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Courses
PSC 150 - Political Systems of the World
This is a basic university level course. It does presume that you are coming to the class with a focus and a commitment that you will do all the work assigned. It is designed to nurture the skills associated with thinking about politics in a more sophisticated way. To accomplish this, we need to learn to think conceptually, express our thoughts, and process ideas by linking facts. We also need to learn how to measure our level of confidence in an idea. This course will focus on introducing you to those ideas. It is a “comparative politics” course. That means that it will try to understand politics by looking to examples outside the American political system. We will try to understand in a systematic way how political systems are similar or are different from one another. In this way, we see a much larger range of systems and we encounter unfamiliar ways of dealing with challenges that some Americans presume can only be handled the way it is done in the USA. You must approach this course with an open mind and invest yourself in learning the key concepts! The ideas you will learn here are the "tools" that you will use to analyze political systems and indeed other social systems throughout your lives. The bulk of this class is learning about the concepts. Details about foreign political systems will serve to illustrate their use. Political Science offers many 200 level courses that fill in massive detail on particular regions of the world. Consider following this course with one of those if you develop the interest.
PSC 243 - Russian Foreign Policy
This is an intermediate level politics course. It does not presume any background in the subject matter. However, students are certainly welcome who have some background especially from RUSSIAN POLITICS. The academic focus is on the politics and the foreign policy that it has produced in contemporary Russia. These issues are central to the place of Russia in our world both today and tomorrow. Because the information is quite new to most students, it will require serious effort and very regular attention to the readings and lectures. The challenge associated with understanding the contemporary foreign policy of the Russian system is a daunting one. The issues, problems and fluid nature of global politics make the task especially challenging. Students that make this sort of effort will be rewarded with a fascinating, intriguing and crucial insight into how our world works. We will deal with history quite briefly. Students will find course options in history that can provide an insight into 19th and 20th century Soviet and Russian foreign affairs. In practical terms, we will provide a platform of information on the current resources, postures, constraints and options for Russian foreign policy. This course examines foreign relations of Russia and P.Sc. 251 RUSSIAN POLITICS examines the domestic politics and internal structure of Russia
PSC 251 - Russian Politics
This is an intermediate level politics course. It does not presume any background in the subject matter. However, students are certainly welcome if they have some background. The academic focus is on politics and political issues in contemporary Russia. Because the information is quite new to most students, it will require serious effort and very regular attention to the readings and the lectures. The challenge associated with understanding the contemporary politics of the Russian system is a daunting one. The issues, problems and fluid nature of politics are hard to grasp. Students that make this effort will be rewarded with discovering a fascinating and intriguing system. We will deal with history quite briefly. Students will find course options in history that can provide an insight into19th and 20th century Russian affairs. In practical terms, we will provide a platform of information on the current state of politics, a focused look at the political leadership and some careful examination of the issues that affect people and organizations in Russia. This course examines internal politics and P.Sc. 243 RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY examines the international dimensions of the subject.
PSC 349 - Topics in World Politics: Terrorism, Film, and Politics
PSC 351 - Revolution and Terrorism
This course examines revolutions and revolutionary activity. It will try to construct an understanding for students by looking at the empirical data that we have on when, how and why revolutions begin and why they either succeed or fail. It will encourage students to look at the conceptual literature and link it with the real world developments that have so clearly shaped politics in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Students should be prepared to be surprised by what social scientists “know” about revolution. The answers to questions like who makes revolution and in whose name it is fought will be quite unexpected. During what constellation of circumstances do revolutions flare up? What are the real chances of success? Social science has strong answers to these questions and the reality does not align with journalistic “conventional wisdom.”
This course faces a unique challenge. Most political science courses deal with the rules and routines of politics. Revolution is the political phenomenon created and pursued by those that reject those rules. As a consequence, students must make a formidable conceptual adjustment. Each student, in order to understand REVOLUTION, must try to “think” like a revolutionary! This may involve some discomfort and the challenge to embrace very different criteria for success.
