An analysis of the theory underlying American democracy and its relationship to the major political questions of the day, such as the role played by citizens in influencing public policy and the responsiveness (or lack of responsiveness) of governmental institutions. Emphasized are the court's protection of civil liberties, the president's ability to lead the nation, and the rationality of the public's voting behavior. The advantages and disadvantages of proposed reforms of the American system of government are also examined.
This course will examine the purpose, structure and effectiveness of Congress. The main question for the course is: does Congress work? Special attention will be given to the way in which Congress has responded to the various crisis in American history.
This course serves as an introduction to the politics of East Asia, in particular China, Japan, the Koreas, and Taiwan. Topics include the current functioning of political institutions, with an emphasis on each nation's economic, political, and cultural development.
A critical examination of the American Presidency, with emphasis on recent revisionist approaches. Topics include the constitutional basis of presidential power, presidential personality and style of leadership, as well as considerations of executive staffing and presidential-congressional relations.
A survey of the key issues, ideas, events, actors, and institutions in American foreign policy, national security, and international economic relations. The course combines a focus on current issues with an overview of American foreign policy since World War II.
Because the United States has been a religiously diverse country since its founding, American law has attempted to balance competing claims of religious liberty, equality, and fairness. The first two clauses of the Bill of Rights pertain specifically to religion, yet far from settling the issues of religious liberty and religious establishment, they have sparked centuries of debate. This course examines four aspects of the interplay between law and religion in the U.S. legal context: the conceptual relationship between legal and religious authority, the constitutional tradition of religious disestablishment, the shifting bounds of free exercise of religion in U.S. law, and the option of civil disobedience when law and religion conflict.
This course explores the way in which political issues have been presented in literature. A variety of novels, short stories, poems, and essays will be analyzed for the insights into politics that they offer.
What is justice? Does it exist? This course undertakes a critical examination of major theories of justice, drawn from political philosophy, theatre, and literature. Typical authors studied include Rawls, Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Sophocles, Hawthorne, and Nietzsche.
A study of the rationale for the criminal law and punishment as well as an examination of the effectiveness of the American justice system. Issues examined include capital punishment, the law of search and seizure, society's response to dangerous drugs, individual versus societal responsibility for crime, and the proper response of a democratic people to crime and criminals.