship between globalization and democracy. Does globalization help generate democracy, and if so, under what conditions? What are the causal mechanisms shaping the relationship between globalization and democracy? How can democratic institutions, claims, rules and rights be preserved or renewed in a “partially globalized world” (Robert Keohane)? The course will explore these questions and related controversies by turning to leading contemporary scholars of international relations and international relations theory. Special attention will be paid to institutions and agents of political globalization as well as factors engendering or undermining democratization on the national and global level.
PL 363i
Conflict and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland: From Partition to Brexit
(Prerequisites: Junior Standing, PL 209)
Understanding the case of Northern Ireland is essential for any student of political science and history because it not only provides an object lesson in partition, conflict, management, and peacebuilding that is applicable to other contexts, but it also underlines, through Brexit, how much care the local and international community must take in maintaining a fragile peace. This course situates Northern Ireland in the frames of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Europe, providing students with a study of how formal politics, street politics, and paramilitarism have combined to write the history of a disputed territory characterized by ethno-sectarian conflict. The course will interrogate the prevailing “anti-imperialist” and “religious war” narrative by adding other lenses through which to view the conflict such as class, gender, culture, and the international influence of rights-based movements, reconciliation efforts, and Brexit. Students will also examine the political evolution of Northern Ireland from a comparative point of view to provide a broader context to the understanding of politics in other disputed territories throughout the word.
PL 366
International Environmental Politics
(Prerequisite: One introductory level Political Science course)
This course examines public policy challenges in addressing international environmental protection. Students will examine such issues as climate change, sustainable development, protection of biodiversity/ecosystems/species, resource extraction and energy, which involve conflicting value systems enmeshed in complex power relationships. This course draws students’ attention to issues of scale, interconnectedness, boundaries, and the importance of creating solutions that are workable across and between jurisdictions. Students will engage these global challenges in order to develop the knowledge, and the problem solving and communications skills, to facilitate environmental policy work in the international arena.
PL 367
Global Politics and Sports
This upper-level course will introduce students to the interactions between global politics and the world of sports. It provides an introduction to central issues, institutions, and conflicts of modern global politics through the lens of globalized sports. It addresses the role of the latter in international relations, global, and domestic politics. The class explores how sports, politics and culture influence and permeate each other in a “partially globalized world” (Robert Keohane). Issues include sports as a factor in the political sociology of modernity and globalization; global sports and institutions of global governance; global sport events as soft power tools of international diplomacy; global sports, local conflicts, and human rights; global sports and the global public sphere; sports and the politics of national and cosmopolitan identity; global sports, race, and gender; the international political economy of sports; sports in different political systems; global policy-making and global sports policy.
PL 372
International Diplomacy and the United Nations
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
This course explores the new role of international and multilateral diplomacy in a globalized world. This course will familiarize students with the real “architecture” of international society, which is more liquid and vertical than that suggested by the United Nations Charter, and the reason why the UN is so difficult to reform. Special attention will be also given to the analysis of the role of international diplomacy in facing the transnational threats and challenges of the twenty-first century.
PL 373
The Theory and Practice of Diplomacy
This course examines the way that diplomacy is actually conducted, in light of the leading realist and idealist theories of it. It will analyze the changing agenda of diplomacy and the implications for diplomatic methods, skills, and actors; assess the problems of coordinating diplomacy within and among governments; discuss the influence of democratic government on the content and conduct of diplomacy; and describe the craft of diplomacy.
PL 380
Advanced Perspectives on World Politics
(Prerequisite: PL 209)
This course provides an opportunity for students to go beyond the introductory level study of international relations and global politics, and to grapple directly with the major authors in the field of world politics and global political theory. The course addresses advanced IR work on world politics, concepts and issues such as: global order, global governance, democratic peace theory, sovereign equality, international power & security, soft power, totalitarianism, crimes against humanity, hegemony, world systems, human rights, failing states and state-building, and global democracy. Major thinkers and approaches of modern and contemporary international and global political theory will be discussed, as well as the models, controversies, and methodologies they represent.
