Courses

Courses by semester

Courses for

Complete Cornell University course descriptions are in the Courses of Study .

Course ID Title Offered
GOVT1101 FWS: Power and Politics
This First-Year Writing Seminar is devoted to the study of political power and the interaction of citizens and governments and provides the opportunity to write extensively about these issues. Topics vary by semester.

Full details for GOVT 1101 - FWS: Power and Politics

Fall, Spring.
GOVT1111 Introduction to American Government and Politics
A policy-centered approach to the study of government in the American experience.  Considers the American Founding and how it influenced the structure of government;  how national institutions operate in shaping law and public policy; who has a voice in American politics and why some are more influential than others; and how existing public policies themselves influence social, economic, and political power.  Students will gain an introductory knowledge of the founding principles and structure of American government, political institutions, political processes, political behavior, and public policy.

Full details for GOVT 1111 - Introduction to American Government and Politics

Fall, Summer.
GOVT1503 Introduction to Africana Studies
This course offers an introduction to the study of Africa, the U.S., the Caribbean and other diasporas.  This course will examine, through a range of disciplines, among them literature, history, politics, philosophy, the themes - including race/racism, the Middle Passage, sexuality, colonialism, and culture - that have dominated Africana Studies since its inception in the late-1960s. We will explore these issues in the attempt to understand how black lives have been shaped, in a historical sense; and, of course, the effects of these issues in the contemporary moment. This course seeks to introduce these themes, to investigate through one or more of the disciplines relevant to the question, and to provide a broad understanding of the themes so as to enable the kind of intellectual reflection critical to Africana Studies.

Full details for GOVT 1503 - Introduction to Africana Studies

Fall, Spring.
GOVT1817 Making Sense of World Politics
An introduction to the basic concepts and practice of international politics with an emphasis on learning critical thinking.  The course is divided into two parts. In the first half, we will learn about different explanations.  In the second half, we will apply these explanations to a set of international events.  

Full details for GOVT 1817 - Making Sense of World Politics

Fall, Summer.
GOVT1901 Discussions of Justice
This course will address questions of justice posed by current political controversies, for example, controversies over immigration, economic inequality, American nationalism, the government's role in healthcare and the environment, racial inequality, the political power of elites, populism, authoritarianism, globalization, and the proper use of America's global power. Brief readings in political philosophy and social science will be starting points for informal discussion and mutual learning among diverse perspectives.

Full details for GOVT 1901 - Discussions of Justice

Fall, Spring.
GOVT2225 Controversies About Inequality
In recent years, poverty and inequality have become increasingly common topics of public debate, as academics, journalists, and politicians attempt to come to terms with growing income inequality, with the increasing visibility of inter-country differences in wealth and income, and with the persistence of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. This course introduces students to ongoing social scientific debates about the sources and consequences of inequality, as well as the types of public policy that might appropriately be pursued to reduce (or increase) inequality. These topics will be addressed in related units, some of which include guest lectures by faculty from other universities (funded by the Center for the Study of Inequality). Each unit culminates with a highly spirited class discussion and debate.

Full details for GOVT 2225 - Controversies About Inequality

Fall.
GOVT2293 Politics and Music
Entertainment forms of political communication such as popular music are very often neglected in research of political communication, although popular music has a long and varied association with politics. It has provided the soundtrack to political protest and been the object of political censorship; politicians have courted pop stars and pop stars — like Bono of U2 — have acted as politicians. This class will therefore examine the various interaction between popular music and politics, and how popular music can contribute to our understanding of political thought and action, but also critically reflect upon the effects of popular music on people's political perceptions, attitudes and behavior.

