| Political Science |
POLT 401 - Politics and Society
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the nature of politics and political
institutions. Emphasis on political behavior and
continuing issues of modern politics, such as power,
authority, legitimacy, freedom, and order.
POLT 401H - Honors/Politics and Society
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 401.
POLT 402 - Introduction to American Government
Credits:
4.00
Power and competition in American politics focusing on:
voters and elections; public opinion and the media;
interest groups and political institutions--the President,
Congress, and the Courts. Examines critical political issues
from the founding of the nation to the present.
POLT 402H - Honors/Introduction to American Government
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 402.
POLT 403 - United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to United States foreign policy since the end
of World War II examining the foundations of American
policy, the origins and conduct of the Cold War and the
dilemmas of the post Cold War era. Explores contemporary
problems facing United States foreign policy such as
international economy and transnational global issues.
POLT 403H - Honors/United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 403. Writing intensive.
POLT 403W - United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 403. Writing intensive.
POLT 407 - Law and Society
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the ways in which law operates in modern
society: its forms, functions, underlying values, and the
consequences of its application in particular regimes.
Topics include the psychological bases for legal obligation;
the evolution of particular legal doctrines; the
philosophical underpinnings of legal responsibility;
the relationship of law to social structures; the
relationship of law to morality; the nature of legal
reasoning; and critiques of law.
POLT 407H - Honors/Law and Society
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 407.
POLT 444 - Science, Society and Politics
Credits:
4.00
Writing intensive.
POLT 500 - American Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Political and economic factors that mold the processes by
which American policy makers deal with such domestic
issues as crime and violence, poverty and inequality,
inflation and unemployment, urban blight and renewal, and
energy and the environment. Writing intensive.
POLT 502 - State and Local Government
Credits:
4.00
Powers, politics, political cultures, and constitutional
settings of American state and local governments. State
legislatures, governships, court systems, political parties,
electoral systems, and interest groups. Structures and
functions of local governments, including towns, cities,
counties, and special districts. Writing intensive.
POLT 504 - American Presidency
Credits:
4.00
The President as administrator, policy maker, and political
leader. The relationship between the President and the
public, the media, and other governmental institutions.
Historical and constitutional background of the Presidency.
role and powers of the President in domestic and foreign
affairs.
POLT 505 - American Congress
Credits:
4.00
Role and powers of Congress as national lawmaker and check
on the executive branch: committee structure, concepts of
representation, legislative oversight and party cleavage,
federal budget control, and foreign policy involvement.
POLT 506 - Parties, Interest Groups, and Voters
Credits:
4.00
Role of political parties as organizers and managers of
social conflict. Role of voters in controlling parties and
government. Influence of interest groups in the electoral
process and in governmental decision making.
POLT 507 - Politics of Crime and Justice
Credits:
4.00
Criminal justice in theory and practice; contemporary role
of police, prosecutors, judges, juries, counsel, and
interest groups in the administration of criminal justice.
Writing intensive.
POLT 508 - Supreme Court and the Constitution
Credits:
4.00
Supreme Court treated as a political institution whose
historic mission is to decide all controversies arising
under the Constitution between the nation and the states,
the President and Congress,the role of the judiciary in
defining its own powers, rights, and duties.
POLT #509 - Bureaucracy in America
Credits:
4.00
Growth and development of the bureaucratic state. Roles and
powers of administrative officials, decision making in
bureaucratic settings, citizen participation, and the
influence of interest groups on bureaucratic policy making.
POLT 510 - Mass Media in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Contemporary review of media in politics; major roles of
media today in providing news, setting public agenda,
influencing public opinion; government regulations vs.
media responsibility; future developments and consequences
for American democracy. Writing intensive.
POLT 512 - Public Opinion in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Relationship of mass and elite opinion within the context
of American political culture. Impact of public opinion on
American governmental policies, especially with respect to
major issues facing the President and Congress. Appraisal of
responsiveness to influence and responsibility to lead.
Writing intensive.