PL 398
Internship: Political Science Field
(Prerequisites: GPA of 3.0 or higher; Junior Standing; Internship in the field of Political Science obtained through the Career Services Center)
The For Credit (FC) Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term (part-time with a minimum of 150 hours) internship. Field experience allows participants to combine academic learning with hands-on work experience. For-Credit internships are unpaid. The organization or firm must be sponsored by the JCU Career Services Center (CSC). After being selected for an internship and having the CSC verify the course requirements are met, the intern may enroll in the Internship course corresponding to the academic discipline of interest. Course requirements include attending the internship class which will is scheduled for 20 in-class hours over the semester or summer session, verification of the minimum number of hours worked in the internship by the CSC; completion of a daily internship log; in-depth interview with the internship sponsor or organization; and a 2500 to 3500 word “White Paper” presenting a position or solution to a problem encountered by their employer. This course is graded on a “pass/no pass” basis. During the Fall and Spring semesters the course will begin the 3rd week of classes; in Summer it begins the 1st week of classes and ends at end of the Summer II Mini session. Students will determine with the Registrar’s Office or their Advisor which semester corresponds most closely with the timing of their internship. This course may be taken only once for academic credit.
PL 399
Special Topics in Political Science
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing or Permission of the Instructor)
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern in the field of Political Science. Topics may vary.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL 429
Seminar on Religion and Global Politics
This advanced seminar examines why and how religion influences global politics, and how religion and politics ought to influence each other in different democratic societies. The seminar is interdisciplinary, addressing these questions from the perspectives of normative political theory, empirical political science and law. The empirical part of the seminar will address concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities influence their political decisions and behaviors. The theoretical part of the course will focus on contemporary debates over the freedom and tolerance of religion and the engagements of religions in political dialogue. In the legal part, we will examine the major questions posed by legal rights of religious freedom (including both freedom of religion and freedom from religion): the origins and scope of these rights, the problems in defining them, and the values with which they can conflict. This course is designed for advanced undergraduates majoring in political science, philosophy or a related field.
PL 430
Revolutionary Politics and the Modern World
(Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission of the instructor)
Political revolutions made the modern world, but their importance has been often forgotten and their proper meaning is now difficult to establish. Ranging from politics and economics, to technology, society and science, revolutionary transformations have created new ways of living and new human beings and societies. This advanced, writing-focused course will examine revolutions as political phenomena, as a specific range of the human experience of politics. It will use a conceptual, multidisciplinary and non-normative approach to the study of revolutionary politics and their impact on the modern world, exploring the complexities, debates and limits to the pursuit of scientific objectivity. The course is designed for advanced undergraduates from any of the political, social and human sciences with an interest in political revolutions and the historical, cultural, philosophical and anthropological constitution of the contemporary world.
PL 440
Euroscepticism and the Future of the EU
(Prerequisites: Junior standing or permission of the instructor)
A Eurosceptic refers to someone who opposes the powers of the European Union (EU). The change in 1992 from European Community to European Union, and the commitment towards 'ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe', included in the Preamble of the Treaty of Rome, politicized European integration and led to increased levels of contestation across the Member States. Thirty years later, following the UK's departure from the EU, Euroscepticism has become a key ingredient of the 'populist toolkit', as right-wing populist leaders reassert national sovereignty and left-wing populists rally against the perceived neo-liberal direction of European integration. With a focus on political parties, public opinion, civil society actors, the role of the media and transnational developments, the course explores opposition towards European integration from geo-political, economic and cultural perspectives.
PL 450
Modern Warfare and Interventions
(Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission of the instructor; recommended: PL321)
This course introduces students to modern warfare and interventions through an intensive writing seminar that centres on the practices, discourses and technologies that shape 21st century international security. It focuses on the shift from large-scale peacebuilding of the 1990s and early 2000s, to post-liberal interventions from mid-2000 onward, including ‘light footprint’ warfare, stabilization, complexity, hybrid warfare, resilience, and remote warfare. It explores changing intervention and warfare practices, different types of actors, and effects on local conflicts, regional security and international orders. The course engages with International Relations theory, peace and conflict studies, international political sociology and critical geopolitics, and furnishes an advanced understanding of global-local relations as they unfold in international security.
PL 470
International Affairs Senior Seminar
(Prerequisite: Senior Standing or permission of the instructor)
This course exposes students to major examples of current, ground-breaking and policy-relevant political research in the field of international affairs and world politics. The course is designed to help students to synthesize the skills and substantive knowledge of their major and apply it to current issues of the practice of world politics or to significant research problems. Students will learn to organize and produce work that could be presented to governments, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, research institutes, media outlets or global firms. Students will be required to make oral presentations, employing methods of international affairs, and display familiarity with the use of qualitative and quantitative data. Students will also engage in a research project of their own, write policy briefs, and present their work.