Full details for GOVT 2293 - Politics and Music

Fall.
GOVT2553 Inside Europe
This course will cover current events in Europe as they unfold during the semester. Each week the two meetings will features a "topic" day in which students learn about a current issue of importance for Europe and a "analytical" day in which we see how social science tools and methods can help us better understand that issue. Faculty from across the university will be invited  to deepen students' understanding of elections, European Union actions and debates, refugee issues, security issues, and other relevant political and social events occurring in Europe. The course will respond flexibly to unforeseen events, teach students to become intelligent consumer of high quality news sources on Europe, expose students to different points of view on these issues, and introduce them to relevant social science theories and methods.  (CP)

Full details for GOVT 2553 - Inside Europe

Fall.
GOVT3012 The Politics of Poverty in the U.S.
Poverty is a phenomenon of enduring importance with significant implications for democratic governance. This course explores contemporary poverty in America, with a particular emphasis on its political causes and consequences. What is the proper role of government in addressing poverty? Under what conditions are the poor able to gain power despite their relative lack of privilege? What is the relationship between race and poverty? How do notions of "culture" shape conceptualizations of the poor? We will tackle these questions by drawing on insights from seminal texts in political science and sociology, supplemented with journalistic accounts of poverty.

Full details for GOVT 3012 - The Politics of Poverty in the U.S.

Fall.
GOVT3044 China's Next Economy
This course provides students with an analytical framework to understand China's ongoing economic transformation. The courses goals include: 1) to familiarize students with different perspectives on China's economic development and future prospects; 2) to provide a close working knowledge of the evolving current situation, with a focus on internal variation within China—telling different Chinese stories, not one "China story"—and particularly emphasizing urbanization and the goal of shifting from manufacturing and export-led to services and domestic-led economy; and 3) to give students hands-on experience using Chinese economic data in the context of a brief research note. Each week will connect to current events and debates, with students writing three blog posts over the course of the semester to bring academic research and social scientific analysis to bear upon policy-relevant questions and developments.

Full details for GOVT 3044 - China's Next Economy

Fall.
GOVT3071 Enduring Global and American Issues
The US and the global community face a number of complex, interconnected and enduring issues that pose challenges for our political and policy governance institutions and society at large.  Exploring how the US and the world conceive of the challenges and take action on them is fundamental to understanding them.  This course investigates such issues, especially ones that fit into the critically important areas of sustainability, social justice, technology, public health and globalization, security and conflict, among others. Students will engage with these areas and issues and the challenges they pose, using multiple frameworks and approaches, through weekly class discussions and lectures."

Full details for GOVT 3071 - Enduring Global and American Issues

Fall, Spring, Summer.
GOVT3082 American Political Campaigns
This course focuses on political campaigns, a central feature of American democracy. We will examine how they work and the conditions under which they affect citizens' decisions. The course looks at campaign strategies and attributes of candidates, as well as how and whether they affect key outcomes such as the decision to turn out, who to vote for, and whether to spend money and volunteer time helping favored candidates win.

Full details for GOVT 3082 - American Political Campaigns

Fall.
GOVT3161 The American Presidency
This course will explore and seek explanations for the performance of the 20-21st century presidency, focusing on its institutional and political development, recruitment process (nominations and elections), relationships to social groups, economic forces, and "political time."  We will also analyze the parameters of foreign & domestic policy making.

Full details for GOVT 3161 - The American Presidency

Fall.
GOVT3242 Down the School to Prison Track, and Back
The "school-to-prison track" refers to policies and practices that facilitate the transfer of students out of the school system and into the prison system (including juvenile detention, county jail, immigration detention centers, or adult prison). While all schools participate in the enforcement of rules/laws, the school-to-prison track represents an injection of punitive social policy into the realm of education. The 1994 statutory denial of financial aid for college-aspiring prison inmates also pulled educational policy into alignment with policies aimed at punishment rather than rehabilitation. Programs such as the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP) have aimed to help construct pathways "back" to college. This course takes a critical analytical look at the intersections of prisons and schooling, emphasizing pedagogy, history, and policy.