PSC 357 - Eastern Europe in Trasition
This is an advanced level politics course emphasizing research. It presumes that you have either lower level comparative politics classes, a background course in another discipline, or a driving interest in the subject matter. One or more of these are required. The academic focus is on rigorous comparison and analysis of the recent political experiences of those central and east European political systems that are transitioning from Communism to new forms of authority. This is important to the "health" of these systems to crystallize democratic and capitalist mechanisms. The issues, problems and fluid nature of politics in the region make the task of academic scrutiny especially challenging. Students that make this sort of effort will be rewarded with discovering a fascinating, intriguing and crucial insight into how our world works. You will be challenged to process both quantitative and qualitative information. You will be expected to refine your presentation skills via written and oral opportunities. You will be given a chance to intellectually stretch in new directions and test your own abilities.
PSC 390 - Capstone Seminar
This course is intended to serve as a reflective experience in which each student appraises what changes have impacted on him or her during the university experience. It is also intended to help examine and understand the complex of factors that define who you are. All of this matters as you pursue your futures. The integrating theme I have designated for the course is: IDENTITY.
From societies, to communities, to businesses, to individuals -- each person will need frameworks for approaching and retaining images of the global human tapestry.
Students relish this opportunity to think about and refine their sense of self and to juxtapose that sense with the broad patterns of rapid change in our world.
The premise is that as modern persons, we all have a plethora of identities. In many senses, we are cautious NOT to bring them all into focus because this would require that we order or prioritize them. In lieu of this, we simply change identities like students change CDs to fit the mood or the circumstances. Encouraging focus and recognition of these often intrinsically contradictory snapshots of ourselves is a seminal undertaking. It can be life-affirming but is more likely to be fundamentally disturbing. I submit, it is essential to the student’s preparedness for post-university endeavors.
The range of identities commonly embraced by our students is remarkable. To think about them and examine them is to approach our world and our being with a dizzying array of disciplines. Students will bring perspectives from their various personal experiences.
As stated above, the range of categories of identities is vast. Common labels include race, politics, geography, group or family history, gender, religion, class, occupation, ethnicity and a host of other less recognized clusters built around power, psychology, sociology, technological and intellectual affinity. The course proposes to deal with these in creative ways. For example, race will be viewed through new discoveries in DNA-related science as well as the typical color and sociological labels. Political identity is typically conceived as ideological or party based. We will also examine the subject / participant distinction and the ‘politics is central’ vs. politics is extraneous’ distinction. Geographic labels will be expanded to differentiate growers from grabbers and urban from rural. History examined through the lens of a ‘proud’ (presumably superior) people vs. ‘victims.’ Gender identities scrutinized as ‘natural’ differences or ‘stifling.’ Religious labels scrutinized as promoting tolerant or intolerant views. Do occupational identities define who we are (i.e. you are what you do) or are they simply a vehicle to achieve a level of disposable income? Then there are the more complex identities to be probed. Do I do “it” to others or do they do “it” to me? Am I defined by my fears? Am I a technophile or technophobe? Do I aspire to be a scientist or a humanist?
To reiterate, the central question that will be explored with the students from the outset is whether all of us living in societies (complex and otherwise) have a hierarchy of identities. If so, we seldom acknowledge this explicitly. As issues and challenges present themselves, we find these identities in conflict and perhaps turn to the hierarchy as a means of resolving the conflict. Normal as this process may be, it is not done consciously. Nor do we recognize those moments when we re-order the hierarchy. We are inclined to ignore that the hierarchy exists. This can veil our understanding of ourselves and others. Behavior and perception clearly stem from a platform of ideas. As the examples above imply, these identities are not simply endogenous to our individuality. To the contrary, many are exogenous. Students can be drawn into recognition of how these factors interact and how sea change effects can be experienced.
If it is not already transparently clear, permit me to suggest how central this sort of realization is to the ability of students to deal with the challenges that lie ahead of them. None of these “identities” in their lives will be constant. Indeed, they will be challenged and changing. This will be especially true of the exogenous influences. “Lifelong learning” then could not be more meaningfully framed for students than with a framework for recognizing and managing those changes. “Parent,” “volunteer,” “leader,” “mentor,” “teacher,” “learner,” “adventurer,” “changer” as well as many other identities are the roots and the branches of our lives. Imagine this course as an intellectual experiment in thinking about YOU!