POLT 513 - Civil Rights and Liberties
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of four major areas of constitutional rights and
liberties--political freedom, equal protection of the laws,
and due process--with particular attention to their impact
on such problems as political protest, discrimination,
school segregation, students rights and the relationship
between government and religion. Writing intensive.
POLT 520 - Justice and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Origin of the idea of justice; relationship between
politics, justice, and morality; selections from Plato,
Aristotle, Roman, Islamic, and Christian political
philosophers.
POLT 521 - Rights and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Human rights and the quality of communities as expressed in
Hobbes, Locke, Mandeville, Rousseau, and others.
POLT 522 - Dissent and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Current political ideologies and controversies in America
and abroad; liberal democracy and its critics since the
19th century.
POLT #523 - American Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
American political thinkers and observers of American
politics; the founding of the Republic; problems and
tensions reflected in the writings of Calhoun, Thoreau,
Lincoln, de Tocqueville, and others; relations between
liberty and authority, democracy and stability, capitalism
and alienation. Writing intensive.
POLT 524 - Politics and Literature
Credits:
4.00
Classical and contemporary works of literature to
illustrate perennial issues in political philosophy; among
authors studied are Aristophanes, Sophocles, Shakespeare,
Melville, Tolstoy, and Sartre.
POLT 525 - Multicultural Theory
Credits:
4.00
Issues of concern generated from an attention to and
appreciation of our diverse cultural identities. As a theory
course in political framework, we approach multiculturalism
as a new attempt to respond to the challenges that
difference poses in democratic theory.
POLT #544 - Pathways to Democracy
Credits:
4.00
Parting from analysis of the Third Wave of worldwide
democratization in the 1980s and 1990s, focuses on
understanding how and why these regime changes came about,
the ongoing trials of democratic consolidation faced by many
of these nations, and movement towards democracy by some of
the world's remaining authoritarian regimes. Writing
intensive.
POLT 545 - People and Politics in Asia
Credits:
4.00
Surveys the contemporary politics of nations and peoples of
East Asia within the framework of their modern histories and
societies. Emphasizes China and Japan, and introduces the
evolving political systems of Taiwan, North and South Korea,
Hong Kong/Macao. Companion course to POLT 546, but either
may be taken separately. Writing intensive.
POLT 546 - Wealth and Politics in Asia
Credits:
4.00
Different paths to modernization, industrialization, and
development in nations of the Asia-Pacific Rim. In-depth
examinations of the challenges faced by Japan, China,
Hong Kong/Macao, Taiwan and the Koreas in their search
for the correct path to economic growth and prosperity, with
special emphasis on each nation's distinct society and
history. Companion course to POLT 545, but either may be
taken separately. Writing intensive.
POLT 550 - Comparative Government and Society
Credits:
4.00
Concepts for comparing modern political systems, such as
ideologies, institutions, social movements, and various
forms of states, from democracies to authoritarian regimes.
Illustrates concepts with examples from Western-style
democracies, former communist regimes, and the developing
world. Writing intensive.
POLT 551 - Global Urban Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines the social, economic, demographic, and political
processes of cities around the globe. Topics include:
population growth; theories of urbanization; urban economic
development; urban policies toward transportation;
environment; employment; housing; land; water supplies;
sanitation; solid-waste disposal; and infrastructure.
Comparisons are made between cities of the developed and
less developed nations of the world. Urban and national
social stratification, structures of urban and national
social stratification, structures of urban and subnational
governments, and political participation examined. Writing
intensive.
POLT 552 - Contemporary European Politics
Credits:
4.00
Politics and governments in Western Europe, with attention
to both basic characteristics of political life in different
countries and current issues of politics. Writing intensive.
POLT #553 - Politics in the Developing World
Credits:
4.00
Considers patterns of political and economic development in
the context of globalization. Part one addresses why much of
the world has not kept pace with the industrialized
democracies; part two addresses nation-building and
development efforts, with case studies from Central Asia,
Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
POLT #554 - Latin American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines region-wide transitions from state-led to
neo-liberal economic strategies in the 1980s and 1990s and
from authoritarian to democratic political systems.Considers
the results of these ongoing political and economic changes
in several case study nations and the broader impacts of
increased globalization and economic integration of the
Americas. Writing intensive.
