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Catalogue 2020-2021 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Political Science: II. Intermediate A. American Politics |
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POLI 241 - Congress Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An analysis of the contemporary and evolving U.S. Congress, its organization, functions, and politics. Topics include congressional elections, redistricting, and representation; political polarization; the internal life and norms of the House and Senate; the structure of power in Congress; the current disarray afflicting the House Republican party; interest groups and lobbying; presidential-congressional relations; the congressional response to selected public problems; and political change and the future of Congress. Richard Born.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 242 - Racial and Ethnic Group Politics in Popular Culture
1 unit(s)
Popular culture often affects and depicts public opinion on prominent social and political issues, and attitudes towards racial and ethnic groups. In this course, students think critically about the ways popular culture influences and reflects U.S. racial and ethnic group politics. Students consider how popular culture portrays and provides insights into government actions and policies toward various racial and ethnic groups, race relations and prospects for political coalitions, group responses to discrimination, and Americans’ perceptions and attitudes on a number of cultural, political, social and policy dimensions. Among the topics studied are the following: aspects of the political histories of various groups in the U.S., anti-miscegenation and anti-interracial relationship attitudes, 20th and 21st century race relations, immigration and citizenship, political resistance, mobilization, empowerment and participation, and racial group membership, identity and consciousness. These topics are examined throughout the semester by reading scholarly texts, and analyzing music videos, television shows, motion pictures, and documentaries. Taneisha Means.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 243 - Constitutional Law
1 unit(s)
This course examines the art of constitutional analysis through the prism of a multifaceted exploration of the central thematic concerns of the Critical Race Theory Movement, as it has developed in the legal academy. It engages an array of perspectives on constitutional interpretation. In so doing, we examine, among other things, a number of Supreme Court opinions that focus on the intersection of issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. Luke Harris.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 244 - Political Parties and Public Opinion
1 unit(s)
An examination of the nature and roles of public opinion and political parties in American politics, with emphasis on democratic means of political participation and influence in contemporary America. Special attention is paid to mass and elite political attitudes and behavior, techniques of public opinion polling, the impact of public opinion on policy making, recent national elections, campaign techniques and strategies, and the changing party system. Richard Born.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 245 - Courts, Judges and American Judicial Politics Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course examines the central issues in Judicial Politics and the principal questions asked within the subfield. Among other topics, students will consider the role of the courts in the American political system, the structure of the federal and state judiciaries, the judicial selection process, the nature of decision-making, inter-branch relations and conflict within the judicial hierarchy, public opinion on the institution, and the social impact of courts. In the course, special emphasis is placed on exploring how and why U.S. courts are political institutions and American judges are political actors. Taneisha Means.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 246 - Civil Rights Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This survey course examines the causal and remedial relationship of law to racial discrimination. Following a brief historical overview of the law’s engagement with race, the course considers the development of civil rights claims in a number of areas such as education, housing and employment. Competing visions of racial equality embedded in civil rights legislation, in case law and in legal discourse and theory will be evaluated as well as critiques of traditional models of anti-discrimination law. Throughout the class we will seek to assess how the legal system has accommodated racism and racial subordination as well as the extent to which racial progress is both enabled and delimited within the legal frame. Luke Harris.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 247 - The Politics of Difference Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 247 ) This course relates to the meanings of various group experiences in American politics. It explicitly explores, for example, issues of race, class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Among other things, this course addresses the contributions of the Critical Legal Studies Movement, the Feminist Jurisprudence Movement, the Critical Race Movement, and Queer Studies to the legal academy. Luke Harris.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 248 - Racial and Ethnic Group Politics in Popular Culture Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 248 ) Popular culture often affects and depicts public opinion on prominent social and political issues, and attitudes towards racial and ethnic groups. In this course, students think critically about the ways popular culture influences and reflects U.S. racial and ethnic group politics. Students consider how popular culture portrays and provides insights into government actions and policies toward various racial and ethnic groups, race relations and prospects for political coalitions, group responses to discrimination, and Americans’ perceptions and attitudes on a number of cultural, political, social and policy dimensions. Among the topics studied are the following: aspects of the political histories of various groups in the U.S., anti-miscegenation and anti-interracial relationship attitudes, 20th and 21st century race relations, immigration and citizenship, political resistance, mobilization, empowerment and participation, and racial group membership, identity and consciousness. These topics are examined throughout the semester by reading scholarly texts, and analyzing music videos, television shows, motion pictures, and documentaries. Taneisha Means.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 249 - The Politics of City, Suburb, and Neighborhood
1 unit(s)
(Same as URBS 249 ) An examination of the development, organization, and practice of the varied forms of politics in metropolitan areas. Main themes include struggles between machine and reform politicians in cities; fiscal politics and urban pre-occupations with economic growth, racial and class politics; changes in federal urban policies; neighborhood politics and alternative forms of community organization; suburban politics and race/class. Sidney Plotkin.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: II. Intermediate B. Comparative Politics |
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POLI 252 - The Politics of Modern Social Movements Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course examines continuities and transformations in both the study and practice of modern political and social movements. The course explores why movements emerge, how they develop, and what they accomplish. We study several dimensions of collective action, including their organization, leadership, ideology or programmatic content, and objectives. Our case studies are rich and diverse, spanning actors and geographic regions, yet we consciously draw comparisons across the cases concerning movements’ origins, the context of power relations and political positioning within society. We also seek to understand the sometimes powerful, sometimes subtle influences of social movements on the nature of socioeconomic, gender, racial, ethnic, national and transnational relations today. Katherine Hite.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 253 - Transitions In Europe Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 253 and RUSS 253 ) This course addresses themes such as collapse of authoritarianism, democratic consolidation, institution of ‘rule of law’, deepening of markets, break-up of nation-states, and education and collective identity formation. These themes are explored in the European and Eurasian areas, where in recent decades there have been break ups (sometimes violent other times peaceful) of former countries; as well as an unprecedented deepening of the sharing of previously national power in the peculiar entity of the European Union.
