Catalogue

Politics

politics.bard.edu

Faculty

Simon Gilhooley (director), Sanjib Baruah, Jonathan Becker, Roger Berkowitz, Nicholas Dunn, Omar G. Encarnación, Frederic C. Hof, Mie Inouye, Pınar Kemerli, Christopher McIntosh, Michelle Murray, Lucas Guimãres Pinheiro

Overview

Politics can be understood in many ways: as a struggle for power over other people, groups, and nations; as a social process that determines who has what kinds of authority and how this affects particular communities; as a series of conversations or disputations about what counts as a “public problem” and how to address public problems; or as an art or science of institutional
design, especially the design of governments and international institutions. However it is defined, politics matters. Political outcomes shape the choices we can make as individuals and the fates of communities, nations, and states.

The Politics Program at Bard welcomes students who care about politics and want to reason critically about political outcomes and debates at the local, national, and international levels. The program intends to inform responsible participation in American and global public affairs. It also prepares students for work and/or further study in political science, international affairs, public policy, law, cultural studies, and related fields.

Areas of Study

At Bard, four broad areas of politics are identified: political theory, American politics, comparative politics, and international relations. These areas of study overlap with one another and the Politics curriculum is structured to encourage students to think across them. Students are encouraged to combine courses in politics with relevant courses in related disciplines,
such as history, economics, and sociology.

Requirements

Prior to Moderation, a student must have taken five courses in the program, including three from the core curriculum (see “Courses”). After Moderation, students are required to take two Politics seminars, the Research Design Seminar, and one additional Politics course at the 200- or 300-level. Depending on the interests of the student, and with the approval of the academic adviser, one of the seminars may come from another social science discipline, such as economics or sociology; from study abroad; or from Bard’s Global and International Affairs (BGIA) Program in New York City. All students are required to complete a Senior Project that examines a political problem/puzzle or that synthesizes the political science literature on a major subject, such as democracy, development, or war.

Recent Senior Projects in Political Studies

• “A Call for the Inclusion of Nature in Class Struggle” 
• Securing a Seat at the Table des Grands: French Identity and the Application of Identity Management Strategies in Postwar France”
• “Selfhood in the Age of Selfies: Considering Social Media as an Extension of the Arendtian Social”
• “Veterans and Disaster Relief: Charity and American Welfare, 1920–1997”

Courses

Political Studies offers a core curriculum comprising the following courses: Political Theory, Comparative Politics, American Politics: Issues and Institutions, Political Economy, The Quest for Justice: Foundations of the Law, and International Relations. The program also offers a wide range of courses in area studies (Western Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East most notably) and thematic seminars on American foreign policy, international security, democratization, terrorism, civil society, development, and political methodology, among other topics.

The following descriptions represent a sampling of courses from the past four years.

International Relations
Politics 104
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
An introduction to competing theories about the structure, functioning, and transformative potential of the international system. The course begins with the traditional problem of international life: maintaining order among relatively equal states in a condition of anarchy. Part two calls the assumption of anarchy into question by looking at hierarchical power relationships in a variety of issue areas. The course concludes by addressing contemporary challenges to the state’s authority and the problems of governing in an increasingly global community.

Introduction to Comparative Politics
Politics 105
CROSS-LISTED: GIS
The intellectual premise of comparative politics is that we can better understand the politics of almost any country by placing it in its larger, global context. This perspective allows us to address some of the most fundamental questions of politics. Students examine not only the key institutions of liberal democracies, but also democracies constructed after dictatorships (Germany, Japan) and federalism as an emerging trend in contemporary regional politics.

Political Economy
Politics 109
CROSS-LISTED: EUS, GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
Political economy refers to the interrelationship between politics and economics. However, political scientists and economists do not always use the term in the same sense, and within these two disciplines the term has multiple meanings. This course reviews the ideas of major thinkers such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and John Kenneth Galbraith, and introduces two subfields: international political economy and the political economy of development.

Introduction to Political Theory
Politics 115
A survey of Western political theory from ancient  Athens to modern Europe and North America. Themes explored include justice, freedom, democracy, equality, and social change with readings from Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Marx, Luxemburg, Douglass, and others. In each case, the class attends to the problems and experiences, including revolution, civil war, capitalism, and slavery, to
which these thinkers responded. Problems and experiences of the 21st century, and how they might shape our own theories of politics, are also discussed.