POLT 555 - Politics in Russia
Credits:
4.00
Develops an understanding of politics in the Russian
Federation. Surveys the political history of Russia from
1900 until the collapse of the Communist Party and the
dissolution of the USSR. Focuses on the development of the
Federation's institutions, with emphasis on the Presidency
and the Parliament, federalism, the role of the people,
transformation toward a market economy, and the Federation's
status as a democracy.
POLT 555W - Politics in Russia
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 555. Writing intensive.
POLT 556 - Politics in China
Credits:
4.00
Dynamics of China's domestic political and economic
policy processes-from massive starvation of the Great
Leap Forward and the ideological upheavals of the
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the "Opening
of China to the Outside World." Writing intensive.
POLT 558 - Government and Politics of Canada
Credits:
4.00
Cultural background of party competition, role of
ideology, structure of government, and contemporary
issues in Canadian political system. Special fee. Writing
intensive.
POLT 560 - World Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines the structures, processes and issues that shape
contemporary international relations. Topics included are:
the rise and fall of the nation-state system and its current
prospects; national and international security in the post
Cold War era; problems of the international political
economy; international conflict resolution; human rights;
and global environmental politics.
POLT 562 - Strategy and National Security Policy
Credits:
4.00
Provides an overview of U.S. national security. Examines the
nature of security, evolution of strategy, and the history
of the United States approach to its national security.
Focuses on the policy and decision-making processes, the use
of force in international affairs, and the capabilities of
the U.S. military. Concludes with treatment of specific
issues, including the current American security
environment-- state and non-state threats, contemporary
military strategy, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism,
peacekeeping, coercive diplomacy, alliances, and conflict
management and resolution. Writing intensive.
POLT #564 - Russia in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
Background and contemporary perspectives on the Russian
role in international politics. Particular emphasis on
issues in international economics, American relations,
security developments, and regional relations.
POLT 565 - United States/Latin American Relations
Credits:
4.00
Contemporary political, economic, and social relations
between the U.S. and Latin America. Topics include the
pattern of U.S. response to political change in Latin
America, regional cooperation, debt, trade investment,
the drug trade, immigration, rising interdependence, and
prospects for economic integration.
POLT 566 - Foreign Policies of Asia and the Pacific
Credits:
4.00
Analyzes the foreign policies and interactions of the four
great Pacific powers: China, Japan, Russia and the
United States from the breakdown of the western imperialist
order and the rise of imperial Japan, the Cold War clashes
in Korea and the Sino-Soviet border, to the current search
for a new Pacific economic and political order. Writing
intensive.
POLT 567 - Politics of Global Resources
Credits:
4.00
International politics from the perspective of the
exhaustibility of global resources and the expansion
of global demand. Concentrates on issues including
population, food, energy, the environment, security,
and human rights. Global interdependence and the
appearance of new institutional frameworks of global
public policy making. Writing intensive.
POLT 568 - Introduction to Intelligence
Credits:
4.00
The purpose and practice of intelligence in the national
security process. Concentration on the role of intelligence
in the United States involving the C.I.A., military
intelligence agencies, and the practice of
intelligence in other countries. Writing intensive.
POLT 569 - Chinese Foreign Policy
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of China's struggle for political and economic
power in Asia and the world. Examines the legacy of China's
historical encounters with the outside world, interactions
with the international system since 1949, domestic
determinants of foreign political and economic policies, and
theories of decision making. Writing intensive.
POLT 571 - International Politics of the Middle East
Credits:
4.00
An examination of inter-Arab affairs and United States
involvement in the region. Particular focus on: oil and
economics; migration; transnational political ideologies
(Arab nationalism, Islam, democracy); and the Arab-Israeli
crisis. Writing intensive.
POLT 595 - Explorations
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
Designed to meet special interests of students and
instructors in exploring selected issues in political
science. See departmental listings for semester offerings.
Writing intensive.
POLT 596 - Explorations
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
See description for POLT 595. Writing intensive.