The course focuses on the political history of, and alternative explanations for changes that have taken place in the spaces of the former Soviet Union, particularly Russia, and the European Union. The course focus includes the demise of communism in the former Soviet Union; the challenges of democratic consolidation, and institution of a capitalist market economy in post-Soviet Russia; the deepening of the Single European Market and capitalism in the European Union; the state of the nation-state and democracy in the European Union; migration and citizenship; and nationalist backlashes. Leah Haus.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 254 - Chinese Politics and Economy Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 254 ) This course offers a historical and thematic survey of Chinese politics, with an emphasis on the patterns and dynamics of political development and reforms since the Communist takeover in 1949. In the historical segment, we examine major political events leading up to the reform era, including China’s imperial political system, the collapse of dynasties, the civil war, the Communist Party’s rise to power, the land reform, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the initiation of the reform. The thematic part deals with some general issues of governance, economic reform, democratization, globalization and China’s relations with Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States. This course is designed to help students understand China’s contemporary issues from a historical perspective. For students who are interested in other regions of the world, China offers a rich comparative case on some important topics such as modernization, democratization, social movement, economic development, reform and rule of law. Fubing Su.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 255 - Subaltern Politics
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 255 ) What does it mean to understand issues of governance and politics from the perspective of non-elite, or subaltern, groups? How do subalterns respond to, participate in, and/or resist the historically powerful forces of modernity, nationalism, religious mobilization, and politico-economic development in postcolonial spaces? What are the theoretical frameworks most appropriate for analyzing politics from the perspective of the subaltern? This course engages such questions by drawing on the flourishing field of subaltern studies in South Asia. While its primary focus is on materials from South Asia, particularly India, it also seeks to relate the findings from this area to broadly comparable issues in Latin America and Africa. Himadeep Muppidi.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 256 - Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 256 and INTL 256 ) Conflicts over racial, ethnic and / or national identity continue to dominate headlines in diverse corners of the world. Whether referring to ethnic violence in Bosnia or Sri Lanka, racialized political tensions in Sudan and Fiji, the treatment of Roma (Gypsies) and Muslims in Europe, or the charged debates about immigration policy in the United States, cultural identities remain at the center of politics globally. Drawing upon multiple theoretical approaches, this course explores the related concepts of race, ethnicity and nationalism from a comparative perspective using case studies drawn from around the world and across different time periods. Zachariah Mampilly.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 257 - Genre and the Postcolonial City
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 257 and URBS 257 ) This course explores the physical and imaginative dimensions of selected postcolonial cities. The theoretical texts, genres of expression and cultural contexts that the course engages address the dynamics of urban governance as well as aesthetic strategies and everyday practices that continue to reframe existing senses of reality in the postcolonial city. Through an engagement with literary, cinematic, architectural among other forms of urban mediation and production, the course examines the politics of migrancy, colonialism, gender, class and race as they come to bear on political identities, urban rhythms and the built environment. Case studies include: Johannesburg , Nairobi, Algiers and migrant enclaves in London and Paris. Samson Opondo.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 258 - Latin American Politics
1 unit(s)
(Same as LALS 258 ) Drawing from political processes across several Latin American countries, this course focuses on conceptual debates regarding political representation and participation, political institutions, political culture, and political economy in the region. A major theme is inequality. The course examines historical-structural patterns, relationships among social, economic, and political conditions at the national, sub-national and regional levels, and important social and political actors and institutions. The course also examines the evolution of US roles in Latin America. Katherine Hite.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 259 - Settler Colonialism in a Comparative Perspective
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 259 ) This course examines the phenomenon of settler colonialism through a comparative study of the interactions between settler and ‘native’ / indigenous populations in different societies. It explores the patterns of settler migration and settlement and the dynamics of violence and local displacement in the colony through the tropes of racialization of space, colonial law, production/labor, racialized knowledge, aesthetics, health, gender, domesticity and sexuality. Attentive to historical injustices and the transformation of violence in ‘postcolonial’ and settler societies, the course interrogates the forms of belonging, memory, desire and nostalgia that arise from the unresolved status of settler and indigenous communities and the competing claims to, or unequal access to resources like land. Case studies are drawn primarily from Africa but also include examples from other regions. Samson Opondo.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: II. Intermediate C. International Politics |
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POLI 260 - International Relations of the Third World: Bandung to 9/11
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 260 and INTL 260 ) Whether referred to as the “Third World,” or other variants such as the “Global South,” the “Developing World,” the “G-77,” the “Non-Aligned Movement,” or the “Post-Colonial World,” a certain unity has long been assumed for the multitude of countries ranging from Central and South America, across Africa to much of Asia. Is it valid to speak of a Third World? What were/are the connections between countries of the Third World? What were/are the high and low points of Third World solidarity? And what is the relationship between the First and Third Worlds? Drawing on academic and journalistic writings, personal narratives, music, and film, this course explores the concept of the Third World from economic, political and cultural perspectives. Beginning at the dawn of the 20th century with the rise of anti-colonial movements, we examine the trajectory of the Third World in global political debates through the end of the Cold War and the start of the War on Terror. Zachariah Mampilly.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 261 - Theories of War and Peace
1 unit(s)
An inquiry into the causes of war and peace among states. Explanations at various levels—human, societal, governmental, international—are considered. The course aims at an understanding of those factors which lead individual states into conflict with one another as well as those which incline the broader international system toward stability or instability. Stephen Rock.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 262 - India, China and the State of Post-coloniality Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 262 ) As India and China integrate themselves deeply into the global economy, they raise issues of crucial importance to international politics. As nation-states that were shaped by an historical struggle against colonialism, how do they see their re-insertion into an international system still dominated by the West? What understandings of the nation and economy, of power and purpose, of politics and sovereignty, shape their efforts to join the global order? How should we re-think the nature of the state in the context? Are there radical and significant differences between colonial states, capitalist states and postcolonial ones? What are some of the implications for international politics of these differences? Drawing on contemporary debates in the fields of international relations and postcolonial theory, this course explores some of the changes underway in India and China and the implications of these changes for our current understandings of the international system. Himadeep Muppidi.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 263 - Critical International Relations Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 263 ) The study of world politics is marked by a rich debate between rationalist and critical approaches. While rationalist approaches typically encompass realist/neo-realist and liberal/neo-liberal theories, critical approaches include social constructivist, historical materialist, post-structural and post-colonial theories of world politics. This course is a focused examination of some of the more prominent critical theories of international relations. It aims to a) familiarize students with the core concepts and conceptual relations implicit in these theories and b) acquaint them with the ways in which these theories can be applied to generate fresh insights into the traditional concerns (such as war, anarchy, nationalism, sovereignty, global order, economic integration) and security dilemmas of world politics. Himadeep Muppidi.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 264 - The Foreign Policy of the United States
1 unit(s)
This course examines the formulation and execution of U.S. foreign policy. We consider factors ranging from America’s geostrategic position to its economy, ideology and culture, as well as governmental institutions and those who serve in them. The course also examines prominent issues in contemporary U.S. foreign policy. Such issues may include trade policy, non-proliferation and counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, human rights, and immigration, in addition to policies with respect to particular countries (e.g., Russia, China, North Korea) and regions. Our primary purpose is to identify and assess the various options possessed by the United States for addressing these issues. Stephen Rock.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 265 - International Political Economy Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 265 ) This course addresses the relationship between power and wealth in the international arena. The interaction between politics and economics is explored in historical and contemporary subjects that may include the rise and decline of empires; economic sanctions; international institutions such as the IMF; regional integration in the European Union; globalization and its discontents; mercenaries and military corporations; education and internationalization. Leah Haus.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 268 - The Politics of Globalization
