Ph.D. Politics

ECO 520 Economics and Politics (also

POL 577

) Focused on analytical models of political institutions, this course is organized around canonical models and their applications. These include voting models, menu auctions, models of reputation, and cheap talk games. These models are used to explain patterns of participation in elections, institutions of congress, lobbying, payments to special interest groups, and other observed phenomena.

PHI 503 Plato's Political Philosophy (Half-Term) (also

CLA 530

/

POL 556

) This course discusses central issues in Plato's Political Philosophy based closely on study of the pertinent Platonic dialogues.

POL 502 Mathematics for Political Science Basic mathematical concepts essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. Course prepares students for advanced courses offered in the Department, e.g., Pol 573-576. Topics will include calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory. Some applications to political science will be introduced. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some but wish to gain a more solid foundation. No prerequisite.

POL 503 Survey Analysis A reading course on survey design and analysis and a practicum on analyzing survey data. Each student will write a paper based on his or her analysis of previously collected survey data or on original survey data collected by the student. Course open to Politics seniors by permission. (Does not prepare for the General Exam in Formal and Quantitative Analysis.)

POL 505 Experimental Methods in Political Science The goal of this course is to introduce students to the theoretical and practical features of experimental political science, particularly natural and field experiments. There is special emphasis on the importance of distinguishing between policy-based and institution-based interventions, with attention given to the promise of the latter for political economy research. Students are introduced to the analysis of experimental results and related econometrics. As the course progresses, students may design an experiment and, subsequently, develop a protocol. Others may choose to replicate the results of well-known experiments.

POL 506 Qualitative Methods (also

WWS 595

) Introduction to techniques used by political scientists in "small-n" research. Discusses the types of theoretical and empirical questions that are associated with in-depth analysis of a small number of cases. The emphasis is on systematic measurements and inferential startegies, including case selection, periodization, structured comparison, analytic narrative, and the integration of qualitative and statistical methods in research design. The course also includes discussion of the mechanics of qualitative research, including field methods, in-depth interviewing, and archival research. (Doesn't prepare for Gen. Exm. in F&Q.)

POL 507 Topics in Plato (Half-Term) (also

CLA 507

/

PHI 507

/

HLS 507

) A study of fundamental questions of political theory in Plato¿s works, focusing on one or another of those works (or some part of one or more of them) while attending to the broader thematic and historical frameworks in which they must be interpreted. Topics may include part or all of Plato¿s Apology, Crito, Gorgias, Republic, Statesman, and Laws.

POL 511 Problems in Political Theory Selected concepts and problems in political theory. A different topic is treated each year. Topics include justice, equality, liberty, obligation, participation, the nature of political theory, and approaches to interpretation of political theory.

POL 512 Topics in Political Theory The course offers a detailed examination of a selected topic in political theory. Topics vary by instructor and offering.

POL 517 International Political Theory An examination of contemporary controversies in international political philosophy. Topics may include the morality of the use of force, global economics and political justice, theories of human rights, and the relationship between sectional and global values.

POL 518 Political Philosophy (also

PHI 529

) Selected issues or theories of common interest to students in the Department of Politics and in the Department of Philosophy. The course is taught by members of the faculties of the two departments under the auspices of the Program in Political Philosophy.

POL 520 Democracy and Its Enemies (Half-Term) This course examines how liberal democracies should react to political actors that we might suspect of being opposed to core principles of liberal democracy. The course draws on historical and contemporary material from political theory, public law, and comparative politics.

POL 521 The Study of Comparative Politics A general introduction to the field of comparative politics, with an emphasis on principal theoretical approaches and major problems and theories.

POL 522 Politics and Modernization An examination of alternative theoretical approaches to modernization, including interpretations of both the historical transformation of the western states and the efforts under way in the contemporary Third World.

POL 524 Crisis and Critique, or: What is Critical Theory Today? (Half-Term) In this seminar students examine traditions of political thought that radically challenge mainstream conceptions of liberal democracy and modern capitalist society. The seminar pays particular attention to the question in what ways such challengers adopt political, economic, and cultural strategies to bring about fundamental change. The seminar concentrates on the early twentieth century to the present.

POL 525 Comparative Bureaucracy A seminar dealing theoretically and empirically with the role of bureaucracy as an integral part of the political system, with an emphasis on the relation of the governmental bureaucracy to other governmental institutions (political parties, executives, legislatures) and to nongovernmental institutions. All aspects are treated comparatively.

POL 529 Seminar in Comparative Politics One or more theoretical topics currently of major concern in comparative politics are treated.

POL 530 The Politics of Growth & Redistribution This course is designed to survey and critically discuss contemporary political economy; that is, the set of existing theories that model the impact of political conflict and political institutions on economic performance. The course is structured around the following main issues: the causes of growth; the relationship between openness, political institutions and economic policy-making, the causes and consequences of politically enforced redistribution. The course is analytical in its theoretical perspective and comparative from a methodological point of view.

POL 538 Comparative Political Behavior This seminar examines mass political behavior from a comparative perspective. It seeks to explain how people become involved in politics, how they form political opinions, and how their behavior influences political outcomes. The seminar covers a range of behaviors, including learning about politics, information processing, political participation, and voter decision-making. For each of these political behaviors, the purpose of the seminar is to address two questions: What are the causes and consequences of the behavior? To what extent and how do these causes and consequences depend on institutional or cultural/ historical settings?