American Politics: Issues and Institutions
Politics 122
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
This course introduces students to the basic institutions and processes of American ­government. It aims to provide students with a grasp of the fundamental dynamics of American politics and the skills to be an effective participant in and critic of the political process. During the semester, students examine how the government works, interpret current political developments and debates, and consider how to influence the government at various levels.

Nations, Regimes, Societies
Politics 141
CROSS-LISTED: GIS
This course is premised on the notion that the political life of any country is best understood when placed in a broad comparative perspective. The course consists of three core units: the first focuses on the functioning of the modern nation-state as seen through pluralist, corporatist, Marxist, and institutionalist perspectives; the second focuses on “political regimes,” understood as the norms, beliefs, and institutions that structure politics of any nation-state; the third examines how ordinary citizens participate and leave their mark in politics.

Contested Jerusalem
Politics 155
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
Held in Jerusalem in coordination with Al-Quds Bard, the January course is open to students who have taken Dictators, Democrats, and Demagogues: Comparative Politics of the Middle East and North Africa (Political Studies 237) and any other Bard and Bard network students who apply to be considered. The course explores the many overlapping and adversarial claims to this small city at the center of competing religious, political, and historical narratives, and considers how it is affected by and affects the politics in the region.

The Quest for Justice: Foundations of the Law
Politics 167 / Philosophy 167
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
As the novelist William Gaddis writes: “Justice? You get justice in the next world. In this world, you have the law.” This course explores the apparent disconnect between law and justice. Through readings of legal cases as well as political, literary, and philosophical texts, students grapple with the problem of administering justice as it emerges in the context of contemporary legal institutions. Texts include Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Melville’s Billy Budd, and selections from Dostoevsky, Twain, and Plato.

Gender and the Politics of National Security
Politics 206
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, GSS
An introduction to major theories and issues concerning gender and international security affairs. These theoretical frameworks are then applied to security issues such as the cultural effects of nuclear weapons, targeting of civilians during armed conflict, sexual violence in war, torture and the war on terrorism, human security and development, and postconflict societies, among others.
Discussions draw from anthropology, sociology, philosophy, politics, and rhetoric in order to highlight the interconnections among states, societies, and individuals.

Global Citizenship
Politics 207 / GIS 207
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: MIGRATION INITIATIVE COURSE
What does it mean to be a global citizen? This question has gained increasing salience as the world has become more globalized and new problems surface that cut across national borders and fall outside the jurisdiction of individual nation-states. In response, new forms of political organization have emerged that challenge the state as the primary locus of political authority and individual rights. This course critically examines the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the concept of global citizenship and investigates how the idea might work in practice.

Civic Engagement
Politics 209
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
DESIGNATED: ELAS COURSE
The historical, philosophical, and practical elements of civic engagement are explored, as is the underlying question of what it means to be an engaged citizen in the early 21st century. Students examine notions of personal responsibility, civic duty, political participation, and social justice, along with modes of community engagement on governmental, nonprofit, and association levels. While the focus is local, national and international issues and comparisons are considered. A fieldwork component contextualizes in-class study.

American Political Thought
Politics 210
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Drawing upon material from across the entire span of American history, the course attempts to develop an understanding of concepts such as democracy, liberty, individuality, and republicanism, and to discuss how understandings of these concepts have influenced political and social choices in the United States. Readings include works by Jefferson, Lincoln, Du Bois, and Goldman.

North Africa and the United States: Case Studies in Foreign Policy Challenges
Politics 212
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, GIS
North Africa is often neglected by U.S. policy makers until dramatic events require attention. This course examines five policy challenges that the United States has faced in the region, highlighting key aspects in the history, formula­tion, and implementation of American foreign policy, and exploring specific aspects of U.S. relationships with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Students engage in simulations and meet with guest lecturers who have been or are currently in policy-making positions.

U.S.–Latin American Relations
Politics 214
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS, LAIS
An overview of US–Latin American relations from the early 19th century (and the advent of the Monroe Doctrine) to the present. The course is divided into three sections: the years between 1821 and 1940, with an emphasis on American military interventions intended to establish economic and political hegemony across the region; the Cold War era, during which perceived threats from Marxist-inspired revolutions led to covert US actions in several countries; and post–Cold War issues such as economic integration, immigration, narco-trafficking, and the War on Terror.