1 unit(s)
Globalization is increasingly seen as a new and powerful force in world politics, but there is intense debate over what this new force is and what its effects are. This course introduces students to some of the more prominent ways of theorizing globalization and explaining the politics underlying the economic, social and cultural effects it generates. Himadeep Muppidi.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: II. Intermediate D. Political Theory |
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POLI 270 - Diasporas
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 270 and JWST 270 )
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 271 - Theorizing Global Blackness and Indigeneity Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 271 ) Recent years have seen simultaneous explosions of political struggle against both anti-Black racism (from Ferguson 2014 to Minneapolis 2020) and the colonial dispossession of Indigenous communities (from Canada’s Idle No More in 2012 to #NoDAPL in 2016). But many organizers and theorists alike continue to draw hard lines between the historical experiences of settler colonialism and chattel slavery, and consequently between Black and Indigenous struggles in the present. This course in comparative political theory expands our framework for approaching these questions in two ways: historically, by locating Blackness and Indigeneity in their broader context and shared genesis; and geographically, by considering these as intertwining and overlapping global phenomena. By engaging theorists and practitioners from across the Global South, we think through questions including Afro-Indigenous histories (from the Seminoles to Latin America), African Indigeneity, the settler colonialism and indigeneity Palestine, and what it would mean to reconfigure new, future identities in the course of shared struggles. George Ciccariello-Maher.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 272 - Feminist Thought and Politics: Sex, Gender, Matter
1 unit(s)
(Same as WMST 272 ) Since its beginnings, feminism has radically transformed the very foundations of politics, forcing us to rethink values and ideals as fundamental as freedom and equality. It has challenged former understandings of fundamental political concepts like power, and the distinction between the private and public spheres, as well as the personal and the political. Feminist theory is also incredibly creative and prolific in terms of its production of new concepts (e.g., gender). In this course we interrogate high-stakes questions such as: Are masculinity and femininity, men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, transsexual and cys-gender, the human and the nonhuman, contingent or universal categories? Are these categories empowering, alienating, both? Are racialized, sexed, gender, intersecting identities the necessary foundations for political action, or do they hinder the valuation of difference? What does feminist theory teach us about less apparently related issues like terrorism, colonialism, or environmental crisis? Claire Sagan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 273 - Interpreting Politics Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
A detailed study of the philosophical underpinnings of various modes of interpreting politics: empiricism/positivism; interpretive/hermeneutic inquiry, critical theory, rational choice theory, realism, and discourse analysis. Aim is to understand the central concepts and goals of each approach, the kinds of explanations they seek to offer, and the views they posit regarding the relationship between politics and theory, on the one hand, and politics and the political analyst, on the other. Andrew Davison.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 274 - Political Ideology
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 274 ) This course examines the insights and limits of an ideological orientation to political life. Various understandings of ideology are discussed, selected contemporary ideologies are studied (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, Marxism, fascism, Nazism, corporatism, Islamism), and the limits of ideology are explored in relation to other forms of political expression and understanding. Selected ideologies and contexts for consideration are drawn from sites of contemporary global political significance. Andrew Davison.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 275 - Reconsidering Western Political Thought
1 unit(s)
An engagement with the debated meanings and worldly political manifestations of selected, classical texts of “Western” political theory. Texts and interpretive literature vary from semester to semester and, in order to consider the “Western” quality of political theory, are read in conversation with texts understood to be discursively outside, or on the borders of, “the West.” Andrew Davison.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 276 - Political Theory from Below Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course in comparative political theorizing seeks to destabilize the traditional canon of Western thought by stretching our approach to understanding politics in three ways. First, it provides a hemispheric approach to political theory, drawing on political thinkers from across the Americas. Second, it thinks from a specific perspective—what has been called “the underside of history”—engaging specifically the voices of the colonized and enslaved. And third, by engaging not only professional philosophers but also organic intellectuals and radical activists, it seeks to stretch our understanding of who is capable of engaging in political theory. We begin with Argentinian philosopher of liberation Enrique Dussel, who formulates a positive notion of political power based on the struggles of the oppressed, before turning to the US context, where W.E.B. Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction lays the groundwork for approaching Black radicalism in the 20th-century. We then chart a parallel course from colonization to national liberation in Latin America before concluding with Gloria Anzaldúa’s prescient account of the open wound that is the southern border of the United States. George Ciccariello-Maher.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 277 - The Politics of Capitalism Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
An examination of theories of the relationship between capitalism, politics and the state. Central concerns include tendencies toward fiscal crisis, war, and waste; the impact of capital on political power and the sabotage of democracy; ideology, class consciousness and the potential for resistance from below. Authors to be considered include, among others, Thorstein Veblen, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Franz Neurmann, C. Wright Mills, and Sheldon Wolin. Sidney Plotkin.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 278 - Environmental Political Thought Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 278 and STS 278 ) In the current, urgent context of eco-catastrophe, the high-stakes question of how to rethink the human and the nonhuman arises (together, in relation with one another, entangled as they are, distinct as they might be…). Many theorists from myriad disciplines and multidisciplinary areas have taken on this question, some stressing the “intrinsic value” of the natural world, some proclaiming the end of nature, some critiquing the concept of Nature as so all-encompassing that it inevitably allows human claims to mastery of the nonhuman. Though this course cannot exhaustively survey all these approaches, we will explore some of the key contemporary debates (regarding mass extinction, Gaia theories, the oft-cited “Anthropocene”) pertaining to deep ecology, social and political ecology, de-growth theory, object-oriented ontology, speculative realism, environmental justice, posthumanism, ecofeminism, (feminist) new materialisms. Claire Sagan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 279 - Pandemic, Politics and Theory Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 279 ) Who knew that a virus could so radically interrupt, accelerate, damage, mobilize humans and nonhumans? In a context which reads increasingly like a tragic dystopia, this course explores theoretical texts that engage the current pandemic and its effects on power, discipline, and control. We discuss how the virus has transformed our relationship to temporality, the recognition and erasure of care work, the microbe’s relation to ecology and disaster capitalism, the pandemic’s effects on borders, immunity, community, and confinement, masks, faces and screens, mutual aid and abandonment, neoliberal austerity and public health, epidemiology and epistemology, the unknown and uncertainty, etc. Slavoj Zizek immediately described the “PANdemIC” as “a moment when the greatest act of love is to stay distant from the object of your affection.” While Paul Preciado has argued that the lockdown has entrenched a biopolitics of “pharmacopornographic production,” Nick Mirzoeff has described New York City as a “necropolis” that should be transformed into decolonial networks of care. Wendy Brown, Lauren Berlant, Brian Massumi each reflected upon the quarantine. We attempt to ride the prolific wave of writings that came out of COVID19 and its biopolitics, for collective catharsis and in hopes to be better equipped to face this faceless event. Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: INT
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Political Science: II. Intermediate: E. Other |
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POLI 290 - Community-Engaged Learning Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group field projects or internships with prior approval of the adviser. Students are expected to do substantial directed reading in theoretical material specifically related to the field placement prior to or in conjunction with the field experience; to develop in consultation with a faculty supervisor a set of questions based on the theoretical reading to guide the field observations; to submit a written report relating the theoretical reading to the field observations or, in lieu of a report and at the option of the department, to take a final oral examination administered by two faculty members. No more than 1 unit of community-engaged learning (290) may be counted toward fulfilling the requirements of the minimum major. The Department.
