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For the official course schedule, including restrictions, classrooms, and current enrollments, click here.
PSC 105 Introduction to American Politics
This course will introduce students to the foundations of American government. Students will examine important political institutions and the linkage mechanisms that connect institutions, political actors, and ordinary American citizens. This course is appropriate for majors and non-majors with an interest in understanding how and why the American political system works as it does. Students will be graded on two midterms, a comprehensive final exam, and short writing assignments.
This course provides students with the background and conceptual tools they need to understand contemporary international relations. The course will introduce students to the wide range of issues that make up the study of international relations, including the workings of the state system, the causes of international conflict and violence, and international economic relations. Students will be introduced to the literature in a broad way, to make them familiar with the main theoretical traditions in the field. Students will be asked, as much as possible, to read original texts, rather than a textbook. Time permitting, we will also examine topics of particular current interest, such as the evolving nature of power in the post-Cold War environment as well as special global challenges like nation-building and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
How do political institutions affect economic growth? How do economic conditions affect political decisions? This course is an introduction to the history of thought and current debates in political economy. We review great texts in the history of political economy (by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and others), present an introduction to the modern tools used in the field, and show their applications in the context of democratic and nondemocratic politics.
An introduction to the understanding of politics through data analysis. No prior computer or statistical expertise is expected. PSC 200 satisfies the Techniques of Analysis requirement for undergraduate majors and minors in political science.
Students generally take PSC 202 in their sophomore year, but the course is also open to junior and seniors. The course introduces students to the questions, concepts, and analytical approaches of political scientists.
Is the mass media really biased? Does abortion lower the crime rate? Does the "No Child Left Behind" Act encourage cheating? Providing convincing answers to these hot-button political issues requires good research design. In this class, we learn the techniques behind designing research studies that allow political scientists and economists to answer exactly these kinds of questions. While PSC 200 or 201 is strongly recommended, this is not a course in data analysis or statistics. Rather, we focus on setting up problems so that data analytic techniques, when applied, provide the correct answers. We will draw examples from throughout political science as well as from Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.
Through lecture, readings, and discussion, we will consider major questions involving public opinion and voting. How much do citizens know about government and politics? Does participation make a difference? Do elected officials do what the public wants? We will pay special attention to generational matters. Today's young people (that's you) are said to be uninterested and uninvolved in politics, yet voluntary community service has never been higher. How do we reconcile these facts, and what do we make of it? We will also cover sampling techniques and the interpretation of poll results: when you hear that 70% of the respondents to a national survey support gun control, can you believe it? What else do you need to know in order to interpret results?
This course analyzes how public opinion is formed through the media. It also examines the interaction of public opinion, mass media, and political leadership. Lecturing will take up the first segment of class, followed by discussion. In several of the sessions an entire campaign will be analyzed, with commercials produced for the candidates shown, followed by discussion and comment. Students will be asked to watch TV, read popular press, etc., for the class discussion.
The civil rights movement that unfolded in the 1950s unleashed cataclysmic changes in U.S. political, social, and cultural life. In this seminar, we'll draw on an exciting range of primary sources - films, organizational records, memoirs - as well as new histories of the "long 1960s" to chart the trajectory of the civil rights movement from the late 1940s to the 1970s. We shall explore the diversity of strategies and ideologies that comprised the civil rights movement. We shall also assess the movement's profound consequences for political organizing more generally, studying the process through which other movements - antiwar, feminism, gay and lesbian liberation, neighborhood rights, ethnic nationalism, and even grassroots conservatism - laid claim to the rhetoric and tactics of the civil rights movement. Assignments include reading and rigorous class discussion, one book review, the preparation of occasional discussion questions, and a 10-15 page research paper. This seminar will meet twice weekly.
In this course we will use the tools of political science and economics to study how corporations affect and are affected by politics. Each meeting will feature a general topic as well as in-depth analysis of cases related to that topic. We will cover a broad range of issues affecting the business world, including regulation, lawmaking, campaign finance, the mass media, interest group mobilization, corporate social responsibility, and ethics. Cases will be drawn from areas such as antitrust, transportation, international trade, the environment, and the internet. Course meetings will generally begin with a short lecture followed by extensive class discussion.
Together, we will use theory, data, case studies, and guest speakers to investigate what it means to be an entrepreneur and what characterizes the entrepreneurial society. The term entrepreneur conjures up the image of a risk-taking maverick, but many entrepreneurs are in fact risk-averse. It is important, then, to begin the course by working out a definition of entrepreneurship that captures the essential elements of this elusive concept. From there, we will discuss the role of the entrepreneur in both economic transactions and in non-market environments such as politics. The rest of the semester will be focused on studying how institutions, such as the rule of law, foster or hinder entrepreneurship, and what the resulting impact is on economic growth and other measures of societal well-being.
Through analysis of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we examine criminal procedure as elaborated by federal and state court decisions. Topics include arrest procedures, search and seizure, right to counsel, and police interrogation and confessions. We will discuss the theoretical principles of criminal procedure and the application of those principles to the actual operation of the criminal court system.