Latin American Politics and Society
Politics 222
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS, LAIS
The course is organized in three main sections, beginning with a broad overview of patterns of political development in Latin America from the independence period to the present. The second part highlights theoretical approaches to Latin American political development drawn from cultural analysis, Marxism, and state-centric perspectives. The final section examines democratic development in six countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela.

The Politics of Climate Change
Politics 2220
CROSS-LISTED: EUS
This course addresses why, despite the increasing amount of information about climate change, we have failed to respond to this crisis; why it is so difficult to represent; and new ways we might represent it. Students examine scientific, philosophical, political, artistic, spiritual, and economic approaches to climate change to see the different connections each tries to forge. Through writing and discussion, they engage in critical and productive thinking on the climate crisis. 

Contemporary Political Theory
Politics 2231
An introduction to the problems and ideas of political theory in the 20th century. The course first looks at critiques of the modern subject and society that were introduced at the turn of the century, then moves on to responses to new technological and social conditions, bureaucratized government, and more diffuse forms of political power. Finally, the class considers theories from the latter part of the century, including feminism and postcolonialism. Texts may include works by Nietzsche, Freud, Weber, Marcuse, Arendt, Foucault, hooks, Haraway, Césaire, and Lazzarato.

The National and Global in the Politics of Race
Politics 2250
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: RJI COURSE
How have the national and global intersected in the politics of race? The course begins with the standard of civilization once used by international lawyers to defend the rights of European nations to colonize non-European societies, and asks if this legacy still haunts the postcolonial global order. Also considered: Du Bois’s formulation of the color line as “the problem of the twentieth century”; the disillusion of African American leaders in the UN as a weapon for change; and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Dissent, Politics, Justice, Dignity
Politics 2251
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS, MES
Why do citizens rebel? When is it legitimate to break the law? What makes resistance just? This course examines the characteristics, justifications, and limitations of major forms of resistance, and considers how contemporary technological transformations have changed the forms and means of resistance and what we perceive as justice and injustice. In addition to textual resources, the course includes analysis of several films, including Malcolm X (1992), The Square (2013), and Chi-raq (2015).

Dictators, Democrats, and Demagogues: Comparative Politics of the Middle East and North Africa 
Politics 237
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, GIS, MES
An introduction to the major questions and theoretical approaches involved in the study of comparative politics as applied to the states of the Middle East and North Africa. Topics include state formation and consolidation, the persistence of authoritarianism, nationalism and identity, civil society and democratization, uprisings and revolutions, the role of oil, political economy of the state, gender, and Islamist politics. The course covers core literature in the field, relevant case studies, and pressing issues facing policy makers.

Politics and Violence
Politics 241
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
The course examines violence as a political phenomenon that constitutes an important part of modern political structures and experience. It begins with an analysis of what makes violence political and then moves to analyze different forms of political violence, including structural violence, state violence, ethnic and racial violence, terrorism, anticolonial violence, community defense, war, and gender violence. Students read theoretical texts on violence and nonviolence in addition to concrete case studies from across the world.

The Political Life of Mourning: From Antigone to Black Lives Matter
Politics 2420
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
Can we transform moments of loss into an opportunity for democratic politics? How are these formative moments of loss—the death of a son, 9/11, the murder of George Floyd—constitutive of a collective politics? The class explores the political life of mourning within the tradition of Western political thought and within the African American community, from W. E. B. Du Bois to the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. Texts from Sophocles, Freud, Derrida, Douglass, Du Bois, Morrison, Moten, others.

Constitutional Law
Politics 243 / Human Rights 243
An introduction to constitutional theory and the evolution of constitutional law in the United States. The course begins with a look at the history and theory of constitutionalism, with particular focus on the writings of Aristotle, Montesquieu, and Arendt, before exploring the advent of written constitutions and developments in US constitutional law from the founding through the New Deal. Also addressed are emerging issues that wrestle with core concepts of constitutionalism, including voting rights, campaign finance, and the administrative state.