Special permission.
Course Format: INT
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POLI 298 - Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Independent work is normally based on a student’s desire to study with an instructor a specialized aspect of a course taken with that instructor. One unit normally entails substantial directed reading and/or the writing of a long paper and biweekly conferences with the instructor. In no case shall independent work satisfy the subfield distribution requirement. The department.
Special permission.
Course Format: OTH
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Political Science: III. Advanced A. Optional Senior Thesis Seminars in the 340s, 350s, 360s, and 370s are generally limited to twelve students and require permission of the instructor. Students taking seminars are expected to have taken relevant course-work at a lower level. The content of seminars can vary from year to year depending upon interests of students and instructors. Seminars might focus on topics too specialized to receive exhaustive treatment in lower-level courses; they might explore particular approaches to the discipline or particular methods of research; they might be concerned with especially difficult problems in political life, or be oriented toward a research project of the instructor. The thesis (POLI 300 , POLI 301 , POLI 302 ) and senior independent work (POLI 399 ) require permission of the instructor.
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POLI 300 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
A 1-unit thesis, written in the fall semester.
Special permission.
Course Format: INT
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POLI 301 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
A 1-unit thesis written in two semesters.
Special permission.
Yearlong course 301-POLI 302 .
Course Format: INT
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POLI 302 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
A 1-unit thesis written in two semesters.
Special permission.
Yearlong course POLI 301 -302.
Course Format: INT
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Political Science: III. Advanced B. American Politics Seminars |
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POLI 341 - Seminar in Congressional Politics: U.S. House and Senate Election
1 unit(s)
This seminar is focused on U.S. congressional elections, with some attention also devoted to interrelationships between voting for Congress and voting for the president. The ideas covered in the course are applied to the specific context of the 2010 midterms and the forthcoming 2012 elections. Among the topics studied are the following: 1) the ongoing massive redistricting of congressional districts; 2) the electoral effects of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision of 2010; 3) the emergence of 501(c)(4) “non-profit” groups and Super-PACs as major players in campaign financing; 4) the development of ever more sophisticated campaign technology, like “microtargeting” of voters; 5) the transformation of southern House and Senate seats from Democratic to Republican control; and 6) the increasing partisan polarization of American elections. Richard Born.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 343 - Seminar in Constitutional Theory Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This seminar focuses on some core problems pertaining to constitutional interpretation, examining questions of constitutional theory and interpretation as they relate to issues of equality and full citizenship. The course discusses the nature and function of the Constitution, explores theories about how the Constitution should be interpreted, and examines the methods that interpreters use to decipher the meanings of constitutional provisions. These concerns are addressed by focusing on various dimensions of constitutional theories and decisions pertaining to questions related to anti-discrimination law. Some of the issues covered include standards of judicial review, Supreme Court interpretations of equal protection, the constitutional protection of groups as well as individuals, and the appropriateness of constitutional protections rooted in color-blind and gender-blind principles. Luke Harris.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 346 - Race and Gender in Judicial Politics Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 346 ) This seminar explores the centrality of race/ethnicity and gender in the American judicial process and system. The course is designed to promote and facilitate healthy discussions and debates about the level, nature, and importance of judicial diversity in the American justice system. After examining the diversity levels on the state and federal bench and how those levels have changed over the last century, students consider factors that improve and/or limit judicial diversity such as the selection process and evaluations of judicial performance. Afterwards, students explore the value of judicial diversity. Special attention is given to judicial decision-making behavior, and the extent to which the courts protect minority rights and provide redress for historical injustices. The course concludes with students considering the issues presently facing our legal system such as mass incarceration, the proliferation of for-profit prisons, racial and gender bias in the criminal justice system, and demands for criminal justice reform. Taneisha Means.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 348 - Seminar in Democracy and Power in America Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An examination of tensions and adjustments between democratic ideals and the structures and practices of political and economic power in the United States. Sidney Plotkin.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor, normally an intermediate-level course in American Politics.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: III. Advanced C. Comparative Politics Seminars |
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POLI 351 - Africana Studies Seminar
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 351 ) This seminar explores both historical and contemporary debates within the field of Africana Studies. Students examine a variety of subjects and themes encompassing different disciplinary and interdisciplinary works drawn from the humanities and social sciences. The critical perspectives that the seminar engages draw attention to the political, representational and explanatory value of a variety of genres of expression and knowledge practices. By delving into philosophical, historical, aesthetic and political analyses of Africa and African Diaspora societies, subjects and practices, students acquire a deep understanding of Africana research methods culminating in a substantive research project. The particular subject and themes explored vary with the faculty teaching the course. Samson Opondo.