PL 480
Senior Thesis
(Prerequisite: Senior standing; a 3.5 CUM GPA; and PL 208/MA 208 or PL/SOSC 260)
Thesis supervision for Political Science and International Affairs majors in their final year. Students select their research topics in consultation with their thesis advisor.
PL 481
Independent Research
PL 529
Seminar on Religion and Global Politics
(Prerequisites: Graduate student status, with a background in Politics, Philosophy, Law, or with permission of the instructor.)
This graduate seminar examines why and how religion influences global politics, and how religion and politics ought to influence each other in different democratic societies. The seminar is interdisciplinary, addressing these questions from the perspectives of normative political theory, empirical political science and law. The empirical part of the seminar will address concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities influence their political decisions and behaviors. The theoretical part of the course will focus on contemporary debates over the freedom and tolerance of religion and the engagements of religions in political dialogue. In the legal part, we will examine the major questions posed by legal rights of religious freedom (including both freedom of religion and freedom from religion): the origins and scope of these rights, the problems in defining them, and the values with which they can conflict. Graduate students will meet for regular tutorials with one of the course’s convenors, and write a 25-page research paper on a religion and world politics case study.
PL 664
Development and Humanitarian Action: From Theory to Practice
This course introduces the leading theoretical frameworks that inform international development and humanitarian action. Using an interdisciplinary lens and case studies from recent crises, students will explore how aid mechanisms and programmes have evolved over time. By connecting theory with real world application, the course equips students to analyze current practices and to envision innovative approaches that can shape the future of the development sector.
PL/BUS 325
NGO Consulting Lab
In this transdisciplinary course, students develop a project for a non governmental organization (NGO) and they learn how to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - including social, economic and environmental sustainability - into it. This learning-by-doing approach is accompanied by a sound theoretical framework in which the role NGOs play in the fragmented system of global governance is analyzed and the ways in which these non-State actors contribute to achieving the SDGs is examined. Moreover, students learn how to mainstream human rights, gender equity, diversity and environmental sustainability in NGOs’ work and to understand the challenges posed by managing projects and evaluating their impact.
PL/CS 362
Computational Methods for Social Science
Computational social science is an interdisciplinary field that combines computer science and information technology methods with theories and concepts from the social sciences to analyze and understand social phenomena. It uses computational methods like spatial and text analysis to collect, process, and analyze datasets from various sources, such as social media, surveys, and government databases. The tools that students learn in this course have wide applicability to geography, sociology, public policy, economics, and political science. Computational social science aims to use these methods to understand social behavior and social systems better and predict future social phenomena. This course helps students develop foundational skills in spatial and text analysis and an awareness of advanced methodologies in social sciences.
PL/EC 360
The Political Economy of Globalization
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing; Recommended: EC 201, EC 202)
The course introduces students to International Political Economy (IPE), the branch of international relations studying the interdependencies between politics, economics, and society on the world stage. The course critically examines the major theoretical perspectives (i.e. Mercantilism, Liberalism, and Marxism), and the major subject areas of IPE: global trade, international monetary relations, debt and financial crises, and three largest international financial institutions (the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank). The course will also address such topics as: the increasing relevance of India and China, the changing trends of global investment flows, and the role of the Middle East for oil production and democratization movements, and global criminal activity.
PL/GDR 375
Politics of Gender
(Junior standing or permission of the instructor)
This course explores the ways in which the social and cultural constructions of gender influence the nature and practice of political life. The course revolves around two themes – exclusion and empowerment – and examines the practices, policies and structures that exclude different genders, as well as the strategies and repertoires of different gendered communities to protect their rights and interests and promote equality. The course is organized around a variety of topics, blending issues of exclusion and empowerment. The course begins by laying out debates surrounding gender and key themes used to examine the topic in psychology, biology, sociology and economics. We then move to examine specific synergies between gender and politics, exploring the issues of political representation, political participation, public policy, the body politic, the political economy, development, violence, rights, political mobilization and transnational issues. Using case studies, as well as lessons from practitioners, the course surveys a variety of issues and debates related to gender and politics.