Full details for GOVT 3242 - Down the School to Prison Track, and Back

Fall.
GOVT3281 Constitutional Politics: The U.S. Supreme Court
This course investigates the United States Supreme Court and its role in politics and government. It traces the development of constitutional doctrine, the growth of the Court's institutional power, and the Court's interaction with Congress, the president, and society. Discussed are major constitutional law decisions, their political contexts, and the social and behavioral factors that affect judges, justices, and federal court jurisprudence.

Full details for GOVT 3281 - Constitutional Politics: The U.S. Supreme Court

Fall.
GOVT3294 Post-Truth Politics
We are in an era of unprecedented access to information via digital news, the internet, and social media. This also comes with significant misinformation — for example, in 2016, Oxford Dictionaries named 'post-truth' as its word of the year. Yet how prevalent is fake news, and how has this shaped modern politics? To what extent do "echo chambers" or the "backfire effect" exist as a result of social media, and are they interfering with our ability to separate fact from fiction? The course will first define the challenges faced, using examples of how misinformation affected elections both historically and recently in the US, the UK, and Europe. It will survey academic studies in political behavior that analyze both how individuals consume political information from social media, and how partisanship and polarization are making the problem worse. The course will conclude by discussing the nascent policy solutions to combat the spread of fake news — from Facebook's crowdsourcing initiatives to France's proposed legislation regarding election campaigns. Through readings, discussions, and written assignments, students will learn how to better evaluate evidence when it comes to politics and policy.

Full details for GOVT 3294 - Post-Truth Politics

Fall.
GOVT3333 China-Africa Relations
Put into questions, the aims of this course are as follow: Should anyone worry about China's presence in Africa? Is China's presence part of the recolonizing of the Continent? Alternatively, is China's foray part of a global struggle for positioning between an emergent China and Africa's so-called traditional allies in the West?

Full details for GOVT 3333 - China-Africa Relations

Fall.
GOVT3353 African Politics
This is an introductory course on the politics of Sub-Saharan Africa.  The goal is to provide students with historical background and theoretical tools to understand present-day politics on the continent.  The first part of the course will survey African political history, touching on: pre-colonial political structures, colonial experiences and legacies, nationalism and independence movements, post-independence optimism and state-building, the authoritarian turn, economic crises, and recent political and economic liberalizations.  The second part of the course will examine some contemporary political and economic issues.  These include: the effects of political and social identities in Africa (ethnicity, social ties, class, citizenship); the politics of poverty, war, and dysfunction; Africa in the international system; and current attempts to strengthen democracy and rule of law on the continent.

Full details for GOVT 3353 - African Politics

Fall.
GOVT3494 Special Topics in Regional Development and Globalization
This course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of regional development and globalization. Topics vary each semester.

Full details for GOVT 3494 - Special Topics in Regional Development and Globalization

GOVT3606 Fables of Capitalism
This course examines the stories, literary examples, and metaphors at work in elaborating the modern economic subject, the so-called "homo oeconomicus." We will examine material from Locke, Smith, Defoe, and Mill through Marx, Nietzsche, Brecht, and Weber, up to current the neoliberal subject and its critiques (Foucault, Bataille). The course focuses on narrative and figurative moments in theoretical texts as well as crucial literary sources (novels, novellas, and plays) as they collectively develop the modern economic paradigms of industry, exchange, credit-debt, and interest. The course thus addresses both literary and theoretical sources, particularly the stories and examples told to justify the liberal order as well as its guiding metaphors such as the invisible hand; Schuld as both debt and guilt; investment (in oneself, in one's future); and the intersection of religious and secular economies.

Full details for GOVT 3606 - Fables of Capitalism

Fall.
GOVT3705 Political Theory and Cinema
An introduction (without prerequisites) to fundamental problems of current political theory, filmmaking, and film analysis, along with their interrelationship.  Particular emphasis on comparing and contrasting European and alternative cinema with Hollywood in terms of post-Marxist, psychoanalytic, postmodernist, and postcolonial types of interpretation.  Filmmakers/theorists might include: David Cronenberg, Michael Curtiz, Kathryn Bigelow, Gilles Deleuze, Rainer Fassbinder, John Ford, Jean-Luc Godard, Marleen Gorris, Werner Herzog, Alfred Hitchcock, Allen & Albert Hughes, Stanley Kubrick, Fredric Jameson, Chris Marker, Pier-Paolo Pasolini, Gillo Pontecorvo, Robert Ray, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, George Romero, Steven Shaviro, Kidlat Tahimik, Maurizio Viano, Slavoj Zizek.  Although this is a lecture course, there will be ample time for class discussions.

