Political Science

This course analyzes the political economy of East Asia in the context of economic globalization and international political dynamics. It also focuses on globalization, economic crises, and other topics in political economy that revolves around the issue of power conflict between hegemonic countries like US and China and its effect on East Asian countries. The first part of this course focuses on major theories to study political economy in Asia, and the second part addresses various important issues in contemporary East Asia. 

Contemporary political debate remains indebted to concepts and arguments developed in the history of political thought. This course explores this history by examining a select number of signal figures and movements in the history of modern Western political thought. Students engage in close, critical reading of canonical texts. Students learn how to accurately interpret and critically evaluate the arguments in those texts, and thereby learn how to deal with the legacy those arguments have left for contemporary debates.
Thinkers to be studied might range from the well-known and canonical to the lesser-known and unjustly neglected. Possible figures might include: Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Catharine Macaulay, Ottobah Cugoano, Olaudah Equiano, Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, G. W. F. Hegel, Flora Tristan, J. S. Mill, Frederick Douglass, and Karl Marx. Possible movements to be examined include: social contract theory; natural rights theory; republicanism and civic virtue; feminism and the rights of women; socialism and the emancipation of workers; and abolitionism and the emancipation of slaves. 

The course is designed to prepare students for leadership in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse workforce. Throughout the course, students are challenged to question, think, and respond thoughtfully to the issues they observe and encounter in the internship setting, and the designated city in general. Students have the opportunity to cultivate the leadership skills as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), such as critical thinking, teamwork, and diversity. Assignments focus on building a portfolio that highlights those competencies and their application to workplace skills. The hybrid nature of the course allows students to develop their skills in a self-paced environment with face-to-face meetings and check-ins to frame their intercultural internship experience. Students complete 45 hours of in-person and asynchronous online learning activities and 225-300 hours at their internship placement.

This course analyzes prior constitutions and political events that led to the birth of the Fifth Republic. It then offers an in-depth study of constitutional law mechanisms to better understand the institutional framework of a working democracy and current trends in government. The course is divided into five parts: history of the Fifth Republic, the executive, parliament, the judiciary and constitutional justice, and the European Union constitutional law.