Political Science

This course applies relevant political theories to the analysis of contemporary China's political system and political development. It provides better understanding of the main dynamics of Chinese politics. Following a survey on China's political culture and tradition and the origins of Chinese communism, the course discusses how the government of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) transformed Chinese society and China's political and economic systems during the 1950s and 1960s, and how the intra-party struggle over power and policy led to the Cultural Revolution. Based on this historical background, the course examines the origins, contents, achievements, and problems of post-Mao economic and political reforms. The discussion covers China's transition toward a market economy, changing state-society relations, the restructuring of political power, and the role of the military in politics.

The course introduces students to some of the major theoretical and conceptual traditions of international relations as a way to make sense of the complex issues, developments, and events constituting the international. The key objective of the course is to introduce students to the most significant orthodox and critical theoretical approaches within international relations and to offer them key analytical tools to compare and engage with theories that are the heart of their curriculum. A critical assessment is made of the principal propositions and arguments of the theories drawn from the diverse traditions of classical realism, neoliberalism, constructivism, poststructuralism, feminism and gender, neo-Marxism, and postcolonialism.

This course introduces students to some of the central theoretical questions surrounding inequality, investigates the historical development of inequality within and between countries, and examines some of the key mechanisms through which inequality is produced in modern societies. The course concludes by considering possible alternatives and responses.

The course provides a theoretical foundation for analyzing public policy and skills to communicate the analyses to non-academic stakeholders in public policy. The first part of the course explores theoretical issues relevant to the analysis of public policy. Students focus on examples from both national and comparative public policy. The second part uses the theoretical foundations to examine lobbying on specific policies through case studies which may include: family policy, health policy, education policy, defense policy, business policy, constitutional policy, and policies that are cross-cutting in nature.

Driving from the widespread use of cartography and its increasing contribution to the various fields of social sciences, this course provides a critical understanding of thematic maps. Each session deconstructs map-making processes in order to highlight the multiple narratives generated by various type of actors (e.g. politicians, journalists, researchers, cartographers) and their associated subjective perceptions of reality. While critically unveiling the strong political stakes that maps convey, the course allows students to grasp contemporary political trends through spatial lenses. It also focuses on providing a practical map-making know-how intended to provide students with the skills to conduct their own cartographic analysis.

This course studies contemporary Chinese and Japanese political history, their economies, and their development from the mid-twentieth century to today.

The concepts of terrorism and political violence loom large in contemporary politics and policy-making but are frequently misunderstood and under-theorized. This course explores a range of approaches to terrorism and political violence. The first part of the course explores the history of terrorism and a diversity of understandings of and theoretical approaches to terrorism and political violence. The second part of the course explores a range of topics including: types and causes of terrorism, the state and terrorism, the role of religion, policy responses, and the so-called "war on terror."

This course focuses on state-society relations in Hong Kong. Topics covered include: characteristics in a colonial society; the political regime under "One Country, Two Systems;" explaining the endurance of the authoritarian regime; civil society, protests, and pro-democracy movement; and political identity. Students are expected to complete numerous readings on these topics - from classics to the latest research - and discuss them during class. Assessments: Class participation, presentation (20%), learning journal (20%), research paper (40%).