POL 541 Judicial Politics Topics typically include: design of judiciaries and legal systems, doctrinal struggles within judicial hierarchies, bargaining on collegial courts, judicial selection, judicial independence and the rule of law, judicial-legislative relations, interest group activism and rights creation, judicial federalism, politics of administrative law, civil liberties in war time, social consequences of judicial activism.

POL 542 American Political Institutions This seminar is part of the two-course sequence of the core curriculum in American politics and provides an introductory survey of American political institutions. Provides an overview of the various problems for which institutional solutions are sought (e.g., problems involving collective action, delegation, and social choice) as well as a detailed assessment of some of the scholarly literature that investigates political institutions.

POL 543 Interest Groups and Social Movements in American Politics and Policy (also

GSS 543

/

AAS 543

) This course engages theoretical and empirical work about interest groups and social movements in American politics and policy-making. We examine theories of interest group and social movement formation, maintenance and decline; how interest groups and social movements attempt to influence public policy; the impact of interest groups and social movements; lobbying; the relationships between interest groups and the three branches of the federal government; interest groups, elections, campaign finance, PACs, and 527s; and the effectiveness of interest groups and social movements as agents of democratic representation.

POL 544 Introduction to American Politics, Part I: Political Behavior Public opinion surveys; the origin of political attitudes; conflict and consensus on basic issues; political participation, partisan choice, and other mass behavior; pressure groups; propaganda and the media; the influence of public opinion on governmental policy; and public opinion and democratic theory are studied.

POL 547 Identity Politics Is human psychology ¿groupish?¿ How do government institutions like schools, police and elections influence the salience of various ethnic and religious boundaries? This course investigates the relationship between identity, groups and politics in the U.S. and in comparative context. We consider general theories of group identity development; assess empirical approaches to the study of racial and ethnic groups in politics; examine intersections of salient identities; and look at how politically relevant aspects of identity can be measured for conducting original research.

POL 548 Political Psychology This course examines psychological perspectives on politics. Themes include human limitation vs. human capacity, how institutions shape or interact with individual opinion and behavior, discussion and deliberation, and the role of groups. We will also discuss methodological issues.

POL 549 Seminar in American Politics Selected theoretical problems in American politics.

POL 550 International Organization The role of international institutions, including both informal norms and formal organizations. Why do states establish institutions and what determines their design and evolution? Do these institutions merely reflect underlying power and interests? The course will introduce theories of international institutions, evaluate critical perspectives, and examine applications in security, economic, and environmental policy areas.

POL 551 Seminar in International Politics Introduces the main theoretical debates and traditions of international relations through intensive reading and discussion of contemporary scholarship.

POL 554 International Security Studies Central topics in security studies, including the causes and nature of war, deterrence, alliance formation, military doctrine, civil-military relations, arms competition, and arms control.

POL 561 Constitutional Theory The specific focus of the course varies from year to year, but the principal concerns revolve around questions of what a constitutional democracy is, why a people should want to live in such a polity, and how political actors can create, maintain, and change such systems.

POL 563 Philosophy of Law (also

PHI 526

) A systematic study of the salient features of legal systems, standards of legal reasoning, and the relation between law and morals.

POL 564 American Constitutional Development Explore questions of order and change in American constitutional doctrine and institutional relations and powers across time. Students will consider diverse theories of constitutional and institutional change, including those drawn from comparative politics. Emphasis will be on the relationship between paths of constitutional development and both conventions of legal and constitutional reasoning, and political, economic, social, and intellectual currents, settlements, and crises.

POL 565 Theories of Judicial Review An introduction to the debate over the legitimacy and proper scope of judicial review and the empirical literature or judicial review and judicial politics, with a goal of connecting debates over what the Court should do with an understanding of what the Court can do and has done.

POL 571 Quantitative Analysis I This is a first course in statistics for social scientists. Students will learn to explore data creatively and to conduct straightforward statistical analyses. Basic probability and statistical theory will also be taught. There is no prerequisite except high school mathematics and a willingness to learn elementary calculus.

POL 572 Quantitative Analysis II This is the second course in the quantitative methods sequence. It will emphasize the flexibility of the maximum likelihood framework in the context of regression models, models that mix qualitiative and continuous endogenous variables, hazard models, and scaling models. Note: this newly renumbered course is a continuation of the level one material that was presented until Spring 2002 as "Politics 572."

POL 573 Quantitative Analysis III (also

SOC 595

) The course builds on the material covered in POL571 and 572 and introduces a variety of statistical techniques including Bayesian methods and causal inference. The goal is to show how to apply these methods to data analysis in political science research. The course is particularly useful, but not exclusively, for students planning to take the Quantitative part of the General Exam in Formal and Quantitative Analysis at Level III. Prerequisite: POL572 or equivalent.

POL 574 Quantitative Analysis IV An introduction to the basic analytical and computational tools of applied Bayesian statistics. Methods covered include multi-level models, mixture modeling, Bayesian model averaging, and models for missing data and causal inference; computational tools taught include the EM algorithm and the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. Goal of the course is to enable students to build and implement their own model in order to answer a particular research question. Course may be of interest to those in disciplines outside of political science who need to learn the basics of applied Bayesian statistics.

POL 575 Formal Political Analysis I. An introduction to mathematical models of political processes