Human Rights in Global Politics
Politics 245
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
The course is divided into three core sections: the philosophical foundations of the notion of human rights and its contested universality; the evolution of the so-called international human rights regime; and the shifts from “first generation” human rights (political freedoms) to “second generation” human rights (social and economic rights, such as housing, employment, and education), to “third generation” rights and beyond (cultural self-determination, economic sustainability, and sexual freedoms, among others).

American Foreign Policy Traditions
Politics 247
An introduction to American foreign policy and its roots in the interplay of domestic politics and international events. Readings typify different approaches to the study of American foreign policy: an analytic overview, an in-depth study of an important relationship, a biographical study of leading policy makers, and a history of the Cold War. Discussions address the relevance of past foreign policy debates to current events and controversies. Students develop and present policy recommendations for contemporary problems based on their study of history. 

Political Organizing: Theory and Practice
Politics 251
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: ELAS COURSE
“Don’t mourn, organize!” has long been a refrain in American culture. As problems like climate change, police brutality, and economic inequality grow more daunting, political organizing—the work of uniting ordinary people in pursuit of shared goals, through labor unions, political parties, and community organizations—seems increasingly urgent. But how does the work of door-knocking, phone-banking, and facilitating meetings add up to social transformation? In addition to readings by political theorists, historians, and organizers, class assignments include participating in and writing about the experience of political action.

Democratic Theory 
Politics 252
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
Democracy” today is virtually synonymous with legitimacy, justice, and freedom. But what does democracy really mean? What kinds of authority do democracies claim, and where does this authority come from? How do ordinary people, or “the people,” create, sustain, and transform democratic authority? How might democracy be reimagined as a form of life for the 21st century? The course considers these and other controversies over the contested meanings of democracy and citizenship. Readings from Sophocles, Rousseau, Locke, Madison, Wollstonecraft, Marx, and Weber, among others.

Nations, States, and Nationalism
Politics 257 
CROSS-LISTED: GIS
Nationalism is often thought of as the force that led to the dissolution of empire, and nation-states as the antithesis of empires and imperialism. Historically, the relations between nations and empires have been more complicated. The course interrogates the transition from empire to nation and asks critical questions about the global political order that emerged following the crisis of colonial empires in the last century, failed states, and the new iteration of nation-building that has a disturbing affinity with imperial practices.

The United States and the Modern Middle East
Politics 264
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, MES
DESIGNATED: HSI COURSE
This course focuses on the relationship of U.S. foreign policy to the Arab states of the modern Middle East (the Arab countries of the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabian peninsula, plus Egypt). After putting this relationship in historical perspective, the class considers the status of the Ottoman Empire before, during, and immediately after World War I; the creation of independent Arab states; the rise of Arab nationalism; the 1967 and first Gulf wars; and the official American relationship with the Arab world from post–World War II until the present day.

Beyond Elections: Revitalizing Democracy through Citizens’ Assemblies
Politics 268
DESIGNATED: HUMAN RIGHTS
This 2-credit workshop offers practical, hands-on experience in designing deliberative democratic processes with local politicians as it explores the theory and philosophy of sortition, or lottery- based democracy. Students have the opportunity to present their work at the annual Hannah Arendt Center Conference in October.

All Politics Is Local
Politics 270
DESIGNATED: ELAS COURSE
This Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences course is animated by the question: why does local government matter? Local government is often overlooked, but plays a critical role in the day-to-day life of citizens. In spite of this, the structure and activities of local government are poorly understood. Students commit to a semester-long internship with a government office or agency, attend meetings with village and county officials, attend sessions of local government bodies, and read primary and secondary sources concerning the issue of local governance.

Diplomacy and International Politics
Politics 273
This course explores the history, complexity, and changing nature of diplomacy. Students gain an understanding of the structures of diplomacy—diplomatic corps, embassies, consulates, envoys, nontraditional diplomats—and the evolution of these components as new diplomatic tools have appeared, including public diplomacy, cyber diplomacy, expeditionary (combat zone) diplomacy, and Track II diplomacy. Using case studies drawn from 70 years of diplomatic efforts to mitigate and ultimately end the Arab -Israeli conflict, the class is exposed to real-world diplomacy under complex and contentious circumstances.