Full details for GOVT 3705 - Political Theory and Cinema

Fall.
GOVT3715 Political Theories of Colonialism
This seminar overviews political theories of colonialism and empire, and in doing so, allows us to pose questions about the constitutive elements of our modernity, such as slavery, racism, dependency, and dispossession. Throughout the semester, we will examine the relationship between former colonies and political and economic configurations (nationalism, internationalism, capitalism, socialism), as well as philosophical and epistemological questions about the relationship between the universal and the particular, and the imperatives of history-writing. The course material will give us an opportunity to conclude with questions about whether or not the process of decolonizing our world and our study of it is complete or an ongoing project.

Full details for GOVT 3715 - Political Theories of Colonialism

Fall.
GOVT3867 War: Causes and Conduct
The possibility of major war – on the Korean Peninsula, in the Persian Gulf, in Eastern Europe, in the South China Sea – is higher today than it has been at any point since the end of the Cold War. This makes it critical for informed citizens to understand the dynamics of armed conflict between states. What kinds of factors make war more or less likely? How do shifts in power – like the rise of China – affect the likelihood of war? What role do nuclear weapons – which China, Russia, and now North Korea have – play? How do the personal and psychological characteristics of leaders – like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un – matter? What about domestic politics? Do political crises and polarization make war more or less likely? In this course, we will investigate all of these questions and more through a survey of relevant theoretical work by political scientists, an exploration of significant conflicts from modern history, and an application of these insights to contemporary conflict hot spots.

Full details for GOVT 3867 - War: Causes and Conduct

Fall.
GOVT3999 How Do You Know That?
Does allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons reduce violent crime? Do affirmative action policies at law schools cause black students to fail the bar? Do micro-finance policies make the poor better off? Do the militaries of democracies fight better in the field than those of non-democracies? Does the death penalty save lives by deterring murders? Answering questions like these about the effects of public policy implies cause and effect knowledge: if we implement policy X, we will get effect Y. But on what evidence should answers to questions like these rest? How do you know the answer, and under what conditions can you? Providing robust answers to cause-and-effect questions in a (mostly) non-experimental field like political science is devilishly difficult. In this course, we will learn some of the pitfalls that make it so hard to evaluate evidence in the public policy realm, how to judge the quality of evidence cited in the media, and how to ask the right questions to get the best possible evidence. We'll do so by working through the evidence supporting "yes" or "no" answers to the questions listed above.

Full details for GOVT 3999 - How Do You Know That?

Fall.
GOVT4000 Major Seminar
Major seminars in the Government department are small, advanced courses that cover an important theme or topic in contemporary politics in depth. Courses place particular emphasis on careful reading and classroom discussion, and students can expect to write a significant research paper. The enrollment limit is 15 students. These courses are open to all Cornell students, but preference in admissions is given to seniors over juniors, and to Government majors over other students.  Topics vary by semester and section.

Full details for GOVT 4000 - Major Seminar

Fall, Spring.
GOVT4019 Introductory Probability and Applied Statistics
The goal of this course is to introduce probability and statistics as fundamental building blocks for quantitative political analysis, with regression modeling as a focal application. We will begin with a brief survey of probability theory, types of measurements, and descriptive statistics. The bulk of the course then addresses inferential statistics, covering in detail sampling, methods for estimating unknown quantities, and methods for evaluating competing hypotheses. We will see how to formally assess estimators, and some basic principles that help to ensure optimality. Along the way, we will introduce the use of regression models to specify social scientific hypotheses, and employ our expanding repertoire of statistical concepts to understand and interpret estimates based on our data. Weekly lab exercises require students to deploy the methods both 'by hand' so they can grasp the basic mathematics, and by computer to meet the conceptual demands of non-trivial examples and prepare for independent research. Some time will be spent reviewing algebra, calculus, and elementary logic, as well as introducing computer statistical packages.