PL/LAW 230
Human Rights
This course focuses on understanding what human rights are and what are the challenges to their realization. Students will examine what specific protections ought to be granted to vulnerable groups, like women, children, stateless persons, refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons. The special challenges related to the protection of human rights in an age of globalization, and the challenges to human rights protection posed by terrorism and its consequences are also analyzed. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to examine different cases and understand the main human rights issues at stake.
PL/LAW 230
Human Rights
This course focuses on understanding what human rights are and what are the challenges to their realization. Students will examine what specific protections ought to be granted to vulnerable groups, like women, children, stateless persons, refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons. The special challenges related to the protection of human rights in an age of globalization, and the challenges to human rights protection posed by terrorism and its consequences are also analyzed. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to examine different cases and understand the main human rights issues at stake.
PL/LAW 299
Special Topics in Law and Political Science
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL/LAW 299
Special Topics in Law and Political Science
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL/LAW 320
Public International Law
This course examines the basic concepts of public international law, to enable students to critically evaluate the interplay between legal claims and power relations. Starting with a theoretical overview of the character, development and sources of international law, the course examines such law-generating and law-implementing institutions as the United Nations, international arbitration and adjudication, international criminal tribunals, national systems and regional organizations. Such substantive areas as the law of war (the use of force and humanitarian law), international criminal law, human rights, and environmental law will be given special attention.
[Course cross-listed as of Fall 2019]
PL/LAW 320
Public International Law
This course examines the basic concepts of public international law, to enable students to critically evaluate the interplay between legal claims and power relations. Starting with a theoretical overview of the character, development and sources of international law, the course examines such law-generating and law-implementing institutions as the United Nations, international arbitration and adjudication, international criminal tribunals, national systems and regional organizations. Such substantive areas as the law of war (the use of force and humanitarian law), international criminal law, human rights, and environmental law will be given special attention.
[Course cross-listed as of Fall 2019]
PL/LAW 323
International Migration
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
After a brief historical overview of migratory movements before and after 1945, the course focuses on providing definitions of relevant terms, including inter alia the ones of “economic migrant” and “forced migrant”, “asylum seeker” and “refugee”, “human trafficking victim” and “smuggled migrant”. The existence of international legal standards guaranteeing special forms of treatment for some categories of migrants (and the consequent lack for others) is discussed and the human rights associated with such statuses are analysed. Special attention is also placed on understanding the vulnerabilities of people on the move and the legal and political challenges of addressing them. Finally, the impact of international migration on the economic and social development of sending and receiving countries, including the benefits of remittances on countries of origin, integration challenges in host States, the link between the brain drain and the brain gain and the phenomenon of circular migration are studied.
PL/LAW 323
International Migration
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
After a brief historical overview of migratory movements before and after 1945, the course focuses on providing definitions of relevant terms, including inter alia the ones of “economic migrant” and “forced migrant”, “asylum seeker” and “refugee”, “human trafficking victim” and “smuggled migrant”. The existence of international legal standards guaranteeing special forms of treatment for some categories of migrants (and the consequent lack for others) is discussed and the human rights associated with such statuses are analysed. Special attention is also placed on understanding the vulnerabilities of people on the move and the legal and political challenges of addressing them. Finally, the impact of international migration on the economic and social development of sending and receiving countries, including the benefits of remittances on countries of origin, integration challenges in host States, the link between the brain drain and the brain gain and the phenomenon of circular migration are studied.
PL/LAW 325
Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
The course introduces students to the hidden phenomena of contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking, relying on international legal definitions - including among others those of slavery, practices similar to slavery, forced labour, the worst forms of child labour and human trafficking - to better understand and assess the international action against these forms of exploitation. A brief comparison between slavery of the past and its contemporary manifestations, as well as an analysis of relevant contemporary forms of exploitation - including chattel slavery and religious slavery, debt bondage, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and exploitation in some global supply chains - follows. The differences between human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants emerging from the imperfect international legal architecture founded on the two Protocols on Trafficking in Persons, in particular Women and Children and the Smuggling of Migrants annexed to the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime are also spelled out. Finally, the course focuses on understanding what ought to be done to fight against contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking.
