Political Theory and Methodology

The course is an introduction to research in political science. Emphasis will be given to the theoretical basis for research, learning a variety of research methods, and developing valid and reliable research designs. Students will develop strong research questions and hypotheses, write better research papers, and critique published research.

This course serves as an introduction to social justice and engages both theoretical and empirical connections between social justice and capitalism, democracy and religion. We analyze tensions and opportunities for furthering the common good within existing social, political, economic and religious systems. We explore social justice concerns in both the US and the world.

This course covers the major classics of political thought from Western antiquity through the Medieval period. It explores the origins of western political philosophy in ancient Greece in the writings of Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle, and then charts its further development in Christendom in the works of St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.

This course covers the major classics of political thought of the Modern Era through the 19th century. It begins with the Renaissance writings of Machiavelli and moves through the political works of such modern thinkers as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, and Mill.

Constitutional liberal democracy has established itself as the only legitimate form of political organization in the developed West. This course examines contemporary theories and critiques of liberal democracy.

A survey of writings representative of American political theory, including selections from colonial and revolutionary political thought, the constitutional debates, Federalist, Jeffersonian, and Jacksonian thought, theories of slavery, abolitionism, reconstruction and Social Darwinism, progressivism and post World War II thought, and contemporary theories of liberalism, conservatism and communitarianism.

This course focuses on fiction as a vehicle for exploring themes of democracy and the market. Through the cases and themes introduced in novels, we address important philosophical and political issues of rebellion, boundaries between the private and public spheres, and visions of utopia.

This course focuses on film as a vehicle for exploring issues of political representation, mobilization, and rebellion. We examine each theme within the U.S. case and then compare the themes across countries. Through this comparative perspective, students gain a rich understanding of U.S. political development and democratization.

This course explores the formation of identity and the strategic dimensions of identity within a political context. We study gender and the intersectionality of gender with class, race and ethnicity from different countries regime types and in terms of political mobilization, competition, representation, and policy outcomes. Finally, we unpack these themes in terms of perspectives on global power and development.