China/Japan: Postwar Southeast Asia
Politics 277
CROSS-LISTED: ASIAN STUDIES
This course focuses on how Southeast Asia has shaped itself through, and been shaped by, interactions with its most powerful neighbors, Japan and China. Topics include premodern interactions and their disruption by Euro-American colonization; nationalism, Japanese occupation, postwar independence movements, and nation-building; the formation of ASEAN and other multilateral institutions, the “East Asian developmental model,” and the Asian financial crisis; the role of the overseas Chinese community; and recent Chinese initiatives and the struggle for a new regional order.

Totalitarianism
Politics 290
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
“Totalitarianism” is a conceptual lodestar of 20th-century politics. It is supposed to point to everything that contemporary American and European political culture is not—terroristic, homogeneous, authoritarian, ideologically manipulative, and unfree. Yet critics have used the concept to describe regimes as different as the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Maoist China, ISIS, and occasionally even the United States. What is totalitarianism? The class engages this question by studying specific cases—especially Nazi Germany, Vichy France, and Mussolini’s Italy—alongside theoretical works.

The Art of the Question
Politics 292
CROSS-LISTED: PHILOSOPHY
This course examines the hypothesis that asking questions is a political activity. Departing from a parable by Leo Tolstoy, the class broadly considers questions about timing, people, and action. Authors may include Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Elias Canetti, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Martin Heidegger, Plato, and Iris Marion Young.

Feminist Political Theory
Politics 299
CROSS-LISTED: GSS
Can a theory of feminism be grounded in an ontological claim of “woman”? Should it be? What are the causes of sex and gender inequality? How have these questions shifted since the women’s liberation movement? The course surveys contemporary feminist issues around work, family, kinship, health, sexuality, violence, and politics. Authors may include: John Stuart Mill, Sojourner Truth, Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Catharine MacKinnon, Gayle Rubin, Saba Mahmood, and Nancy Fraser.

Muslim Political Thought and Anticolonialism
Politics 302 / MES 302
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION
This course explores 20th-century Muslim political thought as a modern experience of critique and resistance in the context of decolonization. The class reads works by influential theorists, including Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, and Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as speeches and manifestos from contemporary militant Islamists, to understand how these thinkers and militants engage with issues of colonialism, liberation, sovereignty, revolution, justice, democracy, war and gender. How their ideas are put into practice and how they affected Western thinkers is also addressed.

Political Economy of Development
Politics 314
This Upper College seminar examines the economic development of the “Third World” through the lens of several generations of scholars. After reading representative authors of competing theoretical traditions, students move on to concrete cases.

Migration, Citizenship, and Work
Politics 323
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: MIGRATION INITIATIVE COURSE
Large-scale migration has long been integral to global processes that have shaped the modern world. The modern history of international migration begins with European colonization of large parts of the New World, Africa, and Asia. After an overview on international migration, the course focuses on the modern territorial order of formally sovereign states, which is premised to an extent on the disavowal of migration. Since employment eligibility is tied to citizenship status, significant segments of the work force in many countries are now undocumented.

The Death of Man: 20th-Century French Political Thought
Politics 325
CROSS-LISTED: FRENCH STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS
At the beginning of the 20th century, French thinkers believed in man as a rational, rights-bearing creature. By mid-century, that belief was dead. Two world wars, anticolonial resistance, and totalitarianism would shatter their faith in humanity’s capacity for reason, self-improvement, and progress. This course surveys 20th-century French political thought from the perspective of “the death of man.” Topics also include such turning points in French history as the Algerian war, May 1968, and the birth of Le Front National.

Nuclear Proliferation
Politics 326
In January 2018 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock to two min­utes to midnight, reflecting the group’s assessment that the danger of a nuclear catastrophe was as high as it had been during the height of the Cold War. With the possibility of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, a new nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia, and new nuclear powers emerging, nuclear proliferation has become an increasingly urgent threat to global security. This seminar examines nuclear proliferation and various policy tools available to manage its spread.

The Crisis of Democracy
Politics 330
This seminar examines what is ailing democracy around the world, after decades of expansion. It begins with the so-called third wave of democratization, which brought democracy to some three dozen nations between 1974 and 1992 in Western Europe, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, and then looks at the postwar economic boom, international human rights regime, globalization, the failure of democracy to reach the Middle East, the uneven legacy of the third wave, and challenges to democracy in the developed West.

