Spring 2019 Class Schedule: Department of Political Science

Spring 2019 Class Schedule

Course	Title	Instructor	Lecture	Discussion	Cap
POLI_SCI 406	Quantitative Causal Inference	Bullock	TuTh 3:30-4:50	Tu 2:00-2:50pm
POLI_SCI 406 Quantitative Causal Inference What is causation, how is it related to correlation, and how can we make causal inferences without invoking extremely strong assumptions about the relationships between variables? In POLI_SCI 406, we answer these questions. We'll explore the main tools of the quantitative toolkit for causal inference: the potential-outcomes framework, experiments, regression, instrumental variables, mediation analysis, regression-discontinuity designs, panel inference, and matching. Prerequisites: POLI_SCI 405 or equivalent.
POLI_SCI 424	Public Opinion Media Democracy	Page	W 3:30-6:20		15
POLI_SCI 424 Public Opinion Media Democracy This seminar builds upon micro foundations of individual public opinion to consider collective or aggregate opinion: the nature and origins of collective policy preferences; leadership or manipulation of opinion through the media; and the influence or noninfluence of public opinion on policy making. The focus is on the United States, but research papers concerning any country or locality are welcome.
POLI_SCI 445	International Security	Henke	M 2:00-4:50		15
POLI_SCI 445 International Security This class addresses fundamental questions of International Security. What are the causes of war? What are possible paths to peace? How do state, sub-state and non-state-actors use violence or the threat of it? How has U.S. Grand Strategy evolved over the past century? What are momentarily the most pressing national security challenges? What tools exists to counter these challenges? This course will meet weekly as a seminar, with discussions initiated by students. Before each class, two short (500 word) student-authored discussion papers will be circulated in addition to a longer (1000 word) book review. All discussion papers and book reviews are not to be descriptions of the readings. Instead they are to raise questions and criticisms and draw connections and comparisons with readings in other weeks. The authors will circulate their papers at least 24h before the class starts and present the papers at the beginning of the class. In addition to the discussion papers and book reviews, each student will write a “foreign affairs-style” paper (max. 10pp) to be submitted on Dean’s Day. The paper should address a question of current security concern. It should be theoretically interesting but also written in a way that is appealing to an informed mass audience. Students are highly encouraged to submit their papers to Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy or an equivalent journal for publication. Evaluations of student performance in the seminar will depend on evaluations of the book reviews, discussion papers, general participation in class discussion, as well as on the “foreign-affairs” papers. Discussion papers and oral participation will count for 40%, book reviews for 20% and final papers for 40% of the final grade.
POLI_SCI 460	Proseminar in Comparative Politics II	Riedl	W 9:00-11:50
POLI_SCI 460 Proseminar in Comparative Politics II This course surveys the major topics in comparative politics and is intended for Ph.D. students. Its purpose is to introduce the main theoretical and conceptual building blocks of the sub-‐ field. We will focus on the intellectual evolution of the field, the dominant debates and controversies, and the variety of approaches to research within comparative politics. The course develops a shared language and set of references that will prove useful to you throughout your professional career. It proceeds thematically. Each week we discuss a subset of the pertinent scholarly literature, usually focusing on a major theme or theoretical controversy. Key methodological issues in the study of comparative politics are addressed in context of these substantive and theoretical works, as well as in the written assignments for the class. The course is meant as a kind of “boot camp” for graduate students in the comparative politics field. The main objective is to ensure your basic literacy in the field by introducing key questions and exposing you to classic readings. The proseminar II is a partner to Proseminar I which presents classic great books; this course will focus on contemporary works and controversies in the field. Inevitably, there is an enormous amount of material that should be on the list but is not, simply for lack of time. In order to complete your education as a comparativist, you will need to take additional courses in the field, master the comparative politics general examination reading list, read the recent journal literature, and learn about the latest research in the field by attending presentations in the department and at conferences. There are many topic areas that I have omitted from this syllabus due to lack of time, but that you will engage with in other ways in your studies and research.
POLI_SCI 490	Special Topic: Race and Contemporary Political Theory	Tillery	M 10:00-12:50
POLI_SCI 490 Special Topic: Race and Contemporary Political Theory This course introduces students to philosophical debates over the nature of the race concept, race relations and racial justice in contemporary political theory. The course will explore the following core questions: How have contemporary political theorists conceptualized the race concept and racial difference? How do contemporary political theorists see the relationship between democracy and racial inequality? What theories of racial justice have emerged in contemporary political theory? The course will examine the works of theorists ranging from the late nineteenth century to the rise of the critical race theory movement in the late twentieth century.
POLI_SCI 490	Special Topic: Perspectives on Southeast Asian Politics	Hurst	W 3:00-5:50
POLI_SCI 490 Special Topic: Perspectives on Southeast Asian Politics What, if anything, is distinctive about politics across the countries of the region we call Southeast Asia? Are the similarities between different national experiences necessarily greater than the differences? While these are to some extent open questions, what is clear is that the general perspectives arising from analyses of Southeast Asian politics have extended their influence across large parts of comparative politics and beyond. In this class, we’ll focus on reading a mix of classic and recent contributions (with some tilt toward the latter) to a variety of literatures that spring from deep engagement and careful field research across a range of Southeast Asian contexts.
POLI_SCI 490	Special Topic: Small-N and Case Study Methods	Mahoney	F 9:00-11:50		15
POLI_SCI 490 Special Topic: Small-N and Case Study Methods This seminar offers a broad and advanced introduction to the field of comparative methodology. The emphasis is on what are conventionally regarded in political science as “qualitative” methods for the analysis of a relatively small number of cases. In sociology, this field is generally known as comparative-historical methodology. The course focuses on recent methodological writings, though a few classical pieces are also included. The readings are not specific to any substantive subfield in political science or sociology. The course assumes no prior background in qualitative methodology, but the material is advanced.
POLI_SCI 490	Special Topic: Comparative Political Theory: Methods, Issues, and Applications	El Amine	Tu 9:00-11:50		15
POLI_SCI 490 Special Topic: Comparative Political Theory: Methods, Issues, and Applications This course will explore how political thought from outside the Western canon should be studied, and how to think normatively about polities outside the industrialized West. It involves an overview of the growing field of Comparative Political Theory, as well as related discussions in the disciplines of comparative literature, philosophy, history, and anthropology. The first half of the course will focus on methodological debates, while the second will turn to applied work in CPT on the topics of democracy, liberalism, self-determination, and multiculturalism.