Post-communist transformation is a historical event leading from a centrally planned to a market-driven economy. The course will focus on structural adjustment policies, stabilization, privatization, liberalization, and the political economy of transition to a market. In particular, the topics of legacy from the past and inherited structural problems, development of financial markets, means of privatization, trade liberalization and strategies, implications of European integration, and foreign direct investment, will be considered. Special attention will be given to the links between the economic and political aspects of post-communist changes.
Why have some countries made a successful transition to democracy, while others have not? Why are some democracies more stable than others? Are some forms of democratic governance better than others at promoting stability or better governance? What are the trade-offs that different choices of democratic institutions entail? And how can countries that are already democratic improve the quality and effectiveness of their institutions? To answer these questions, this course offers a survey of the leading literature in comparative politics centered on the topic of democratization. The first part of the course will be devoted primarily to examining competing theories about the conditions and causes of the emergence and consolidation of democracy. The second part of the course examines theories about why different democratic institutions are chosen and how, once chosen, these institutions function. Among the topics addressed will be the merits of presidentialism versus parliamentary systems, the role of political parties, and various issues relating to questions of representation and accountability which affect the quality of democratic governance.
This course examines courts from a comparative perspective. Although long a central focus of American politics, increasingly courts have become important political institutions around the world. Among the questions that we will examine throughout the course include: Why are some judiciaries more independent than others? What effect does independence have on economic development and democratic consolidation? What role do formal institutional guarantees play in shaping the role of courts? How accountable are judges to the public or elected officials? What factors account for judicial decision-making? Taking the U.S. experience as a starting point, the course will explore answers to these questions by drawing on the recent literature on judicial politics from Europe, Russia, Africa, and Latin America.
Why do European countries differ in terms of economic development and political institutions? Why do they want to pool sovereignty? How can we explain episodes of deadlock and progress? This course considers the past, present, and future of European integration. After a brief introduction to the major themes of the course, we will survey theories of European integration, focusing on explanations of conflict and cooperation. We will then study the governance of the EU, concentrating in turn on the institutional structures, policymaking processes, and the problems for political identity and democratic legitimacy at the European and national levels. Several classes will be devoted to studying public policy issues, including economic, and social issues, immigration, foreign and security policy, enlargement, and the draft constitution. Finally, we will consider individual country experiences more closely.
The Constitution helps define, as it perhaps reflects, American society. In this scheme, religion has a special role. It, arguably uniquely, is given both Constitutional protection (free exercise) as well as Constitutional limitation (no establishment). Religion's placement in the Bill of Rights (as a part of the First Amendment) suggests its importance (both in protection and in limitation) to the founders, and religion's role in society today remains important and controversial. This course examines the historical forces that led to the adoption of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, the subsequent development of those clauses (importantly through the close reading of key Supreme Court opinions), and religion's role in modern American society.
 PSC 293 Sovereignty in Post Colonial Africa Joseph Hill Cross-listing: AAS 267, HIS 358W/458 Mondays and Wednesdays, 14:00-15:15 Field: Associated Courses Despite Africa's cultural and ecological diversity, what nearly all African countries share is a post-colonial condition. European colonialism, ending around 1960 throughout most of Africa, dismantled local political structures and established modern state apparatuses, bringing African states into an international order of democratic and sovereign nation-states. However, the formation of state sovereignty, citizen subjects, nationalism, and a governing class has been anything but straightforward. This course will examine theories of post-coloniality, sovereignty, and the state, as well as anthropological accounts showing how state sovereignty is affected by international aid organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), transnational religious movements, and international law.
This course will survey recent research on the politics of bureaucracy. We will begin with a study of why and when elected politicians create bureaucracies and delegate authority to them. We will then study a series of topics regarding the operation and design of existing bureaucracies. Depending on the interest of students, topics may include: oversight and control of bureaucracies by elected politicians; bureaucratic capacity and performance; the political economy of regulatory bureaucracies; "red tape" and corruption; judicial control of bureaucracy; institutions and practices for the staffing of bureaucracies (e.g. patronage systems); advisory bureaucracies and bureaucratic expertise in policymaking; and military and intelligence bureaucracies. The course will draw heavily, but not exclusively, on formal theories and statistical evidence. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor, or at least one course in Techniques of Analysis at the 200 level or above and one course in Positive Theory at the 200 level or above.
Through reading and critiquing political science research, students learn how to select a research question, find and evaluate relevant literature, locate data that addresses their research question, analyze the data, and write a research report. The primary task for the semester is to complete a research paper on a topic students choose jointly with the instructor. Students may work on joint projects or on individual papers. Toward the end of the semester, students who are interested in doing an honors project during the senior year work with the department in identifying a faculty member with whom they will work and write a draft prospectus for the project.
Most internship placements are in the District Attorney's or Public Defender's offices. Occasionally one or two other law placements are available. Students may also propose an alternative political or law placement. Interns work 10-12 hours per week through the entire semester. Grades are primarily based on a research paper. Applicants should have an appropriate course background for the internship and at least a B average. Students must be accepted in the course before approaching an agency for an internship. Students interested in an internship should pick up an application in the Political Science office (Harkness 333). Applications are available a week before registration starts, and an interest meeting is also held at that time.