The Politics of Globalization
Politics 334
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIOLOGY
Until the financial crisis of 2008, it was common for advocates of free markets to argue that globalization is a positive force that can generate employment and raise living standards. Critics argue that the transformations captured by the term “globalization” are best seen as a phase in the history of capitalist development. The course considers these arguments through discussion of texts by Arjun Appadurai, Eric Cazdyn, James Ferguson, Thomas Friedman, David Harvey, Karl Polanyi, Saskia Sassen, Joseph Stiglitz, Imre Szeman, and Karl Marx.

Ideology in America: From Jefferson to Trump
Politics 351
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
The successes of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election cycle once again brought the issue of ideology to the fore. This course looks at Jeffersonian republicanism, antebellum slavery, abolitionism, Progressivism, Cold War neoconservatism, and neoliberalism, and considers whether any of these impulses amount to an ideology and what, if any, legacy they left for subsequent American political thought.

Political Violence and Terrorism
Politics 352
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: HSI COURSE
The September 2001 terrorist attacks irrevocably changed US politics and foreign policy, giving rise to more than a decade of war, expanded surveillance, the use of torture and indefinite detention, and a targeted killing policy through the use of drone strikes. More recently, the January 6th attack on the US Capitol evidenced what can happen when white nationalism and right-wing ideologies are perpetuated by powerful political actors. This seminar examines violence as a political phenomenon, the role of religion and ideology in motivating terrorist groups, and the challenges of government responses.

American Grand Strategy 
Politics 354
The American world system that exists today is version 2.0 of the liberal capitalist system first built by Great Britain. Both the British and U.S. builders of these systems developed a distinct style of strategic thought around the needs of a maritime, global, and commercial system. This grand strategy involved domestic social organization as well as foreign policy and war. Students consider these strategies from the time of the Spanish Armada through the Cold War, and analyze contemporary U.S. policy in light of three centuries of Anglophone world power.

The Individual and American Democracy 
Politics 358
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Since its formation, and even before, the United States has been associated with the individual. At the same time, the assumption that the “people” govern the country has informed political life. Balancing the interests of the one against the many has therefore emerged as an important theme within American political thought. This course examines the ways in which the concept of the individual has informed thinking about American democracy and vice versa. Authors include Crèvecoeur, de Tocqueville, the abolitionists, Hayek, and Du Bois.

Radical American Democracy
Politics 358
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, PHILOSOPHY
This seminar explores the essence of democracy as a specifically modern way of life, rather than a form of government. To do so, it turns to great thinkers of American democracy, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Ralph Ellison, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Hannah Arendt. The course seeks to understand the democratic spirit of radical individualism that has proven so seductive and powerful since its modern birth in the American Revolution.

Ethics and International Affairs
Politics 363
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
Current foreign policy debates have centered on drone strikes, civilian casualties, the targeted killing of Americans, and humanitarian intervention, with advocates on both sides citing moral and ethical justifications for their respective positions. Each of these debates begs the central question: What does it mean to be ethical in international politics? To whom are we responsible? Do ethical concerns cross borders? This course explores the issues and tensions informing these questions by engaging the underlying theoretical traditions.

Afro-Modern Political Thoughts
Politics 367
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Among the traditions of modern political thought, none theorizes freedom as convincingly as Afro-modern political theory. This seminar examines the meaning of freedom in Black political thought and intellectual history. Students read both classic works and contemporary social criticism, with par­ticular attention paid to W. E. B. Du Bois, his critics, and his relation to other Black intellectuals at home and abroad. The goal is to use Afro-modern politi­cal thought as point of observation, to better see the broader shape of 20th-century radical politics.

Promoting Democracy Abroad
Politics 368
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN STUDIES, GIS
Almost alone among the world’s superpowers, the United States has made promoting democracy abroad a central objective of its foreign policy. This course explores three questions about this “mission” to spread democracy: What explains the genesis and persistence of the centrality of democracy in American foreign policy? How have American administrations tried to construct policies to advance democratic development abroad? Why have these attempts to promote democracy abroad so often fallen short of their intended goals?