PL/LAW 325
Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
The course introduces students to the hidden phenomena of contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking, relying on international legal definitions - including among others those of slavery, practices similar to slavery, forced labour, the worst forms of child labour and human trafficking - to better understand and assess the international action against these forms of exploitation. A brief comparison between slavery of the past and its contemporary manifestations, as well as an analysis of relevant contemporary forms of exploitation - including chattel slavery and religious slavery, debt bondage, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and exploitation in some global supply chains - follows. The differences between human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants emerging from the imperfect international legal architecture founded on the two Protocols on Trafficking in Persons, in particular Women and Children and the Smuggling of Migrants annexed to the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime are also spelled out. Finally, the course focuses on understanding what ought to be done to fight against contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking.
PL/LAW 326
Globalization and Crime
(Prerequisites: Junior Standing or permission of the instructor)
This course introduces students to debates surrounding the effects of globalization on the proliferation of crime across borders and the challenges of developing internationally effective policing and judicial mechanisms for combating this constantly mutating phenomenon. Areas of study include the trafficking of art and archaeology, fake fashion items, waste, narcotics, and arms, as well as the market in human beings for sex and organs, and the economic implications of criminal penetration in legal financial markets and the increasing connections between international crime groups and terrorism, the political and military influence of OCGs in failed states and the connections between criminal groups and various democratic governments.
PL/LAW 326
Globalization and Crime
(Prerequisite: at least one 200-level course in Economics, International Affairs or Business)
This course introduces students to debates surrounding the effects of globalization on the proliferation of crime across borders and the challenges of developing internationally effective policing and judicial mechanisms for combating this constantly mutating phenomenon. Areas of study include the trafficking of art and archaeology, fake fashion items, waste, narcotics, and arms, as well as the market in human beings for sex and organs, and the economic implications of criminal penetration in legal financial markets and the increasing connections between international crime groups and terrorism, the political and military influence of OCGs in failed states and the connections between criminal groups and various democratic governments.
PL/LAW 327
The Politics of International Criminal Law
(Recommended: PL 320)
This course provides a critical examination of the principles and institutions of International Criminal Law (ICL), which aims to hold individuals accountable for the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To critically assess ICL’s effectiveness and contribution to international peace and justice, we study its development in the 20th century, and look closely at the workings of the International Criminal Court, other special courts and alternative approaches to transitional justice today.
PL/LAW 327
The Politics of International Criminal Law
(Recommended: PL/LAW 320)
This course provides a critical examination of the principles and institutions of International Criminal Law (ICL), which aims to hold individuals accountable for the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To critically assess ICL’s effectiveness and contribution to international peace and justice, we study its development in the 20th century, and look closely at the workings of the International Criminal Court, other special courts and alternative approaches to transitional justice today.
PL/LAW 338
The Policy, Politics and Law of Cybersecurity
This course explores selected topics in the policy, politics, and law of cybersecurity. Of specific interest will be a historical understanding of the development of the internet and how that history laid the foundation for insecurity of products and internet users’ experience. Using a four-factor approach: law, market, social norms, and technology, students explore the domestic U.S. social and political development of the internet as well as the global landscape and its implications for international law.
PL/LAW 342
The Politics and Law of Space Activities
(PL 209; PL/LAW 320 highly recommended)
This course provides a comprehensive account of the past, present and future of space activities, with a focus on the interrelation between national space strategies, geopolitical developments, and regulatory solutions. In the framework of the course, students will gain knowledge on the periodical shifts from competition (e.g. Moon race) to cooperation (e.g. International Space Station) among the USA, Russia (then USSR), China and other spacefaring States. These shifts in policies and the changing environment of space actors, including space companies, are examined in connection with the evolution and current analysis of space law. The course also examines current debated issues, which are part of the agenda of all the main spacefaring States, such as: the colonization of the Moon; the sustainable use of outer space, in particular by private actors; the militarization and weaponization of outer space; the use of data from satellites.
PL/LAW 350
Human Rights and Business
(PL/LAW 230 and/or PL/LAW 320 recommended)
This course introduces students to the field of business and human rights (BHR), including the risks and opportunities multinational corporations (MNCs) face throughout their operations and supply chains with regard to key human rights and labour rights. The course will look at the main sources of international law (such as United Nations Covenants and International Labour Organizations’ Conventions) for these rights, as well as voluntary principles, standards and upcoming legislation setting out the expectation for MNCs to respect human rights. Several practical case studies will be presented and analysed throughout the course to allow students to learn how to identify when and how human rights are abused by MNCs – and how these abuses can be mitigated or remedied.