HON 201 - States, Markets and Society
To search out the nexus between the internal design of countries and the architecture of international relationships in the contemporary world. This course will require students to collect, process and evaluate data from original sources on factors that are of special interest to them. The overall objective is to enable students to gauge the complex relationships and linkages between countries and trans-national actors in the contemporary world. To achieve this, considerable effort must be made to define and clarify the range of actors and their roles in the 21st century. This course is the Honors program equivalent of the University social science requirement.
HON 350 - Identity in the 21st Century
This course is intended to serve as a reflective experience in which each student appraises what changes have impacted on him or her during the university experience. It is also intended to help examine and understand the complex of factors that define who you are. All of this matters as you pursue your futures. The integrating theme I have designated for the course is: IDENTITY.
From societies, to communities, to businesses, to individuals -- each person will need frameworks for approaching and retaining images of the global human tapestry.
Students relish this opportunity to think about and refine their sense of self and to juxtapose that sense with the broad patterns of rapid change in our world.
The premise is that as modern persons, we all have a plethora of identities. In many senses, we are cautious NOT to bring them all into focus because this would require that we order or prioritize them. In lieu of this, we simply change identities like students change CDs to fit the mood or the circumstances. Encouraging focus and recognition of these often intrinsically contradictory snapshots of ourselves is a seminal undertaking. It can be life-affirming but is more likely to be fundamentally disturbing. I submit, it is essential to the student’s preparedness for post-university endeavors.
The range of identities commonly embraced by our students is remarkable. To think about them and examine them is to approach our world and our being with a dizzying array of disciplines. Students will bring perspectives from their various personal experiences.
As stated above, the range of categories of identities is vast. Common labels include race, politics, geography, group or family history, gender, religion, class, occupation, ethnicity and a host of other less recognized clusters built around power, psychology, sociology, technological and intellectual affinity. The course proposes to deal with these in creative ways. For example, race will be viewed through new discoveries in DNA-related science as well as the typical color and sociological labels. Political identity is typically conceived as ideological or party based. We will also examine the subject / participant distinction and the ‘politics is central’ vs. politics is extraneous’ distinction. Geographic labels will be expanded to differentiate growers from grabbers and urban from rural. History examined through the lens of a ‘proud’ (presumably superior) people vs. ‘victims.’ Gender identities scrutinized as ‘natural’ differences or ‘stifling.’ Religious labels scrutinized as promoting tolerant or intolerant views. Do occupational identities define who we are (i.e. you are what you do) or are they simply a vehicle to achieve a level of disposable income? Then there are the more complex identities to be probed. Do I do “it” to others or do they do “it” to me? Am I defined by my fears? Am I a technophile or technophobe? Do I aspire to be a scientist or a humanist?
To reiterate, the central question that will be explored with the students from the outset is whether all of us living in societies (complex and otherwise) have a hierarchy of identities. If so, we seldom acknowledge this explicitly. As issues and challenges present themselves, we find these identities in conflict and perhaps turn to the hierarchy as a means of resolving the conflict. Normal as this process may be, it is not done consciously. Nor do we recognize those moments when we re-order the hierarchy. We are inclined to ignore that the hierarchy exists. This can veil our understanding of ourselves and others. Behavior and perception clearly stem from a platform of ideas. As the examples above imply, these identities are not simply endogenous to our individuality. To the contrary, many are exogenous. Students can be drawn into recognition of how these factors interact and how sea change effects can be experienced.
If it is not already transparently clear, permit me to suggest how central this sort of realization is to the ability of students to deal with the challenges that lie ahead of them. None of these “identities” in their lives will be constant. Indeed, they will be challenged and changing. This will be especially true of the exogenous influences. “Lifelong learning” then could not be more meaningfully framed for students than with a framework for recognizing and managing those changes. “Parent,” “volunteer,” “leader,” “mentor,” “teacher,” “learner,” “adventurer,” “changer” as well as many other identities are the roots and the branches of our lives. Imagine this course as an intellectual experiment in thinking about YOU!