One semester's work in Washington, D.C., as a member of the staff of a U.S. Senator or Representative. Interest meeting typically held in September or October of preceding fall semester. All details are provided at that meeting.
Internships are available for students in Edinburgh, London, Brussels, Bonn, Berlin and Madrid. Internships are in English in Edinburgh, London, and Brussels, and students need proficiency in the language for the latter three placements. For applications and information, students should contact the Study Abroad Office in Lattimore 206.
In this course, we will examine the linear regression model and its variants. The course has two goals: (1) to provide students with the statistical theory of the linear model, and (2) to provide students with skills for analyzing data. The linear model is a natural starting point for understanding regression models in general, inferences based on them, and problems with our inferences due to data issues or to model misspecification. The model's relative tractability has made it an attractive tool for political scientists, resulting in volumes of research using the methods studied here. Familiarity with the linear model is now essentially required if one wants to be a consumer or producer of modern political science research.
This course is part of a rigorous introduction to the main concepts and results in positive political theory. It is the second half of a two-course sequence consisting of PSC 407 and PSC 408. This course will focus on the basics of game theory, which analyzes individual behavior in strategic situations. It will also cover the mathematical tools required to express the theory. Examples and applications will be drawn from several different areas in political science, including the American Congress, voting, international relations, political economy, and law.
This course is designed for graduate students intending to pursue political methodology as a major field. It covers advanced statistical methods that are not yet standard fare in political methodology courses: e.g., semiparametric methods, nonparametric regression, time-series econometrics, Bayesian methods, and ideal point estimation. As a research workshop, this course also allows students to pursue areas of individual interest in more depth. Course content is therefore determined each semester based on the interests of both the professor and the students. Prerequisites: PSC 404, PSC 405, and PSC 505.
This course will survey recent research on the politics of bureaucracy. We will begin with a study of why and when elected politicians create bureaucracies and delegate authority to them. We will then study a series of topics regarding the operation and design of existing bureaucracies. Depending on the interest of students, topics may include: oversight and control of bureaucracies by elected politicians; bureaucratic capacity and performance; the political economy of regulatory bureaucracies; "red tape" and corruption; judicial control of bureaucracy; institutions and practices for the staffing of bureaucracies (e.g. patronage systems); advisory bureaucracies and bureaucratic expertise in policymaking; and military and intelligence bureaucracies. The course will draw heavily, but not exclusively, on formal theories and statistical evidence. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor, or at least one course in Techniques of Analysis at the 200 level or above and one course in Positive Theory at the 200 level or above.
How and why do political parties emerge? What are the causes and consequences of adopting different electoral rules? Under what conditions do voters behave strategically? This course examines the growing literature on parties, electoral systems, and voting in comparative politics. We consider multiple methodological approaches to these questions and explore the dynamics of voting, elections, and party competition in a range of empirical contexts.
This course examines statistical issues relevant to the study of international politics. We will consider issues such as strategic decision making, geographic interdependence, temporal dynamics, and the operationalization of major concepts, such as power. Of particular interest will be the use and limitations of dyadic data and cross-sectional time series data. Prerequisites: PSC 505 and PSC 572 (or similar course) required; PSC 506 recommended.
This is a course intended to provide graduate students with a survey of the history of the major components of international conflict, focusing on European and U.S. diplomatic history from 1763 to 1989. We examine the evolution of organizations that employ the use of force, technologies of the use of force, and ideologies that motivate the use of force.
This course reviews recent advances in nondemocratic politics and the political economy of developing countries. We will tackle such issues as the economic foundations of democratic transitions and the economic impact of power struggles in dictatorships. The course combines the use of formal models with case studies and econometrics.
This seminar addresses different topics in different years. This year (2007) the broad focus is on the role of vision and representation in politics. We will start be reading the debate between John Dewey and Walter Lippmann in order to identify why vision and representation are central to democratic politics. We then will explore a wide variety of efforts to represent broadly political phenomena and events such as famine, epidemics, torture, migration and so forth across a broad spectrum of media. The aim of our explorations will be to cultivate a broadly instrumental view of how vision and representation figure in the "art" of politics.
This course reviews recent advances in nondemocratic politics and the political economy of developing countries. We will tackle such issues as the economic foundations of democratic transitions and the economic impact of power struggles in dictatorships. The course combines the use of formal models with case studies and econometrics.
Dynamic considerations are becoming increasingly important in the study of such political processes as stability of international systems, the conduct of war, legislative policy making, regime change, and the impact of political variables on economic growth and industry dynamics. We provide theoretical and computational tools for the study of such applications. The course covers the basics of dynamic programming and general dynamic games and the main results on Markov chains. The main focus is the study of stochastic games with an emphasis on numerical analysis of simple (i.e., finite) models illustrated in a number of applications. The goal of the course is to equip graduate students with analytical and numerical tools that can be used in their future research on applied topics. Some familiarity with a programming language (such as Matlab or R) is a plus, but the dedicated student should be able to acquire basic programming skills needed for the course.
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© 2008 — University of Rochester |
PSC 397 European Political Internship