POLT 600 - Selected Topics in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Special topics such as politics and public affairs in New
Hampshire, women in politics, and civil liberties. See
departmental listings for semester offerings. Writing
intensive.
POLT 602A - Internship
Credits:
4.00 to 12.00
Field experience in a governmental or nongovernmental
organization at the local, state, national, or international
level. Arrangements should be made through the political
science department. Open to juniors or seniors with a least
a 3.2 G.P.A. Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee of the department is required prior to the
internship. From 4-16 credits may be taken; however,
only 4 credits may be for a grade. The rest will be
credit/fail, and only 4 credits may be applied to the
political science major. May be taken in conjunction with
Advanced Study in Political Science. Cr/F.
POLT 602B - Internship
Credits:
4.00
Field experience in a governmental or nongovernmental
organization at the local, state, national, or international
level. Arrangements should be made through the political
science department. Open to juniors or seniors with at a
3.2 G.P.A. Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee of the department is required prior to the
internship. May be taken in conjunction with Advanced
Study in Political Science.
POLT 602C - Concord Internship Program
Credits:
4.00
Provides students with field experience in state government
in Concord (working for a state senator, legislative
lobbyist or the Governor's Office). Students will spend
Tuesday through Thursday in Concord and attend a
weekly practicum in Durham. Open to junior and senior
majors with a 3.2 or better G.P.A. Applications accepted
in the fall semester. Permission required. Prereq: POLT 402
and 502. Students will enroll in POLT 602A for 4 credits,
Credit/Fail and 602C for 4 credits letter grade.
Co-requisites:
POLT 602A
POLT 620 - Selected Topics in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Selected issues in political theory, such as liberalism and
conservatism, radical political thought, the American
political character, and others. See departmental listings
for semester offerings. Writing intensive.
POLT 651 - Selected Topics in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Specialized areas or issues such as regional politics,
national politics, judicial systems, administrative law,
constitutions, etc. See department listings for semester
offerings. Writing intensive.
POLT 660 - Selected Topics in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines specialized issues in international politics.
Topics may include such areas as: ethnic conflict;
non-proliferation and global security; economic and
political globalization; etc. See department listings for
semester offerings. Writing intensive.
POLT 701 - Courts and Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Impact of judicial decisions on public policy and influences
on judicial decision making at the federal, state, and
local levels. Writing intensive.
POLT 702 - Public Planning and Budgeting
Credits:
4.00
Analysis, goal setting, and strategic planning in a
governmental setting, with particular emphasis on
budgetary processes as a means for controlling policy
effectiveness. Writing intensive.
POLT 703 - Urban and Metropolitan Politics
Credits:
4.00
An eclectic approach to the study of urban and metropolitan
politics. Topics include: urban politics, forms of local
government; migrations, urban development, intergovernmental
relations; community power structure, urban policy making,
urban service delivery, crime and law enforcement, urban
bureaucracy, urban decay, and revitalization. Writing
intensive.
POLT 704 - Policy and Program Evaluation
Credits:
4.00
Policy and program evaluation of federal, state, and local
governmental enterprise; focuses on the politics, practices,
and methods of evaluative investigation. Evaluation as a
technique for providing rational information for budgetary
and policy-making decisions. Writing intensive.
POLT 705 - American Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Examination of public policy formation, agenda-setting,
decision-making, implementation. Focuses on theories,
models, concepts, actors, and case study examples.
POLT 707 - Criminal Justice Administration
Credits:
4.00
Examines the administration and politics of police
organizations, the courts, and correctional institutions.
POLT 708 - Administrative Law
Credits:
4.00
Examines the legal rules governing regulatory agencies, in
the U.S. Topics include regulatory adjudication and
rulemaking, legislative and executive control over
administrative agencies, judicial review and public
participation. Course examines federal and state levels of
government.
POLT 710 - Public Human Resource Management
Credits:
4.00
Examination of the administration, politics, and strategies
of effective public human resource management.
