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Political ScienceSocial Sciences Division FacultyFred E. Baumann Pamela G. Camerra-Rowe Harry M. Clor John M. Elliott Kirk R. Emmert Pamela K. Jensen Joseph L. Klesner Alex R. McKeown Michelle S. Mood David M. Rowe Timothy J. Spiekerman Dana Jalbert Stauffer Devin A. Stauffer Stephen E. Van Holde Lee Ward The Department of Political Science pursues three basic objectives: to explore the nature of politics—its purposes, limitations, and signifiicance in human life; to promote understanding of the various forms of political regimes and movements; and to develop a capacity for intelligent evaluation of public policies and a sensitive awareness of opposing points of view in the political conflicts of our time. Throughout the program, emphasis is on the role of moral considerations in politics and the fundamental ideas concerning human nature, justice, and the purposes of government. Reflecting the importance of conflicting opinions in politics, course readings present students with sharply differing points of view. Students are encouraged to participate in discussion and debate of controversial questions. The Department of Political Science offers several introductory courses for diversification. Look for the Quest for Justice This year-long course is taught as a first-year seminar, with class size kept to a maximum of eighteen students. There are usually seven or eight sections of the course, all with common readings. Sessions are conducted through discussion, thereby helping students overcome any reservations they may have about their capacity to make the transition from high school to college work. The course, which emphasizes the development of reading, writing, and speaking skills, is an introduction to the serious discussion of the most important questions concerning political relations and human well-being. These are controversial issues that in the contemporary world take the form of debates about multiculturalism, diversity, separatism, gender equality, and the like; but, as students will discover here, these are issues rooted in perennial questions about justice. In the informal atmosphere of the seminar, students get to know one another well and debate often continues outside of class. The course is divided into nine major units. The first concerns the relationship between human beings as such and as citizens, using the Greek polis as an apposite example. Sophocles’s tragedy Antigone introduces a group of classical readings that investigate the conflict between the claims of the individual and those of the community. The second unit develops the classical understanding of justice through study of Plato’s Apology and Crito and selections from Aristotle’s Politics. The third unit examines the solution to the problem of justice found in the American Constitution, starting with the Declaration of Independence, and including readings from the English philosopher John Locke, the Federalist Papers, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and the writings of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King. The fourth unit turns to nineteenth-century liberal theory, which begins to raise serious but generally friendly critiques of liberal democracy. The readings are from J.S. Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville as well as Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People.The fifth unit, divided into two subunits, explores two fundamental practical issues as they relate to liberal democracy—the production and distribution of wealth, and war and foreign policy. Here we read selections from Adam Smith and Milton Friedman on economics, and Tocqueville once more, along with the ancient Greek historian Thucydides on war and justice. The second semester begins with the sixth unit of the course, which presents the radical critique of liberal democracy from the left, in the writings of Karl Marx, as well as some more moderate criticisms, in the writings of contemporary social democrats and of George Orwell. The seventh unit presents the radical challenge to liberal democracy from irrationalist thought (corresponding roughly to a challenge from the right), in the thought of Nietzsche and his heirs. The eighth unit introduces the perspective of revealed religion, which radically criticizes any and all human attempts to achieve or even understand justice by unaided reason. Students will read excerpts from Genesis and Exodus as well as The Gospel According to St. Matthew. Thus, the ninth unit of the course allows students to use what they have learned to examine contemporary cultural and theoretical issues. It presents students with readings in the politics of race, gender, and culture, including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Carol Gilligan, Susan Okin, Aristophanes’ The Congresswomen, Achebe, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The final unit allows for general reflections on the question of justice. Typically included here, a reading of Shakespeare’s Tempest allows for reflection on the question of human nature and political rule. Throughout the course, readings are juxtaposed so as to present diverse and sometimes sharply conflicting points of view. So that students may prepare adequately for each class, assignments from the common syllabus tend to be short. The course, an ongoing seminar that explores great issues, is designed to develop analytical skills, especially careful reading and effective discussion. Six to eight brief, analytical papers are assigned and carefully graded (for grammar and style as well as intellectual content). Instructors discuss the papers individually with students. Thus, this is also a “writing course” as well as one devoted to thinking and discussion. The papers typically account for 60 percent of the course grade, with the remainder dependent on class participation and the final examination. On