Prerequisite(s): AFRS 100 or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 352 - Redemption and Diplomatic Imagination in Postcolonial Africa Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 352 ) This seminar explores the shifts and transformations in the discourse and practice of redemptive diplomacy in Africa. It introduces students to the cultural, philosophical and political dimensions of estrangement and the mediation practices that accompany the quest for recognition, meaning and material well-being in selected colonial and postcolonial societies. Through a critical treatment of the redemptive vision and diplomatic imaginaries summoned by missionaries, anti-colonial resistance movements and colonial era Pan-Africanists, the seminar interrogates the ‘idea of Africa’ produced by these discourses of redemption and their implications for diplomatic thought in Africa. The insights derived from the interrogation of foundational discourses on African redemption are used to map the transformation of identities, institutional forms, and the minute texture of everyday life in postcolonial Africa. The seminar also engages modern humanitarianism, diasporic religious movements, Non-Governmental Organizations and neoliberal or millennial capitalist networks that seek to save Africans from foreign forces of oppression or ‘themselves.’ Samson Opondo.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 358 - State, Market and Development Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The turmoil in the global economy has ignited a fierce debate about the proper role of government across the world. Does this mark the end of the free market ideology? Are governments going to take over more responsibilities in managing the economy and society? To engage these important questions, this course embarks on an intellectual journey to explore similar debates in the past and examine a variety of choices countries have made in different time periods and in different regions of the world. After a general discussion of some major analytical traditions in political economy, the course revisits scholarly exchanges over mercantilist policies in the 19th century, Marxist and Polanyian critiques of capitalism, structuralist theories in the mid-20th century, East Asian development in the 1980s, the socialist transition in the 1990s, and globalization in the 21st century. The course concludes with some new insights from the reinvigorated research in institutionalism and the welfare state. Particular attention is paid to the variegated conceptualization of development and intellectual bases for the role of state and market. Fubing Su.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 381 - The Politics of Memory Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This seminar is a multidisciplinary exploration of the politics of memory, broadly understood as the relationships of atrocious political pasts to the present. The seminar draws from comparative politics, international relations, political theory, media studies, art history, psychoanalysis, journalism, and fiction to examine and analyze the significance of the many manifestations of memory for politics. Works and sites examined include testimonies, declassified government documents, memorials, museums, artwork, performance, and trials, from around the globe. The seminar may include site visits. Katherine Hite.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: III. Advanced D. International Politics Seminars |
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POLI 360 - The Ethics of War and Peace
1 unit(s)
This course considers the moral rights and obligations of states, political and military leaders, soldiers, and ordinary citizens with respect to war and peace. Taking just war theory as our point of departure, we concentrate on three major questions: (1) When, if ever, is the use of military force permissible? (2) How may military force be used? (3) Who is responsible for ensuring that force is used only at a permissible time and in a permissible manner? Students are encouraged to develop positions on these matters and to apply them to recent and contemporary cases involving the use or potential use of force. Stephen Rock.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 362 - Seminar in International Politics: Migration and Citizenship Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This seminar addresses the causes and consequences of movement from countries such as Jamaica, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, China and Mexico to post-industrial countries in Europe, and the United States.
The seminar first considers different reasons for why people move across state borders, such as the role of economic forces, the legacies of colonialism, and escape from violence.
The seminar then engages in a comparative analysis of the politics of ‘difference’ in post-industrial countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S.; and asks why these politics have played out quite differently in each country. Comparisons may also include minorities and the politics of ‘difference’ in countries of the former Soviet Union. So as to compare the politics of ‘difference,’ readings consider government policies to, societal views on, and experiences of migrants, minorities, and refugees. Readings address specific subjects including education policy in regard to the (grand) children of migrants; policies towards religious minorities; diverse views on the implications of multiculturalism and assimilation for gender inequity; perceptions on the economic consequences of immigration for other workers; and the sources and impact of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee political movements historically and contemporarily. Leah Haus.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 363 - Decolonizing International Relations
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 363 ) Colonial frameworks are deeply constitutive of mainstream international relations. Issues of global security, economy, and politics continue to be analyzed through perspectives that either silence or are impervious to the voices and agencies of global majorities. This seminar challenges students to enter into, reconstruct, and critically evaluate the differently imagined worlds of ordinary, subaltern peoples and political groups. We draw upon postcolonial theories to explore alternatives to the historically dominant explanations of international relations. Himadeep Muppidi.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered n 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 367 - Strategic Thinking in Global Affairs Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as HIST 367 ) This seminar explores strategic thinking to attain large ends with limited means. We examine a historical set of instances in which individuals, groups, and/or nations have attempted to harness political, military, diplomatic, economic, environmental, legal, and scientific resources to advance national and global interests. Because strategic thinking requires the art of reconciling ends and means, we also examine how a range of people and groups with various levels of power balance what they think and want with the constraints that they face. Elizabeth Bradley and Robert Brigham.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 383 - Global Political Thought Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Conventional international relations theory derives its core concepts primarily from Western political thought. Political relations in most of the world, however, are based on ways of imagining and acting that are constituted through different and multiple languages of political, economic and social thought. Classics such as The Shahnameh, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, The Adventures of Amir Hamza, The Arthasastra, The Rayavacakamu offer textured understandings of worlds shaped by imaginations of order, justice, governance, power, authority and sovereignty. This seminar introduces students to some of these ways of thinking world politics through a careful reading of classic texts such as Popol Vuh, Sundiata, Muqaddimah, Ain-e-Akbari, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Tale of Genji, and Journey to the West. The idea is to read these classics as global texts rather than as the essences of specific cultures or civilizations. The focus is therefore on analyzing how certain classic texts have traveled, been translated, understood, or appropriated across various historical groupings. Himadeep Muppidi.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 395 - Thinking Africa: Conversations on the Thought of Achille Mbembe Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 395 and FFS 395 ) The Intensive examines a select number of texts by Achille Mbembe, the Cameroonian postcolonial theorist and author of De La Postcolonie: Essai sur l’Imagination Politique dans L’Afrique Contemporaine (2000) [On The Postcolony (2001)], “Necropolitics” (2003), Sortir de la Grande Nuit (2010), Critique de la Raison Nègre (2013) [Critique of Black Reason (2016)]. Charting Mbembe’s intellectual history, the major debates and concepts he engages, and their implication for thinking with and about Africa, we discuss the complexity of an African thinker reflecting on the condition of a continent (and humanity at large).