POLT #721 - Feminist Political Theory
Credits:
4.00
Exploration of various strands of feminist political theory;
taking a specifically political view of the challenges of
feminist activism and philosophy. We address issues of the
public space, power, social transformation, and democracy.
POLT 743 - Comparative Political Economy
Credits:
4.00
Exploration of the origins, development, and functions of
the modern state in the West, its links with markets and
capitalism, and its role in contemporary political economy.
Examples from various advanced industrial societies. Writing
intensive.
POLT 760 - Theories of International Relations
Credits:
4.00
Theoretical approaches of international politics,
international organization and international political
economy with particular emphasis on systems theories,
domestic determinants of foreign policy and theories of
decision making. Writing intensive.
POLT 762 - International Political Economy
Credits:
4.00
The evolution of international economic regimes (monetary,
trade, development). Particular emphasis on theoretical
approaches to explain current economic problems: systematic
theories (interdependence, hegemonic stability); domestic
determinants (bureaucratic, interest group); and
decision-making theories (rational choice). Writing
intensive.
POLT 778 - International Organization
Credits:
4.00
Various forms of cooperation among nations on security,
economic, environmental and social issues through
international organizations such as the United Nations,
NATO, the World Trade Organization and other global
and regional bodies. Includes examination of the role and
influence of non-governmental international organizations.
Writing intensive.
POLT 780 - International Environmental Politics, Policy and Law
Credits:
4.00
Explores international/global environmental politics and
policymaking, multilateral negotiations, the role of science
and technology in policymaking, state capacity, the making
of international law, implementation, and compliance. Other
issues include climate change, marine pollution, long-range
air pollution, United States leadership in the global
political arena, North-South divisions in global politics,
environmental justice, sustainable development, and the role
of the United Nations and other international organizations.
POLT 795 - Advanced Study
Credits:
4.00
Senior POLT majors, with a cumulative average of 3.20
or greater, may undertake advanced study (political
science), in an area of their choice, in consultation
with member(s) of the faculty. Normally, the result of the
project will be a significant written product of a quality
comparable to that done at the 700 course level. Student
must initiate the project discussion and obtain approval of
the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee of the department
before undertaking the project. Writing intensive.
POLT 796 - Advanced Study
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 795. Writing intensive.
POLT 797B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research. Prereq: senior
standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 797C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on government and politics
in foreign nations or regions. Areas of interest may
include: constitutional structures, political parties and
interest groups, legislatures, bureaucracy and public
policy. Topics address such concerns as: religion and
politics, patterns of economic development, ethnic strife,
political leadership. Prereq: senior standing. Writing
intensive.
POLT 797E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on problems of theory and
contemporary issues in international politics. Areas of
interest may include: democratic norms in international
relations; NATO expansion and European security; the peace
process in the Middle East; etc. See department listings for
semester offerings. Prereq: senior standing. Writing
intensive.
POLT 797F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including
opportunities for direct observation of governmental
administration. Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 797I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research. Prereq: senior
or graduate standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research. Prereq: senior
standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on government and politics
in foreign nations or regions. Areas of interest may
include: constitutional structures, political parties and
interest groups, legislatures, bureaucracy and public
policy. Topics address such concerns as: religion, and
politics, patterns of economic development, ethnic strife,
political leadership. Prereq: senior standing. Writing
intensive.
POLT 798E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on problems of theory and
contemporary issues in international politics. Areas of
interest may include: democratic norms in international
relations; NATO and European security; the peace process
in the Middle East; etc. See department listings for
semester offerings. Prereq: senior standing. Writing
intensive.
POLT 798F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including
opportunities for direct observation of governmental
administration. Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research. Prereq: senior
or graduate standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 799 - Honors Thesis
Credits:
4.00
Senior POLT honors-in-major students (see department for
honors-in-major requirements), with a cumulative average of
3.20 or greater, may undertake a special honors project in
an area of their choice. The results of this special project
will be a significant written product constituting an
honors thesis, under the supervision of a faculty sponsor.
Students must initiate the project discussion and obtain
approval of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee before
undertaking the project. The honors thesis will constitute
the tenth course in the major. Writing intensive.