the first day of class of each term, every student receives a syllabus listing the assignments by date, due dates of the short papers, examination dates, and all other information that will enable the student to know what is expected in the course and when. Introductory Courses in Political Science SubfieldsThe following courses are particularly recommended to sophomores, juniors, and seniors new to the political science curriculum. I. American Politics PSCI 200 Liberal Democracy in America II. Political Philosophy PSCI 220 History of Political Philosophy: The Classical Quest for Justice The second semester examines and evaluates the revolutionary challenge to classical and medieval political philosophy posed by such writers as Machiavelli in The Prince and Discourses, Hobbes in The Leviathan, Locke in the Second Treatise, and Rousseau in the Social Contract and Discourses. In order to compare and evaluate critically the philosophic views that have shaped our own political and psychological opinions, these classes emphasize careful reading of the texts. III. Comparative Politics PSCI 240 Modern Democracies IV. International Relations PSCI 260 International Relations Requirements for the MajorStudents majoring in political science must complete 5 units in the subject, including PSCI 220 and 221; 240; 260; and 1 unit of work in American politics. The American politics unit consists of PSCI 200 and any semester course numbered from 300 through 315. Every major must also take 1/2 unit of work in either comparative politics or international relations beyond the introductory courses in those subfields, and at least one political-science seminar, each of which is limited to fifteen students. The introductory course in political science, PSCI 101-102 (Quest for Justice), is designed for first-year students and is recommended for all students considering a major in political science. There are a number of upperclass electives open to students without any prerequisites, but we encourage students seeking an exposure to political science to begin with the core courses of our curriculum: PSCI 101-102; 200; 220 and 221; 240; and 260. Senior ExerciseSenior political science majors have two options for completing the required Senior Exercise: a twenty- to twenty-five-page analytical essay, or a four-hour written exam. The exam option, taken the Saturday before spring break, is the traditional option taken by most majors. Students answer two two-hour questions that cut across subfields and require integration and application of knowledge learned in various courses. Under the essay option, students write an essay on one of six or seven comprehensive questions. The essay is due December 1. Those who fail to earn a grade of B or better on their revised essay take the exam option at the end of February. Year CoursesQuest for Justice This course explores the relationship between the individual and society as exemplified in the writings of political philosophers, statesmen, novelists, and contemporary political writers. Questions about law, political obligation, freedom, equality, and justice and human nature are examined and illustrated. The course looks at different kinds of societies such as the ancient city, modern democracy, and totalitarianism, and confronts contemporary issues such as race, culture, and gender. The readings present diverse viewpoints and the sessions are conducted by discussion. The course is designed primarily for first-year students. Enrollment limited. Senior Honors The Honors Program in political science is designed to recognize and encourage exceptional scholarship in the discipline and to allow able students to do more independent work in the subject than is otherwise permitted. Honors candidates are admitted into the program based on an oral examination conducted by faculty members, normally at the end of the junior year. Political-science majors who are considering honors are encouraged (but not required) to enroll in PSCI 397 (Junior Honors) during their junior year. The senior honors candidate works with two members of the department to prepare a major essay on a topic of his or her choice, which is then defended before an outside examiner in May. Prerequisite: permission of department chair. First-Semester CoursesLiberal Democracy in America The course explores the guiding principles, major institutions, and national politics of the American political order. The Founders’ view of liberal democracy and of the three branches of our government (presented in the Federalist Papers) will provide the basis for consideration of the modern Supreme Court, presidency, bureaucracy, Congress, news media, and political parties and elections. The course concludes with Tocqueville’s broad overview of American democracy and its efforts to reconcile liberty and equality. The material in the course will be illustrated by references to current political issues, events, and personalities. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. History of Political Philosophy: The Classical Quest for Justice This course introduces the student to classical political philosophy through analysis of Platonic dialogues—the Apology, Crito, and Republic—and of Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics. The course addresses enduring questions about the community, the individual, happiness, and justice. Other themes to be discussed include the possible resolution of social conflict, the relationship between politics and economics, the political responsibility for education, the role of gender in politics, and philosophy as a way of life. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Modern Democracies Representative democracy came to be the most common form of government in Europe and the Americas in the twentieth century, and in the last half of the century it became increasingly popular among the peoples of the rest of the world. Representative democracy takes many forms and confronts many constraints in its implementation. This course will explore the institutional variety of representative democracy, the causes of political stability and instability in democratic regimes, and the possibility of successful creation of democratic regimes in countries in which the political culture has not traditionally supported democracy. Case studies will include Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Mexico. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. International Relations This course provides a brief introduction to the study of international relations. It focuses on three central themes: (1) contending theories of international relations; (2) the rise of the modern international system; and (3) recent developments in the international arena. Other topics to be addressed will include the causes of war and the chances of peace, the shift from politics based primarily on military power to more complex relations rooted in politics among democracies, economic interdependence and dependency, and the recent resurgence of nationalism and ethnic conflict. Issues such as nuclear proliferation, human rights, peaceful conflict resolution, and the role of ethics in international politics may also be covered. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Congress and Public Policy-Making Does the U.S. Congress possess the capacity for independence and effectiveness in law-making, budgeting, and oversight of the executive? How much policy-making responsibility has Congress lost to the president? How does congressional performance vary among policy areas and what explains these variations? What sort of congressional policy role is feasible and desirable? How have recent reforms changed congressional performance? Are there other changes that might improve congress’s policy-making capacity? In this course, we will explore these questions by examining the historical development and contemporary performance of the U.S. Congress. After an historical overview, we will examine a series of factors that influence congressional policy-making, including the electoral and constituency settings in which legislators operate and the party and committee systems within the institution. We will then analyze the performance of Congress in certain policy areas, including the budget, health-care reform, and foreign policy. Students will also follow this year’s congressional elections. This course can be used to complete the requirement in American politics for political-science majors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. American Constitutional Law The course explores basic issues in constitutional law relevant to the principles and problems of our liberal democracy. We begin with cases of the Marshall Court, which lay the foundations of our constitutional order, and define the role of the judiciary. But most of the course is devoted to controversial themes in our twentieth-century jurisprudence. Emphasis will be placed on recent Supreme Court decisions in the areas of equal protection of the laws, the right to privacy, freedom of speech and press, religious freedom, and the rights of persons accused of crime. This course can be used to complete the requirement in American politics for political-science majors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Elections and Political Parties
in Comparative Perspective Elections are the most frequent and significant means by which citizens participate in mass politics in modern democracies. Without political parties, large societies could not be governed democratically—they organize alternatives for the voters to choose how they wish to be governed, and they allow the electorate to hold their rulers accountable. This course will explore various dimensions of electoral politics, political parties, and party systems in the quest to understand how these essential institutions of democracy operate in different settings. Topics to be examined include: the historical development of political parties; party organizations; the different political dynamics of one-, two-, and multiparty systems; contending electoral rules and their consequences for representation and party system development; electoral behavior, electoral participation, and partisanship and party identification; the emergence of electoral competition in formerly one-party states; and debates about the declining role of parties in the media age. The United States will serve as the most important source of course material, with additional examples drawn from European democracies, Japan, Russia, and Latin America. Special attention will be paid to elections taking place during the semester in which the course is offered. Prerequisite: sopho-more standing. Enrollment limited. Transformations in the Relations of Nations With the end of the Cold War a new transformation of the international order began which the events of September 11, 2001, seem to be hastening. This course will examine the modern history of these transformations, using climactic settlements, such as Westphalia, Vienna, Versailles and Yalta/Potsdam, as vantage points from which to assess the changes that have taken place both in the arrangement of the international state system and the character of the states composing it. The course has two chief pedagogic aims: 1) to create a context for understanding our current situation, and 2) to learn something about what is permanent and what is variable in human beings faced with the most decisive choices. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Haves and Have Nots:
Development and Developing Countries in the Contemporary World This course focuses on relations between the developed “North” and the less developed countries of the “South.” After briefly examining the historical origins of southern underdevelopment, we shift our focus to the legacies of such underdevelopment in the Third World today. Specific issues to be addressed include the politics of trade and aid, the debt crisis, the impact of transnational corporations, the link between democracy and development, and southern calls for a more equitable relationship between North and South. Related topics such as northern and southern perspectives on the environment, transfers of resources and technology, and the politicization of Third World economies will also be examined. Although the main focus of the course will be substantive rather than theoretical, contending theories of development and underdevelopment will also be considered. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Global Environmental Politics This course will examine a variety of issues in environmental politics, placing special emphasis on international politics and policy. It will begin by considering the environmental impact of population growth, industrial development, and technological change. Topics such as global warming, resource depletion, the management and disposal of toxic waste, and threats to biodiversity will be examined, and their political implications analyzed in detail. A variety of possible responses to environmental threats will also be assessed, including “green” activism, sustainable development, international efforts to negotiate treaties, and conferences and forums such as the 1992 Rio Conference. Case studies and films will be used as appropriate to supplement lectures and discussions. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Montesquieu and Tocqueville on Liberty and Despotism In this seminar we will explore the works of two of the most significant modern analysts of politics, one writing before and one writing after the French Revolution. Both of these thinkers attend carefully to distinctions between ancient and modern liberty and between ancient and modern despotism. Both of them present their ideas in the form of a broad-based comparative political science, in which such topics as self-government, commerce, the relations between the sexes, slavery, religion, political culture, and the diversity of nations figure prominently. Studying them together should help us to understand better the quarrel between ancients and moderns and the strengths and weaknesses of our own political and cultural life. Our readings will be drawn from Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution. Prerequisite: junior standing. Enrollment limited. Thucydides: War and Philosophy This seminar will be devoted to a careful reading of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War. The themes of the couse will be Thucydides’ account of international relations, the connections between foreign and domestic politics, and his account of human nature and of political morality. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Science and Politics This seminar examines the relationship of science and politics from early modernity to the present, and considers the probable course and character of that relationship in the foreseeable future. Topics to be considered include Galileo’s conflict with the Church, the theory of evolution, Social Darwinism, and the origins and implications of nuclear weapons research. We will also examine a number of contemporary controversies at the intersection of science and politics, including genetic testing and therapy, intelligence testing and the IQ debates, global warming, and the debates surrounding the science and politics of AIDS. Issues such as the value neutrality of science, the politics of risk assessment, and the proper role of scientists in shaping policy also will be examined. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Senior Seminar in Public Policy: Race, Poverty, and Inequality This seminar brings together a political scientist and an economist to consider how these disiplines analyze and understand public policy. First we will explore public policy and institutions from the general perspective of the two disciplines, examining their contrasting approaches and attempting to find common ground. Then we proceed to study in depth the complex issues of race, poverty, and inequality. We will examine competing understandings of the problems and various efforts of government to solve or alleviate these social, economic, and political conditions. Throughout, we will pay attention to the question of what the knowledge and perpsectives from both economics and political science contribute to our understanding of the problems and the policies governments debate, reject or adopt, and seek to implement. This course is required for students completing the Public Policy Concentration, and it is open to upperclassmen. Prerequisites: ECON 101, ECON 102, and one course in American politics, or permission of the instructors. Enrollment limited. Individual Study This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. Second-Semester CoursesLiberal Democracy in America See first semester course description. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. History of Political Philosophy: The Modern Quest for Justice This course examines and evaluates the world revolutionary challenge to classical political philosophy posed by such writers as Machiavelli in his Prince and Discourses, Hobbes in the Leviathan, and political writings of Locke, Rousseau, and Nietzsche. We will consider the differing views of these authors about how best to construct healthy and successful political societies; the role of ethics in domestic and foreign policy; the proper relations between politics and religion, and between the individual and the community; the nature of our rights and the origin of our duties; and the meaning of human freedom and the nature of human equality. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. States, Nations, Nationalism This course provides an introduction to comparative political development. It focuses on two key issues in the development of the contemporary world: the rise of the modern state and the emergence of modern nationalism. By analyzing the processes of state and nation-building in selected countries, we will come to understand the means by which state power is constructed, maintained, and legitimated in political systems as varied as absolutist monarchies and modern nation-states. And by examining nationalism in a variety of historical and geographical settings, we will begin to comprehend the intriguing power and persistence of national identities in an increasingly multinational world. Although the course will be explicitly analytic and comparative in character, analysis will be supplemented as appropriate with case studies drawn from countries around the world. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. International Relations See first-semester course description. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. Enrollment limited. The American Presidency This course explores different views of the presidency and of the nature of presidential leadership. The Founders’ view will be compared with developments since Franklin Roosevelt, including the imperial and post-imperial presidencies. A central concern will be the question of presidential power: How strong is the current presidency? How strong ought it to be? The course concludes with a study of presidential leadership and of the proper ends and means by which to exercise political power, with particular attention to the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. This course can be used to complete the requirement in American politics for political science majors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. The News Media and American Democracy This course studies the political impact of the news media, electronic and print, on American politics. A major theme is how the news media define what is news. We study how journalists cover political events and how their work shapes, and is shaped by, the actions of politicians and political institutions. The conflict between the media and the government is analyzed in terms of the constitutional rights of a free press and a political battle between an adversarial or biased press and a government of manipulating politicians. This course can be used to complete the requirement in American politics for political science majors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Public Policy This course studies a broad range of public policies and analyzes the process of making policy through case studies, which range from foreign policy to economics. We will study various views of the policy-making process in our national government and consider the different stages of policy-making, including how problems are defined, how new proposals emerge, and how certain solutions make it onto the national agenda and are debated before adoption, altered during implementation, and subsequently evaluated. We will also consider the role of politicians, experts, and bureaucrats in policy-making, study why specific policies were adopted, and debate whether these were the best possible policies. Finally, students will be asked to arrive at their own policy positions on an important issue by taking into account the full range of issues—constitutional, moral, political, economic, circumstantial, and so on—to be considered in deciding on a sound policy. This course is one of the required foundation courses for the Public Policy Concentration and is also open to other upperclass students. This course can be used to complete the requirement in American politics for political science majors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Politics and Literature: Freedom and Tyranny This course explores perennial issues of politics broadly understood, as they are treated in literature. This semester it will focus on the question of freedom and tyranny. Are they simple opposites? Is the distinction between tyranny and legitimate rule genuine or merely a matter of opinion? Can rebellion against tyranny itself be tyrannical? Readings will include Xenophon’s Hiero, Shakespeare’s Richard III, Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, Buchner’s Danton’s Death, Doestoyevsky’s The Possessed, and Solzhenitsyn’s First Circle. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. European Politics This course will examine the development of political institutions and movements in Europe from the end of World War I to the present, with a particular focus on the countries of western Europe. Topics to be addressed will include fascism, national socialism, and communism; the origins and outcomes of World War II; the rise of social democracies and the welfare state; the collapse of communism; and the integration of Europe. Current political issues such as the recent resurgence of nationalism and racism will also be examined. Although the focus of the course will be comparative and analytic, analysis will be grounded as appropriate in specific case studies. Prerequiste: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Comparative Asian Politics: India, China, and Japan This course uses the cases of India,China, and Japan to explore some of the enduring questions of comparative politics as well as to introduce the historical, political, and economic development of three major actors in the Asian region. Two longstanding Asian democracies (India, Japan), two large, poor, linguistically diverse Asian countries (India, China), and two ethnically homogeneous Confucian East Asian states (China, Japan) are compared. In this way, many key questions of comparative politics are explored. Most centrally, the course inquires into the causes of the differences between these countries. The relative contributions of history, culture, religion, and ethnicity to the development of the current political structure are explored. These factors are also addressed with regard to the ways in which political institutions function and the success of the state in implementing its policies. In addition, the course more generally asks about the roles and functions of a state. How is the success of a state measured? And, finally, what is therelationship between politics and economic development? Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Special Topics: Terrorism: Origins, Dangers, and Prospects This seminar examines modern international terrorism. First we will explore international terrorism as an instrument of political conflict, as well as the root causes of modern international terrorism, ranging from identity politics to the stresses inherent in modernization and the rise of global capitalism. The second segment of the course explores one of the most threatening aspects of modern international terrorism: the emergence of “new terrorism,” which combines weapons of mass destruction with symbolic violence based in radical visions of social order. In the last segment of the course, we will examine the feasibility of different strategies for managing international terrorism, such as nonviolent humanitarian responses, the use of international law, and military action. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or above. Junior Honors Seminar This course is designed primarily for political science majors interested in entering the senior Honors Program. The seminar will explore controversial questions about the appropriate study or theory of politics and the practice of it by statesmen. What are the purposes, methods, and limits of political science? What is statesmanship or successful leadership? How are political science and practical statesmanship related to ethical norms and insights? What kind of political education is appropriate for citizens? Readings will include selections from James Ceaser’s Liberal Democracy and Political Science and writings on Washington, Madison, Lincoln, Lenin, Ataturk and “judicial statesmanship.” The seminar is largely for junior majors, but if any places remain open, sophomores will be admitted. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Problem of Socrates This seminar will be a study of Socrates, the controversial founder of political philosophy. We will begin by looking at the writings of Socrates’ most profound and thoughtful critics: Aristophanes and Nietzsche. After reading Arisophanes’ Clouds and a section from Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols, we will turn to Plato and spend the better part of the semester studying Plato’s Gorgias, Protagoras, and other dialogues. The main themes of the course will be the relationship between Socratic education and political life, Socrates’ view of justice and rhetoric, and the question of the possibility and goodness of “enlightenment.” Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollmemt limited. Defense Strategy Seminar This seminar analyzes and debates some of the main issues and choices facing the makers of U.S. defense strategy and foreign policy in the post-Cold War world. The seminar focuses on the issue of U.S. military intervention. It also analyzes and evaluates threats and potential threats to U.S. security in the unipolar world which has existed since the collapse of the Soviet superpower. The war against Iraq to liberate Kuwait, the humanitarian intervention in Somalia, the limited intervention in Bosnia, and the air war against Serbia over Kosovo are cases which have been examined in recent years. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Topics in Latin American Politics: Democracy and Development in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile Argentina, Brazil, and Chile returned to democracy in the 1980s after experiencing political instability and harsh military rule in the 1960s and 1970s. In each society, the new democratic regimes have promised to promote economic development while attending to issues of distributional justice. They have also been pressured to attend to the legacy of human-rights abuses under the military’s rule. This seminar will explore political and economic developments under South America’s new democracies. Themes will include the application of the neoliberal economic model in each society, the emergence of social movements, government policies intended to attend to problems of maldistribution of income, the challenge of prosecuting human-rights abuses, civil-military relations, and consolidation of democratic institutions (parties, legislatures, and decentralization of power). The seminar is intended especially for students who have returned from studying abroad in South America and those preparing to go to off-campus programs in the countries being studied. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. Individual Study This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. The following courses may be offered in 2003-04:
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symbol, which designates those courses particularly appropriate for first-year or upperclass students new to the political-science department curriculum. We especially recommend PSCI 101-102 (Quest for Justice). It is the only political-science course designed expressly for first-year students. Although PSCI 101-102 is not required for a major in political science, we strongly recommend it as an introduction to the department’s program. This course is broad in scope and is designed to provide an effective introduction to college work in the humanities and social sciences generally. If you wish to take a political-science course for diversification as a sophomore or above, you may enroll in PSCI 101-102, but we also call to your attention the introductory courses offered in each of our subfields: PSCI 200 (American Politics), PSCI 220, 221 (Political Philosophy), PSCI 240 (Comparative Politics), and PSCI 260 (International Relations).