Political Science | portfolio

Political Science Courses

SW 242-PO: Introduction to U.S. Politics:

This course is an introduction to the study of the United States government. Fundamentally, this class is about how we evaluate the quality of American democracy. To do so, we first will focus on the normative debates and values that helped shape the foundations of our democracy. We then will explore how and to what extent mediating and political institutions reflect the attitudes and behavior of individual Americans. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of, and the ability to better navigate, the American political system.

PO 101SL: Introduction to Politics:

The ideas and practice of politics, with consideration of the political systems and foreign policies of the United States and countries in Europe and the Third World.

PO 351: African Gender and Sex Politics:

This course will examine the varied ways in which gender and sexuality have been constructed and politicized across the African continent. We will collectively engage with a variety of texts -- essays, films, books, and scholarly journal articles -- that address African understandings and expressions of gender and sexuality, the role of gender and sexuality in African politics, and Africans' individual and collective mobilizations toward liberation and against gender- and sexuality-based oppression. Although the course will focus on African gender/sexuality politics, we also will consider the relationship between African and Western gender/sexuality discourses and movements.

PO 377: Constitutional Law:

Examination of Supreme Court cases in areas such as freedom of speech, religion, criminal due process, government regulation of commerce, and racial discrimination.

PO 379: The Presidency and the Congress:

The modern president's role as leader of public opinion, the executive branch, and Congress. Congressional leaders and their relationship with the president, each other, and Congress.

Donald Trump in Political Time

PO 380: Topics in Political Science: Political Art and the Art of Propaganda:

This course examines visual art and culture including when used in various forms of militarist propaganda, to offer critical social commentary about militarism, and to promote peaceful change and social justice. How does such art work? Who or what are its targets? How does it affect political memory? We will focus on critical and pro-peace efforts, including famous works such as Picasso’s Guernica, the work of street artists such as Banksy, as well as the work of lesser known contemporary artists and activists around the world who use the arts for raising awareness of human rights violations, for protest, and for community healing and peacebuilding. Among the topics we will examine are: how contemporary walls and barriers that are designed to separate people in conflict or exclude an Other are transformed by the murals and graffiti of political activists and why this matters; the visual politics and controversies around remembering involved in peace museums, public sculptures and memorials that deal with or are associated with oppression and how they have been mediated; and how the past is framed and remembered in iconic photographs and sculptural forms, and what this does to our collective memory and ability as a demos to deliberate about politics and foreign policy. Students will learn to recognize and analyze political art and art in politics, and they will also be invited to create their own political art.

The Visual Politics of Propaganda and Political Campaigns Essay

PO 490: Seminar in Political Science: Party Polarization in American Politics:

Political polarization in American politics has reached a new level of contentiousness in the last few decades. Politicians and political activists from different partisan camps routinely clash with one another over various national issues. The media tells us that members of the American public are balkanized into red and blue states, whose respective residents clash along partisan lines during every national election. Headlines proclaim we are a nation divided, the moderate middle is a thing of the past, and there is no remedy in sight. In this course, we will investigate the breadth and depth of political polarization in the United States as well as its social, partisan, and political origins. We will also consider the consequences of political polarization for American democracy, including its impact on electoral politics, democratic representation, and public policy.