A goal of this Intensive is to develop a greater critical fluency on what it means to think, read and write the world from Africa. With insights from Mbembe’s corpus and the work of his interlocutors, the Intensive explores the stakes of Mbembe’s thought and relates them to other lines of inquiry, reflection, and creativity. Working individually and collaboratively, the students undertake a large writing, translation, or creative project which engages an element of Mbembe’s work and relates it to an area of their intellectual interest.
This intensive is organized as a peer-to-peer, inter-disciplinary conversation hinging on three main activities: 1. Textual exegesis, translation (from French to English) of interviews, podcasts, and conference presentations, and critique. 2. Participation in two student-organized workshops with Mbembe’s interlocutors from different disciplines, e.g., Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Philosophy/French, Columbia University) and Abdourahman Waberi (Literature and Creative Writing, George Washington University). 3. Ongoing conversation and guided independent studies with the two professors teaching the intensive as they edit a volume on the themes of this intensive.
Working in English and French, this team-taught intensive allows students to collaboratively explore Mbembe’s ideas in ways that might not be possible in a traditional senior seminar. Our discussions will take place in English, with the French and Francophone Studies students reading some of the texts and writing their assignments in French for FFS credit. Patricia-Pia Célérier and Samson Opondo.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: INT
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Political Science: III. Advanced E. Political Theory Seminars |
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POLI 371 - Gender, Science and Politics
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 371 and WMST 371 ) In a context that some have described as “post-truth,” and in which “marching for Science” has become a form of resistance to power, there are high stakes behind science literacy. When the climate sciences are helping us understand our ecological condition, yet climatology and the new discourse of “Anthropocene” also has begun legitimizing fantasies of geoengineering the Earth, what would a feminist climatology look like? In today’s digital age, when boundaries between real/unreal, physical/virtual, human/natural, female/male seem to collapse all around us, should we, more-than-women and more-than-men espouse our new cyborg selves, or cling to an image of women-as-goddesses oh-so-close to nature, and to images of men as taming, mastering, dominating nature? What are some alternatives beyond these possibilities? This course critically engages the sciences from a feminist theoretical perspective. We examine the ”situated” nature of scientific knowledge, against the positivist grain of scientific claims to Truth and objectivity. We also examine how feminist theorists have drawn from some dissensual and innovative scientific theories of late, to inspire provocative arguments about the environment, ontology, and normativity. Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2020/21.
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POLI 372 - New Materialism
1 unit(s)
This seminar is a non-exhaustive survey of a recent and prolific current in theory called “new materialism” and “the nonhuman turn.” Consisting mostly of feminist theorists, new materialists argue for the need to build upon, radicalize, and sometimes even break from the previous post-structuralist focus on discourse (the so-called “linguistic turn”). They argue that it is time to re-emphasize materiality, bodies, biology, evolution, ecologies, the nonhuman, the more-than-human, even the specter of the posthuman. This attempt is partly inspired by the rise of digital and surveillance capitalism resulting in the omnipresence of technology in our daily lives and in the production of “cyborg” (Donna Haraway) subjectivities or “dividuals” (Gilles Deleuze). New materialism has also emerged in response to the “intrusion of Gaia” (Isabelle Stengers) or what some have called the “Anthropocene,” or the “ecological crisis” (arguably more aptly described as “eco-catastrophe”). Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 376 - Ecological Catastrophe and Nietzsche’s Eternal Return Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 376 and STS 376 ) This course explores several sorts of texts together, for thought experiments pertaining to our times of ecological catastrophe. We critically engage: 1) theories concerned with ecological collapse, extinction, catastrophism, and the oft-cited and ill-named Anthropocene 2) literature on Nietzsche within environmental political thought 3) literature on Nietzsche and gender 4) selected primary texts by Nietzsche. Examining the latter in close readings and in the context of our compromised ecological futures, we ask ourselves to what extent the Nietzschean concepts of “eternal return” and “will to power” may help us think in these troubled times: what would a feminist Nietzschean ecology look like? Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 379 - Reading Black Reconstruction Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 379 ) W.E.B. Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction can be understood as a sort of Rosetta Stone of US history. By taking enslaved people seriously as political subjects, Du Bois permits us to understand how it was slaves themselves who determined both the meaning and the outcome of the Civil War, but who also sought to build an ambitious vision of “abolition-democracy” from the ashes of the slave order. All history is not past, however, and Black Reconstruction has become an increasingly necessary foundation for grappling with the persistent tangle of race and class in the US today. This seminar works through the essential contours of Du Bois’ mammoth text—the stretching of Marxist categories like class and general strike, the autonomous transformative capacity of slaves in struggle, and the ultimate betrayal of Reconstruction. But we also emphasize underdiscussed elements of the text, Du Bois’ analysis of a burgeoning imperialism and his own blind spots to gender and indigenous struggles. This seminar takes place in conjunction with a symposium of the same name, featuring the participation of some of the most important intellectual voices of our time, and an edited volume to be published by Duke University Press. George Ciccariello-Maher.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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POLI 384 - Seminar in Political Theory Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
An examination of selected theorists and problems in contemporary political theory. Andrew Davison.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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Political Science: III. Advanced F. Other |
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POLI 399 - Senior Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Independent work is normally based on a student’s desire to study with an instructor a specialized aspect of a course taken with that instructor. Normally 1 unit entails substantial directed reading, the writing of a long paper, and biweekly conferences with the instructor. This course cannot be used to satisfy the requirement of 2 units of 300-level work in the major. In no case shall independent work satisfy the subfield distribution requirement. The department.
Special permission.
Course Format: OTH
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Portuguese: I. Introductory |
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PORT 105 - Beginning Portuguese I Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course 105-PORT 106 .
Course Format: OTH
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PORT 106 - Beginning Portuguese II Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course PORT 105 -106.
Course Format: OTH
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Portuguese: II. Intermediate |
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PORT 210 - Intermed Portuguese I Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course 210-PORT 211 .
Course Format: OTH
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PORT 211 - Intermed Portuguese II Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course PORT 210 -211.
Course Format: OTH
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Portuguese: III. Advanced |
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PORT 310 - Advanced Portuguese I Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special permission.
Course Format: OTH
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PORT 311 - Advanced Portuguese II Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special permission.
Course Format: OTH
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Psychological Science: I. Introductory |
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PSYC 108 - Reading and Writing in Psychological Science Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
This first-year writing seminar is designed to develop critical reading skills across a range of work in Psychological Science and to practice different kinds of writing. Open only to first year students, this course satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar. The specific topics of these first-year writing seminars in Psychological Science vary, and despite its variety of topics, this course may not be repeated for credit.