PL/LAW 355
International Children's Rights
(PL/LAW 230 and/or PL/LAW 320 recommended)
This course offers a comprehensive examination of children's rights, focusing on their birth, and development and on the legal frameworks that promote them at the international level. Students explore the historical, political and legal dimensions of children's rights, with particular attention to key international conventions and treaties. The course addresses significant issues such as child protection, violence against children, childhood in the digital age, child labor, inter-country adoptions, child sexual exploitation and educational rights. The course provides students with the tools to critically assess and engage with policies and legal practices affecting children and their rights.
PL/LAW 360
Comparative Legal Systems
This course provides an introduction to comparative law, exploring the methodology of comparative legal research, its objectives, and the key characteristics of two of the most prominent legal systems: civil law and common law. Troughout the course, students acquire a critical understanding of the similarities and differences among various legal frameworks, such as the western legal family (including the French, German and Italian legal systems), the anglo-american legal family, and the religious legal system, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to addressing legal challenges in global contexts.
PL/LAW 361
European Union Law
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
This course examines the European Union (EU) legal system, focusing in particular on its institutional structure, on the sources of EU law and on its lawmaking process. The general principles of EU law – including the protection of fundamental rights, proportionality and subsidiarity - and the doctrines of supremacy and direct effect are studied. Specific areas of EU law, including the functioning of the internal market, the citizenship of the Union, the external relations of the EU and the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and EU criminal law are analyzed. Finally, the enforcement of EU law is specifically taken into consideration.
PL/LAW 361
European Union Law
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing)
This course examines the European Union (EU) legal system, focusing in particular on its institutional structure, on the sources of EU law and on its lawmaking process. The general principles of EU law – including the protection of fundamental rights, proportionality and subsidiarity - and the doctrines of supremacy and direct effect are studied. Specific areas of EU law, including the functioning of the internal market, the citizenship of the Union, the external relations of the EU and the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and EU criminal law are analyzed. Finally, the enforcement of EU law is specifically taken into consideration.
PL/LAW 365
Child Soldiers
This course focuses on the ‘child soldier,’ namely, persons under the age of 18 who are associated with armed forces (national armies) and armed groups (rebel or terrorist organizations). Children have been enmeshed in armed conflict throughout all of human history. Today, roughly 250,000 children ‘soldier’ world-wide and their experiences differ widely. Child soldiering occurs on every continent. In recent decades, the use of children in armed conflict has moved from a matter of military ethics to a subject regulated by international law. This course identifies the ways in which children have become militarized through time and sets out contemporary hotspots. The course instructs on the international law, best practices, and rehabilitation models that currently address child soldiering. The course then questions current practices so as to improve them. This means that the course presents a critical eye that reveals important and tough questions about the agency of children and youth, the realities of girl soldiers, the prevalence of youth volunteerism, assumptions (often Westernized) of childhood and coming of age, how best to deter child soldiering, and how to develop robust frameworks of juvenile rights in cross-cultural contexts. The course concludes by examining the justice needs of child soldiers and of those - including other children - who they may have harmed.
PL/LAW 368
Intellectual Property Theory and Law
This course examines key concepts of intellectual property rights and their philosophical foundations. Students will explore different theories of property as put forward by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, and Locke, and interpret US, UK, and EU judicial opinions on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret rights.
PL/LAW 368
Intellectual Property Theory and Law
This course examines key concepts of intellectual property rights and their philosophical foundations. Students will explore different theories of property as put forward by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, and Locke, and interpret US, UK, and EU judicial opinions on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret rights.
PL/LAW 399
Special Topics in Law and Political Science
PL/LAW 399
Special Topics in Law and Political Science
Special topics in Law and Political Science.
PL/LAW 420
Advanced Topics in International Law: Human Trafficking, Forced Labor and Slavery
(Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of the instructor; recommended: PL/LAW 320 International Law)
This course offers students the chance to explore selected areas of international and/or comparative law. Working in a seminar format, the professor will guide advanced students in examining complex international and national legal issues through comparative legal and political analysis: using multiple sources of law in order to understand any hierarchy existing among them, to discern the legal arguments presented in the jurisprudence of national and international courts and the different power relations that they may express, entrench or subvert. Students’ common exploration of a single issue will be deepened by their individual work on a final research paper on a related legal topic of their choice.