Full details for GOVT 4019 - Introductory Probability and Applied Statistics

Fall.
GOVT4021 American Conservative Thought
American conservative thought rests on assumptions that are strikingly different from those made by mainstream American liberals.  However, conservative thinkers are themselves committed to principles that are both quite varied and sometimes contradictory.  This course examines the assumptions upon which rest the libertarian, market/economic, and cultural/traditional strains of American conservatism and asks whether the tensions between them weaken or strengthen conservative thought as an alternative to mainstream liberalism.

Full details for GOVT 4021 - American Conservative Thought

Fall, Spring.
GOVT4403 War and the State in Comparative Perspective
The goal of the course is to introduce students to the study of the nexus between violence and the creation of the modern state. It is intended to familiarize students with the role that war and other forms of violence have played in shaping the state in comparative perspective. Relying on the emergence of the modern state in Western Europe as a point of departure, the course studies the processes of state formation and state building in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Full details for GOVT 4403 - War and the State in Comparative Perspective

Fall.
GOVT4626 Disobedience, Resistance, Refusal
This seminar surveys contemporary political theories of disobedience and resistance. We will examine liberal, republican, and radical perspectives on the logic of political protest, its functions, justifications, and limits, as well as how transformations in law, economy, and technology are redefining dissent in the twenty-first century. Topics to be discussed will include the terms of political obligation, the relationship between law-breaking and law-making, conceptions of justice, resistance and popular sovereignty, the politics of civility, violence and self-defense, public space and privatization, the digitalization of protest, resistance in non-democratic regimes, as well as deviance and refusal as modes of dissent.

Full details for GOVT 4626 - Disobedience, Resistance, Refusal

Fall.
GOVT4645 Recognition, Abjection, and State Ideology
"Recognition, Abjection, Ideology" introduces seminal theorizations of modern state power with reference to ethnographic texts that focus both on the formation of national subjectivity and social exclusion. While the course examines relations between the economy and the effectiveness of state rhetoric, it also addresses how state ideologies today require the expulsion of certain groups from general society, and how these groups maintain their own socialities.

Full details for GOVT 4645 - Recognition, Abjection, and State Ideology

Fall.
GOVT4745 Humanitarian Affects
Liberal feminists and political theorists argue that sentiments such as compassion and empathy have the capacity to alert us to suffering, injustice, and oppression, and thus incite transformative political action. This interdisciplinary seminar explores the challenges to this theory by staging a conversation between postcolonial, feminist, and queer theories of affect, and anthropological critiques of humanitarian projects. Sentiments are mobilized to defend borders, wage wars, grant asylum to refugees, provide medical care and disaster relief, and inspire feminist activism. We will analyze how these gendered and racialized ethical projects and political regimes are co-constituted, and how they mediate access to resources and survival, as well as political agency, subjectivity, citizenship, and national belonging.

Full details for GOVT 4745 - Humanitarian Affects

Fall.
GOVT4807 Social Studies of Space, Technologies and Borders
In this course we will discuss how society, culture and politics shape technological artifacts and the natural and built environment, such as bridges, roads, and landscapes in diverse cultural contexts. We will examine reasons for the rise in bordering mechanisms - ranging from walls, barriers to fences within cities as well as along national borders, in such countries such as Ireland, Korea, Germany, the US, and Israel. We will compare how such 'strategies of exclusion' impact local communities, transnational relations and social connectivity across such divides. We will also examine how the growth of gated communities has reconfigured urban spaces and given rise to new forms of spatial and social segregation.