Topic for 2021/22a: The Art and Science of Human Resilience. This first-year writing seminar will consider artistic expressions of human resilience in poetry, song, first-person narratives, fiction, and non-fiction. We consider these works together with psychological science research that focuses on some of the same themes of resilience. These themes may include resilient responses to adversity, recovery from illness or impairment, post-traumatic growth, successful aging, as well as the nurturance of resilience through green spaces, mindfulness practices, interpersonal and community relationships, artistic productivity, and social activism. Sue Trumbetta.
Topic for 2021/22b: Growing Up Poor in America. Poverty can have profound effects on the psychological development of children. In this course, we explore scientific and anecdotal accounts of those effects. Specific topics we explore include stress, relationships, racism and resilience. Readings include articles on the science of child development, including brain development, as well as memoirs and accounts of children’s experiences. Writing focuses on reporting scientific findings, and on relating that science to everyday life. Nick de Leeuw.
Prerequisite(s): Open only to freshman; satisfies the college requirement for a Freshman Writing Seminar.
Open only to first year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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Psychological Science: II. Intermediate |
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PSYC 200 - Statistics and Experimental Design Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
An overview of principles of statistical analysis and research design applicable to psychology and related fields. Topics include descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, concepts of reliability and validity, and basic concepts of sampling and probability theory. Students learn when and how to apply such statistical procedures as chi-square, z-tests, t-tests, Pearson product-moment correlations, regression analysis, and analysis of variance. The goal of the course is to develop a basic understanding of research design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, and the appropriate use of statistical software for performing complex analyses. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 or its equivalent, COGS 100 or NEUR 105 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 201 - Principles of Social Psychology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
The study of the individual under social influences, including such topics as attitude formation and change, prosocial behavior, aggression, social influence processes, group dynamics, attribution theory, and interpersonal communication processes. Dara Greenwood, Peter Kearns.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 221 - Learning and Behavior Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
A survey of major principles that determine the acquisition and modification of behavior. Topics include the relation of learning and evolution, habituation and sensitization, classical and operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment, stimulus control, choice behavior, animal cognition, concept formation, perceptual learning, language, reasoning, and self-control. Kevin Holloway.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 222 - Psychological Perspectives on the Holocaust
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 222 ) The Holocaust has spawned several now classic programs of psychological research. This course considers topics such as: anti-Semitism and stereotypes of Jews; the authoritarian and altruistic personalities; conformity, obedience, and dissent; humanistic and existential psychology; and individual differences in stress, coping and resiliency. The broader implications of Holocaust-inspired research is explored in terms of traditional debates within psychology such as those on the role of the individual versus the situation in producing behavior and the essence of human nature. The ethical and logical constraints involved in translating human experiences and historical events into measurable/quantifiable scientific terms are also considered. Debra Zeifman.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 223 - Evolutionary Psychology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The study of evolutionary theory, with attention to how it informs the developmental, ecological, genetic, and physiological explanations of behavior. Ben Basile.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 231 - Principles of Development Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The study of principles and processes in developmental psychology, surveying changes in physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development during the life span. Major theoretical orientations to the growing person are illustrated by empirical material and supplemented by periodic observations of children in natural settings. Carolyn Palmer.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 233 - Health Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Health Psychology is the scientific study that applies psychological theory and empirical research to examine the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of illness. Students taking this course will gain a firm foundation in health psychology, and learn about the various scientific approaches to understanding the mind/body connection. This course takes a biopsychosocial approach and considers research and theory related to health promotion, illness prevention, and behavior change. Students learn about psychophysiological processes relevant to health psychology (e.g., immunology) and examine health processes in diverse populations with regard to age, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds and health status. Topics may include health enhancing and health damaging behaviors, pain management, stress and coping. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating primary sources, drawing from empirical studies in psychology, public health, and behavioral medicine. Michele Tugade.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 237 - Early Childhood Education: Theory and Practice
1 unit(s)
(Same as EDUC 237 ) What is the connection between a textbook description of preschool development and what teachers do every day in the preschool classroom? This course examines curriculum development based on contemporary theory and research in early childhood. The emphasis is on implementing developmental and educational research to create optimal learning environments for young children. Major theories of cognitive development are considered and specific attention is given to the literatures on memory development; concepts and categories; cognitive strategies; peer teaching; early reading, math, and scientific literacy; and technology in early childhood classrooms. Julie Riess.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 231 and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period; 4 hours of laboratory participation.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 241 - Principles of Physiological Psychology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as NEUR 241 ) The role of physiological systems, especially the brain, in the regulation of behavior. In addition to basic topics in neuroscience (neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry and pharmacology), topics may include: sensory mechanisms, motivational systems (e.g., sleep, eating, reproductive behaviors), emotion, learning and memory, language, stress and psychopathology. Ben Basile, Hadley Bergstrom.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 or its equivalent, or NEUR 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 243 - Topics in Physiological Psychology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The study of the functions of particular brain structures and their relation to behavior and mental activity. In addition to basic topics in neuroscience the course focuses on such topics as: perception, attention, memory, language, emotion, control of action, and consciousness. Neural alterations related to learning disabilities, neurological and psychiatric disorders may be examined as well. Abigail Baird.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 253 - Individual Differences and Personality Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An introduction to contemporary approaches to understanding personality. The focus of the course is on evaluating recent theories and research that attempt to uncover the underlying dimensions that distinguish one person from another. Emphasis is placed on understanding behavior in interactions with others; the development of personality over time; and people’s intuitive theories about personality, including their own. Randy Cornelius.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 254 - Emotional Engagement with Film
1 unit(s)
(Same as FILM 254 and MEDS 254 ) While movies engage our emotions in psychologically significant ways, scholarship on the psychological allure and impact of film has existed primarily at the interdisciplinary margins. This course aims to bring such scholarship into the foreground. We begin with a careful examination of the appeal and power of narrative, as well as processes of identification and imagined intimacy with characters, before taking a closer analytical look at specific film genres (e.g., melodrama, horror, comedy, action, social commentary) both in their own right and in terms of their psychological significance (e.g., why do we enjoy sad movies? How do violent movies influence viewer aggression? How might socially conscious films inspire activism or altruism?) In addition to delving into theoretical and empirical papers, a secondary goal of the course is to engage students as collaborators; brainstorm and propose innovative experimental methods for testing research questions and hypotheses that emerge in step with course materials. Dara Greenwood, Sarah Kozloff.