Environmental Political Theory
Politics 372
CROSS-LISTED: EUS
This course examines various theories of how relations between human society and nature become politicized. Themes addressed include the nature/culture divide, the relationship between economy and ecology, technology and the management of nature, climate change, and the role nature plays in social power constellations, particularly with regard to women and Indigenous groups. Readings may include Latour, Shiva, Connelly, Heidegger, Leopold, Bennett, Abbey, Bookchin, Daly, Guha, and Haraway.

Grand Strategy from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz
Politics 377
CROSS-LISTED: GIS
The question of what war is and how wars can be won has exercised great minds from the dawn of recorded history. Students in this advanced seminar examine classic texts on conflict, from ancient China to modern Europe. Issues addressed include the nature of conflict, the role of chance in human affairs, the definition of power, and the development of strategic thought.

The American Presidency
Politics 378
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, HISTORICAL STUDIES
An examination of the development of the U.S. presidency from the founding until the present day, with special attention given to the Jeffersonian and Progressive Eras; the expansion of executive power under Franklin Roosevelt; how modern presidents contend with multiple and, at times, conflicting roles and responsibilities (party leader, chief executive, commander in chief, media celebrity); and the problem of contemporary presidential power. Also considered is what role presidential power and leadership should play in the life of contemporary U.S. democracy.

Civic Action and Research
Politics 385
CROSS-LISTED: GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
DESIGNATED: ELAS AND OSUN COURSE
In this upper-level course, students who are leading a community engagement project deepen their understanding of civil society through participatory research that explores the structure of civil society organizations, the sociopolitical environment in which they operate, the root causes of issues that they are attempting to address, and the context in which the community is addressing the issue. Students also enhance their project management skills through a series of leadership workshops. The course culminates in a peer-led, OSUN-wide conference on leadership and community engagement. 

The Crisis of Expert Rule
Politics 386
CROSS-LISTED: HUMAN RIGHTS, PHILOSOPHY
Today it is almost unthinkable to imagine regulators and political leaders who lack university and technical training. And yet, much of the populist anger rising around the world can be understood as a rejection of expert rule. COVID-19 further exposed the radical distrust in expert-driven governance. While this rejection of scientific knowledge is shocking, there are problems with expert governance. The course explores how expert discourses drive us to abandon fundamental human connections that make human life meaningful. Texts by Arendt, Hayek, Agamben, others.

The Politics of Historical Injustices
Politics 388
CROSS-LISTED: AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, GIS, HUMAN RIGHTS
The current national reckoning with racial injustice has awakened interest in “historical injustices,” the subject of this seminar. Questions explored include: Why are historical injustices at the forefront of contemporary global politics? What are the legal and political approaches being employed for confronting historical injustices? Why are some countries more successful than others at settling a painful history? At the heart of these questions are three global approaches for confronting historical injustices: “retribution” (political trials), “reparations” (official apologies and compensation), and “reconciliation” (truth commissions and memorials).

Hannah Arendt’s Human Condition
Politics 389
Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition investigates the vita activa (activities of human life) in order to think about the distinction between the vita activa and the vita contemplativa (life of the mind). Students read the entirety of the treatise, considering the relationships between scientific advancement, earthliness, and worldliness as they explore questions such as: In what ways do science and technology both facilitate and undermine the possibilities of human life? Can love be political? Can we find a home in the world? What would it mean to do so?

The Political Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois
Politics 392
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, PHILOSOPHY
This seminar explores the political thought of the sociologist, organizer, and political theorist William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. The class traces the development of Du Bois’s political thought on the themes of organization, race, class, leadership, democracy, and freedom over the course of his long career. Also considered is the relevance of Du Bois’s political thought to today’s Black freedom struggle.

Race and Gender in US Constitutional Development
Politics 393
CROSS-LISTED: AFRICANA STUDIES, AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, GSS, HISTORICAL STUDIES, HUMAN RIGHTS
This course explores the intersections of race and gender and the development of American constitutional law and practice. Court opinions, arguments, and broader constitutional debates provide students with a method of engaging those discourses at different historical moments. For example, the class looks at the compromises struck at the constitutional convention, but also at challenges to Chinese exclusion (Chae Chan Ping v. United States), Japanese internment (Korematsu v. United States), and the legal strategies used by Ruth Bader Ginsburg and reproductive rights activists.