Full details for GOVT 4807 - Social Studies of Space, Technologies and Borders

Fall.
GOVT4949 Honors Seminar: Thesis Clarification and Research
This seminar creates a structured environment in which honors students will examine different  research approaches and methods and construct a research design for their own theses—a thesis proposal that probes a new or inadequately researched question of importance to the discipline of political science or political theory. Apart from being a thesis writing workshop, the honors research class serves as a capstone course giving an overview of the different topics and methods addressed by students of politics. Members of the class will do extensive reading in published work relevant to their topics, and write a critical summary of that literature. Each member of the class will present their research design and central question(s) to the class for constructive criticism. By the end of the class, each honors student will have written the first chapter of the thesis, including the statement of the question, literature review, key definitions, methodology, and identification of data source(s). They will be working closely with an individual faculty adviser, as well as interacting with the research class. Students are strongly encouraged to examine some past honors theses on reserve at Kroch library in order to get an idea of the standards a government thesis must meet.

Full details for GOVT 4949 - Honors Seminar: Thesis Clarification and Research

Fall.
GOVT4959 Honors Thesis: Research and Writing
GOVT 4959 is the second semester of honors thesis research, limited to students who have completed GOVT 4949 - Honors Seminar: Thesis Clarification and Research. There is no formal class meeting. Instead, students will work on their own, with their advisers and other faculty they may consult. Following the plan developed in the fall semester, they will proceed to gather and analyze data or texts, turning in thesis chapters to the adviser on a regular schedule that the student and adviser develop.

Full details for GOVT 4959 - Honors Thesis: Research and Writing

Spring.
GOVT4986 Other Feminisms
Other Feminisms is a survey of contemporary critical approaches to feminist theory today. it seeks to complicate the traditional depiction of feminist theory as "white," "transphobic," "Eurocentic"/western.  Canonical works of feminist theory such as Shulamith Firestone or Simone de Beauvoir are re-situated in relation to contemporaneous writing such as the Combahee River Collective's Black Feminist Statement as well as projected into the speculative fiction of Octavia Butler and Ursula Le Guin. "Other feminisms" will comprise experiments in genre as well as gender in Kathy Acker, Donna Haraway, Hélène Cixous, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein ("Sultana's Dream"). We will explore the contributions of theories of intersectionality, object-oriented ontologies, disability studies, affect theory, transnational explorations of Islamic piety movements and Iranian trans and same sex communities to what Clare Hemmings calls "the political grammar of feminist theory."

Full details for GOVT 4986 - Other Feminisms

Fall.
GOVT4999 Undergraduate Independent Study
One-on-one tutorial arranged by the student with a faculty member of his or her choosing. Open to government majors doing superior work, and it is the responsibility of the student to establish the research proposal and to find a faculty sponsor. Applicants for independent study must present a well-defined program of study that cannot be satisfied by pursuing courses in the regularly scheduled curriculum. No more than 4 credits of independent study may count toward fulfillment of the major. Students who elect to continue taking this course for more than one semester must select a new theme or subject each semester. Credit can be given only for work that results in a satisfactory amount of writing. Emphasis is on the capacity to subject a body of related readings to analysis and criticism. Keep in mind that independent study cannot be used to fulfill the seminar requirement. The application form for independent study must be completed at the beginning of the semester in which the course is being taken.

Full details for GOVT 4999 - Undergraduate Independent Study

Fall, Spring.
GOVT6019 Introduction to Probability and Applied Statistics
The goal of this course is to introduce probability and statistics as fundamental building blocks for quantitative political analysis, with regression modeling as a focal application. We will begin with a brief survey of probability theory, types of measurements, and descriptive statistics. The bulk of the course then addresses inferential statistics, covering in detail sampling, methods for estimating unknown quantities, and methods for evaluating competing hypotheses. We will see how to formally assess estimators, and some basic principles that help to ensure optimality. Along the way, we will introduce the use of regression models to specify social scientific hypotheses, and employ our expanding repertoire of statistical concepts to understand and interpret estimates based on our data. Weekly lab exercises require students to deploy the methods both 'by hand' so they can grasp the basic mathematics, and by computer to meet the conceptual demands of non-trivial examples and prepare for independent research. Some time will be spent reviewing algebra, calculus, and elementary logic, as well as introducing computer statistical packages.