Prerequisite(s): For Psychology majors - PSYC 105 ; for Film majors - FILM 175 or FILM 209 ; for Media Studies majors - MEDS 160 .
Two 75-minute periods plus outside screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 262 - Principles of Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
A survey of research and theory concerning the nature, origins, and treatment of major psychological disorders. The course considers behavioral, biological, cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to understanding psychopathology. Topics may include schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, childhood disorders, and personality disorders. Abigail Baird, Sue Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 .
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 269 - Research Methods in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The study of research methods in psychopathology and clinical psychology. Every stage of research is considered: the generation of hypotheses, operationalization of variables, data collection, analysis and evaluation, and presentation of results. The focus is on the development of skills particular to research with clinical populations including ethical considerations, structured clinical interviews, behavioral observations, reliable and valid assessment, and measurement of change over time. Jannay Morrow.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 200 and PSYC 262 .
Two 2-hour periods.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 289 - Introduction to Neuroanatomy Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
This course is a lab-based 0.5 credit, 6-week course strongly focused on comparative neuroanatomy, from neurocytology to neural pathways/systems and gross anatomy. It is designed for Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Biology majors as well as other students interested in gaining a more thorough, hands-on understanding of central nervous system (and to a small extent peripheral nervous system) structure and function. Laboratory exercises are the focus of the course and include tissue dissection, slide preparation and analysis, as well as evaluation of published micrographs, prepared tissue slides and virtual neuroanatomy tools. Bojana Zupan.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 or BIOL 107 or BIOL 108 .
Both first and second six-week course.
One 3-hour period and one 50-minute period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 290 - Community-Engaged Learning Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 2 unit(s)
Individuals or group field projects or internships, with prior approval of the adviser and the instructor who supervises the work. May be elected during the college year or during the summer. The Department.
Course Format: INT
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PSYC 298 - Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group studies with prior approval of the adviser and of the instructor who supervises the work. May be elected during the college year. The Department.
Course Format: INT
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Psychological Science: III. Advanced Satisfactory completion of a research methods course (PSYC 209 , PSYC 229 , PSYC 239 , PSYC 249 , PSYC 259 , PSYC 269 ) is a prerequisite for these courses. Seminar seats are assigned according to a department lottery system. Please contact department office for lottery information. Non-majors and juniors should consult the instructor.
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PSYC 301 - Seminar in Social Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An intensive study of selected topics in social psychology. Emphasis is placed on current theories, issues, and research areas. Dara Greenwood.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 201 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 321 - Seminar in Animal Learning and Behavior Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
An in-depth analysis of selected mechanisms of learning and behavior. Topics can vary from year to year, but may include animal cognition, language and communication, behavioral ecology, and recent advances in the theory and neurophysiology of learning and behavior. Hadley Bergstrom.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 221 or PSYC 223 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 323 - Seminar in Evolutionary Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Applications of comparative psychology to a specific topic. Topics can vary from year to year, and have in the past included altruism, sex differences, aggression, language, etc. The focus is how theory and data from other species inform questions about human functioning. Ben Basile.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 221 or PSYC 223 or BIOL 340 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 331 - Seminar in Developmental Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Seminar in current issues, research, and theory in developmental psychology. Topics vary and may include laboratory work. Carolyn Palmer.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 231 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 336 - Childhood Development: Observation and Research Application
1 unit(s)
(Same as EDUC 336 ) What differentiates the behavior of one young child from that of another? What characteristics do young children have in common? This course provides students with direct experience in applying contemporary theory and research to the understanding of an individual child. Topics include attachment; temperament; parent, sibling and peer relationships; language and humor development; perspective taking; and the social-emotional connection to learning. Each student selects an individual child in a classroom setting and collects data about the child from multiple sources (direct observation, teacher interviews, parent-teacher conferences, archival records). During class periods, students discuss the primary topic literature, incorporating and comparing observations across children to understand broader developmental trends and individual differences. Synthesis of this information with critical analysis of primary sources in the early childhood and developmental literature culminates in comprehensive written and oral presentations. Julie Riess.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 231 and permission of the instructor. For Psychology Majors: completion of a research methods course.
One 3-hour period. and 4 hours of laboratory observation work.
Not offered in 2021/22.
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PSYC 341 - Seminar in Physiological Psychology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Analysis of selected topics in physiological psychology. Topics vary from year to year but may include learning, memory, human neuropsychology, neuropharmacology, psychopharmacology, sensory processes, emotion, and motivation. Ben Basile.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 241 or PSYC 243 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 353 - Seminar in Individual Differences and Personality Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Intensive study of selected topics in personality and individual differences. Theory and empirical research form the core of required readings. Topics studied reflect the interests of both the instructor and the students. Michele Tugade.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 253 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 362 - Seminar in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An intensive study of research and theory concerning the nature, origins, and treatment of major psychological disorders. Topics vary but may include schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, childhood disorders, and personality disorders. Sue Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 262 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 364 - Seminar in Behavior Genetics
1 unit(s)
This course explores genetic contributions to complex behavioral phenotypes. Its primary focus is on genetic contributions to human behavior with some attention to comparative and evolutionary genetics. Quantitative methods are emphasized.
Prerequisite(s): A research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
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PSYC 384 - Topical Applications in Psychological Science Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Individual or group studies with prior approval of the adviser and of the instructor who supervises the work. This course focuses on topical applications of psychological science.
Topic for 2020/21a: Topical Application in Psychological Science. Students read and discuss current research on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.), covering a range of psychological perspectives (Developmental, Personality, Social, Health) and develop a research project to be conducted, analyzed, and written up in the second half of the semester. The goal is to build on and extend existing about participants’ use of social media and how it intersects with their social and emotional well-being. Dara Greenwood.
Topic for 2020/21b: Developmental Science in Action: Creating a Provider Resource. Students will design a developmental movement and somatic curriculum for young humans. We will situate the project in developmental science, somatic learning methods, parent and teacher self-efficacy research, and developmental contemplative science. Students will also consult with community early care providers, develop evidence-based activities, conduct experiential piloting of the activities, and design outcome assessments. These materials will serve as a resource for teachers and parents in early development programs, such as the Day One initiative in the City of Poughkeepsie. Carolyn Palmer.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor; each instructor sets content-specific prerequisites.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: INT
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