PL/LAW 428
Religious Freedom in a Comparative Perspective
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing; Recommended: PL 210)
This advanced seminar in comparative constitutional and human rights law explores the major legal and political questions posed by religious freedom rights. Students will enter into the debate over what is religious freedom in general, what is the proper place of religion (as a source of values, authority or social glue) in democratic societies, and what is its relationship to other important values, like gender equality and public health. We will focus on more specific conflicts over the formal relationship between religious and state authorities, the allocation of public wealth to religious communities, the place of religious symbols in the public sphere, state support for religious education, exemptions from general legal requirements for religious claims, traditional religious communities’ identity claims and expressive rights.
PL/LAW 428
Religious Freedom in a Comparative Perspective
(Prerequisite: Junior Standing; Recommended: PL 210)
This advanced seminar in comparative constitutional and human rights law explores the major legal and political questions posed by religious freedom rights. Students will enter into the debate over what is religious freedom in general, what is the proper place of religion (as a source of values, authority or social glue) in democratic societies, and what is its relationship to other important values, like gender equality and public health. We will focus on more specific conflicts over the formal relationship between religious and state authorities, the allocation of public wealth to religious communities, the place of religious symbols in the public sphere, state support for religious education, exemptions from general legal requirements for religious claims, traditional religious communities’ identity claims and expressive rights.
PL/MGT 377
Global and Italian Tourism Systems
The course will offer students an opportunity to explore the development of global tourism in its historical and contemporary aspects with a particular focus on Italy and Rome. By engaging with readings from the disciplines of history, politics and public policy, geography, literature, business, economics, tourism, and urban planning, the course will develop an understanding of the complexities, possibilities, problems, and contradictions of the world’s largest industry. This course is not only a survey but will introduce students to the theory and practice of mixed methods research in tourism to understand global tourism studies, including debates on tourism politics and policy, mass and overtourism, mega events, as well as urban, rural, and regenerative tourism.
PL/PH 213
Greek and Roman Political Philosophy
This introductory, writing focused course offers students a philosophical encounter with the central ideas and arguments of Greek and Roman political philosophy. Through a reading of ancient texts in English translation – such as Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, and Cicero’s Republic – students will scrutinize the major debates of Greek and Roman thought, including those about justice, the city, the regime, and the responsibilities of citizenship. The distinctive nature of classical thought – such as its insistence on the unity of ethics and politics, the importance of metaphysics for politics, the manner in which Socratic philosophy emerges from common opinion, and the idea of philosophy as a way of life – will be examined. While the aim of the course is to engage with the primary works of Classical thought, secondary literature will be assigned to illuminate historical context or wider themes, including the influence of the classical legacy on contemporary politics and political theory – for instance, on modern political forms, such as democracy, tyranny, republicanism, and the mixed constitution.
PL/PH 312
Freedom, Equality, and Democracy
This course engages with the vibrant current philosophical controversies over what makes a ‘just’ or ‘good’ society. It involves first studying five main approaches – the liberal, socialist, libertarian, democratic and cosmopolitan – before exploring debates about the definition and value of the fundamental ideas of ‘freedom’, ‘equality’ and ‘democracy’. Throughout, these approaches and ideas are related to issues in contemporary politics, such as healthcare reform, the power of the media, multiculturalism, genetic engineering, poverty, climate change, terrorism and war.
PL/PH 399
Special Topics in Philosophy and Political Science
(Prerequisites: Junior Standing; PL 210 or PH 101)
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
PL/SOSC 260
Introduction to Social Science Research Methodology
(Prerequisites: EN110 or permission of the instructor)
This hands-on course introduces students to the practice of designing and carrying out their own research projects in the social sciences. Using real-life exercises and examples, it addresses how to develop sound and manageable research questions, write literature reviews, define concepts, make appropriate methodological choices, and apply them in practice. Students learn to read, present and analyze social science data and write up original research findings according to the conventions of the field. They practice how to critically review existing scholarship and apply the same rigor to their own writing. The importance of carrying out ethical and reflexive research is emphasized throughout the course.
SOSC/PL 207
Migration and Contemporary Society
This course focuses on one of the most important social phenomena of our globalized times: human migration. Students will explore the main debates about what causes people to migrate, the key impacts this has on the economic, social and cultural life of the places they leave and those they move to. The course examines the great diversity of forms and patterns of contemporary migration, alternating between looking at large-scale phenomena and local case-studies and individual migrant experiences. It explores how governments and institutions respond to migrant populations and how migrants adapt to and transform the environments they live in.
