Political Science

This course examines a major issue in comparative politics (e.g., the media, gender, nationalism, ethnic conflict). Topics will vary from year to year.

This course explores conflict and diplomacy in the contemporary Middle East through an in-depth examination and discussion of case studies from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Each week is devoted to a specific conflict. Additionally, the course serves as an introductory survey to the history, politics, and societies of the contemporary Middle East, as well as to the main dynamics driving conflict and conflict resolution in this region.

This course surveys intergroup conflict and peacebuilding through the perspective of culture, psychology, and law. The course studies several case studies to understand why people fight; how they form political coalitions to make peace, and the legal frameworks that facilitate a sustained end to conflict. The course is organized around key sociological definitions of groups: political engagement, gender, ethnicity, disability, and nationality. To this end the course looks at historical and present-day examples such as:

- The American Abolitionist Movement
- Eugenics in the Early Twentieth Century
- Nationalism and Gender in World War II
- Human Rights
- Disability Culture in Japan and the United States
- Homophobia in Uganda
- Nativism in Northern Ireland
- Ethnicity and Religion in the Israeli-Palestinian movement
- Peacemaking in Liberia

This course examines the principal institutional elements of the political systems and cultures of Europe. Other topics include: the European Union, political parties, interest groups, institutional frameworks, European public figures and politicians, and European political integration. 

This course examines a specific problem area in the comparative politics of developing areas.

This course analyzes the political and economic development in East Asia. It focuses on South Korea as the main case, while using Japan and China as comparative cases. After reviewing key theoretical approaches to the successful state-led development of East Asian economies since the 1950s, this course narrows its focus down on Korea. It explores how Korea has achieved dramatic economic and political development since the 1970s, faced a serious economic crisis in the late 1990s, and attempted to overcome new challenges since then. Utilizing the Korean case, this course analyzes the changing relationship between the state and market, the proper role of the state in economic development, and the political and economic paths that the East Asian economies (especially China) might take in the future.

This course examines the institutions, practices and principles of representative democracy and justice, within a comparative context. It covers the Australian constitutional framework, the separation of powers and the judicial system, the "unwritten constitution" of governing conventions, and human rights. It also considers the role of political parties, the media, and questions of citizenship in regard to sex and gender, race, and class. These elements of Australian representative democracy, as well as the controversial issues that they cover, are compared to their counterparts in other countries. 

This course examines issues such as interstate conflicts, terrorism, environmental change, international crime. Topics will vary from year to year.