Full details for GOVT 6019 - Introduction to Probability and Applied Statistics

Fall.
GOVT6022 Racial and Ethnic Politics in the U.S.
This course examines racial and ethnic politics in the United States, highlighting its fundamental and constitutive role in shaping American politics more broadly. We will explore the political origins of the American racial order and the ways it has both persisted and changed over time. Focusing on participation, representation and resistance, we will emphasize the political agency of racialized groups while recognizing the power of institutions and policies in shaping their trajectory. This course should provide students with the knowledge and analytical tools necessary to better understand and more effectively study the complexities of race that loom large in a post-Ferguson, post-Obama America.  

Full details for GOVT 6022 - Racial and Ethnic Politics in the U.S.

Fall.
GOVT6067 Field Seminar in International Relations
General survey of the literature and propositions of the international relations field. Criteria are developed for judging theoretical propositions and are applied to the major findings. Participants are expected to do extensive reading in the literature as well as research.

Full details for GOVT 6067 - Field Seminar in International Relations

Fall.
GOVT6075 Field Seminar in Political Thought
The seminar will explore readings in the history of political thought from Homer to the Twenty-first century.

Full details for GOVT 6075 - Field Seminar in Political Thought

Fall.
GOVT6089 Time Series Analysis
This course considers statistical techniques to analyze time series data. We will pay particular attention to common time series methods, assumptions, and examples from political and social science. The course will offer a general introduction to the topic and will cover more advanced topics, such as cointegration, error correction models, vector autoregression, fractional integration, and time-series cross-sectional analysis.

Full details for GOVT 6089 - Time Series Analysis

Fall.
GOVT6109 Field Methods
This graduate seminar introduces students to methods currently used by political scientists to develop and test for observable implications of theoretically-derived arguments using data collected away from their home institutions. Topics covered include the relationships between fieldwork and research design, case and site selection, ethnography and participant observation, interview methods, surveys and experiments in the context of field research, research ethics and human subjects, logistics of field research, grant-writing, safety protocols, and knowing when to come home. The course is designed primarily for students working on dissertation proposals or early stages of dissertation field research, but it may be helpful for students at other stages as well. A goal is to encourage students to specify a field research strategy that links testable hypotheses with methods of data gathering and analysis before commencing field work. Students, therefore, will develop their own research projects as the semester progresses, including writing actual grant proposals, IRB applications, and pre-analysis plans. 

Full details for GOVT 6109 - Field Methods

Fall.
GOVT6122 Foundations of the Social Sciences
Social science research almost always combines empirical observation (data), the construction of concepts (language), and the logical analysis of the relations between observations and concepts (statistics).  This course examines the relations between these three dimensions as the analyst moves from one to the other both as practice and in the crafting of a formal summary of findings and argument. We will be particularly interested in the foundational assumptions that underpin the connections between empirical reality, language, and statistical analysis. While these foundational assumptions are often taken for granted by social scientists, they vary dramatically between social science disciplines.  The implicit contradiction between that variance and their doxic acceptance within disciplines will be a primary focus of the course.

Full details for GOVT 6122 - Foundations of the Social Sciences

Fall.
GOVT6353 Field Seminar in Comparative Politics
This course provides a graduate-level survey of the field of comparative politics, introducing students to classic works as well as recent contributions that build upon those works. Readings will draw from leading theoretical approaches-including structural, institutional, rational choice, and cultural perspectives-and cover a broad range of substantive topics, such as democratization, authoritarianism, states and civil society, political economy, and political participation and representation.

Full details for GOVT 6353 - Field Seminar in Comparative Politics

Fall.
GOVT6433 Quantitative Text Analysis
This course is designed to provide doctoral students in political science with an introduction to advanced quantitative text analysis. Students will learn about all major types of content analyses, including manual, machine learning and automated content analysis techniques as well as methods for analyzing content analysis data. The class will demonstrate, how quantitative text analysis can be a useful tool in analyzing a variety of politically relevant texts (e.g. party manifestos, legislative outputs, social media). It will also provide an opportunity for doctoral candidates to present recent work based on text analysis techniques.

Full details for GOVT 6433 - Quantitative Text Analysis

Fall.
GOVT6745 Humanitarian Affects
Liberal feminists and political theorists argue that sentiments such as compassion and empathy have the capacity to alert us to suffering, injustice, and oppression, and thus incite transformative political action. This interdisciplinary seminar explores the challenges to this theory by staging a conversation between postcolonial, feminist, and queer theories of affect, and anthropological critiques of humanitarian projects. Sentiments are mobilized to defend borders, wage wars, grant asylum to refugees, provide medical care and disaster relief, and inspire feminist activism. We will analyze how these gendered and racialized ethical projects and political regimes are co-constituted, and how they mediate access to resources and survival, as well as political agency, subjectivity, citizenship, and national belonging.

Full details for GOVT 6745 - Humanitarian Affects

Fall.
GOVT6845 Recognition, Abjection, and State Ideology
"Recognition, Abjection, Ideology" introduces seminal theorizations of modern state power with reference to ethnographic texts that focus both on the formation of national subjectivity and social exclusion. While the course examines relations between the economy and the effectiveness of state rhetoric, it also addresses how state ideologies today require the expulsion of certain groups from general society, and how these groups maintain their own socialities.

Full details for GOVT 6845 - Recognition, Abjection, and State Ideology

Fall.
GOVT6986 Other Feminisms
Other Feminisms is a survey of contemporary critical approaches to feminist theory today. it seeks to complicate the traditional depiction of feminist theory as "white," "transphobic," "Eurocentic"/western.  Canonical works of feminist theory such as Shulamith Firestone or Simone de Beauvoir are re-situated in relation to contemporaneous writing such as the Combahee River Collective's Black Feminist Statement as well as projected into the speculative fiction of Octavia Butler and Ursula Le Guin. "Other feminisms" will comprise experiments in genre as well as gender in Kathy Acker, Donna Haraway, Hélène Cixous, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein ("Sultana's Dream"). We will explore the contributions of theories of intersectionality, object-oriented ontologies, disability studies, affect theory, transnational explorations of Islamic piety movements and Iranian trans and same sex communities to what Clare Hemmings calls "the political grammar of feminist theory."

Full details for GOVT 6986 - Other Feminisms

Fall.
GOVT7073 Game Theory 1
Game theory provides a scientific approach to the study of social, political, and economic interactions that focuses on the strategic aspects of decision-making between two or more individuals or groups. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of formal theory, as well as how to solve basic games frequently used in political science research. The first part of the course will focus on strategic coordination, games in normal and in extensive form, and Nash Equilibria. The second part of the course will cover repeated games and games where informational uncertainty plays a role. Each week will also focus on applications to political science and economics, which includes topics of legislative bargaining and veto players, elections and candidate selection, clientelism, as well as deterrence and international relations. Students will be expected to complete weekly problem sets, participate in class games and simulations, and complete an independent final paper.

Full details for GOVT 7073 - Game Theory 1

Fall.
GOVT7999 Independent Study
Individualized readings and research for graduate students. Topics, readings, and writing requirements are designed through consultation between the student and the instructor. Graduate students in government who are looking to use this as an option to fulfill their course requirements should check with their chairs to be certain that the program of study is acceptable for this purpose. Applications must be completed and signed by the instructor and by the chairs of their special committees. They are available from, and must be returned to, the graduate assistant in 212 White Hall.

Full details for GOVT 7999 - Independent Study

Fall, Spring.
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